Body horror is an integral part of horror films alien Franchise.
It may be secondary to the immediate, real threat of a physical alien trying to kill you, but it’s always present in the narrative. it starts with alien With the first chest burst. As colonists and marines harvested, it became more insidious. alien. This is the horror of aliens using us as incubators for their offspring. Our own bodies have been turned into the carrier of a time bomb that will sprout a new deadly killing machine from within our chests.
After the initial hug fell off, we thought we were fine.
It’s about new xenomorphs using us as hosts, recombining pieces of our DNA to create new iterations of ourselves. and stand out more alien resurrection and Prometheus With experimentation and evolution becoming an immediate part of the body horror narrative.
“Life…life always finds a way.
Alien: The Purge go through Ian Edgington, Phil Hurst, Anderparks, Chris Challenorand Gary Fields Anticipate narrative twists alien resurrection. It’s almost like there’s something in the water in 1997 that fuels that body horror. Here, it tells the story of an experimental science colony that sees the effects of leprosy on its xenomorph host. There is something more terrible.
Edgington has a knack for spinning stories, whether Lovecraftian (e.g. Leviathan) or Martian (Scarlet Traces), here we get it in a modified android. A new breed of connected species that has become the mother of abominations. The implications are horrifying, but there’s an interesting twist here. Despite her horror, she is the main character of the piece, and as the story progresses, she essentially becomes the hero.
The artwork by Phil Hester, Ande Parks, and Chris Chalenor is pretty creepy. Hester’s dark, angular style is absolutely perfect for any horror genre. Héloïse’s dangerous beauty, the unfortunate metamorphosis of disease, the visceral fear of the aliens, it’s all wonderful here. Even with a little humor thrown in. Challenor used a limited color palette to keep things simple and allow these shadows to really stand out in the story.
Gary Fields’ font style feels unique. In addition to the usual italics, his transoms feature angular letters such as “L,” a slanted “M” and a “W” that stand out. It felt like a perfect fit for Hester’s lines.
“The person who just stepped off the transport ship? He’s trouble…big trouble!
Two horror legends meet Parks, Challenor and Fields in ‘Eddington and Hester’ Alien: The Purge An interesting twist on alien breeding, creating an even deadlier hybrid species, a new mother, and an uncanny valley that takes both horrors in a whole new direction. We might actually cheer against the corporations. It’s a complete subversion of expectations, but still pretty scary when you think about it.
There is also a sequel written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Mel Rubi, Aliens vs. Predator: The Chase. It tells the story of Héloïse and her tribe being hunted by marauders, and shows where they end up after this story. Hopefully we’ll finally see Marvel collect these issues in a comprehensive fashion again, like they’ve been doing alien books.
Classic Comics Compendium: Alien Purge
Alien Purge
writer: Ian Edgington
pencil: Phil Hurst
Inker: Anderparks
Colorist: Chris Challenor
Writer: Gary Fields
Publisher: Marvel Comics (reprint) |Dark horse (Original publisher)
release date: November 22, 2022 (Reprinted and collected) | August 1997 (original)
available for collection Aliens: The Primeval Years Omnibus – Volume 3
Read past entries in the Classic Comics Compendium!