Aliens Aftermath #1 Review
Written by: Benjamin Percy
Art by: Dave Wachter
Colors by: Christopher Sotomayor
Lettered by: VC’s Ariana Maher
Publisher: Marvel
I love diving into the Alien universe, the Xenomorphs have some of the most interesting designs in all of sci-fi and when I saw the cover to this book, I just knew I had to jump into the Ovomorph nest. The synopsis lets us know that this is a “possible future for LV-426” allowing readers to take off the restraints of fitting this title into a canonized timeline and just enjoy the ride.
This issue finds a group of investigative journalists journeying to Hadley’s Hope in search of the truth of what happened there 35 years ago. It’s hard to deny how amazing Vasquez’s character was in the film and tying the protagonist to her was the right choice as his character can tie into the greater expanded universe but also makes the delivery of the ending that more effective. It’s easy to root for him because of the noticeable similarities he shares with his aunt and how he’s fighting back against Weyland-Yutani. Framing portions of the story from a recorded confessional allows the reader to quickly gain an understanding of Cutter’s viewpoint and Percy is effective at writing these scenes to the point where they don’t feel like a wall of exposition and build throughout the book as Cutter delves further into Hadley’s Hope and it becomes a personal journey for him. The appearance of the Xenomorph is abrupt, I wish there was more of a stalking aspect incorporated, but the way the story unfolds does more to have readers invested in the characters.
I love the look of this book. Hadley’s Hope feels just as desolate as it did in the film, though now altered after the nuclear explosion. The winds still rage throughout and though there’s snow, it’s lumpy mess that plasters on the visuals. The book is visually unnerving as it incorporates the isolated shadows of space and fills the scenes on LV-426 with decaying corpses or degraded facilities and ships. There’s an even pace throughout the first half of the book, but it speeds up as we encounter the Xenomorph and reach the latter half. Speaking of the Xenomorph, it is incredible. Its design is simple but radiates on the page, readers can quickly identify how it’s evolved based on its surroundings and its abilities are so cool (pun intended)! I had hoped the scenes would be slightly gorier or showcase more of what this creature could do but it does leave more to the imagination.
What better way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Aliens than by giving readers another reason to hate Weyland-Yutani? If you’re a fan of the films or just in need of a quick Xenomorph fix, definitely pick up this issue.
Art by: Dave Wachter
Colors by: Christopher Sotomayor
Lettered by: VC’s Ariana Maher
Publisher: Marvel
I love diving into the Alien universe, the Xenomorphs have some of the most interesting designs in all of sci-fi and when I saw the cover to this book, I just knew I had to jump into the Ovomorph nest. The synopsis lets us know that this is a “possible future for LV-426” allowing readers to take off the restraints of fitting this title into a canonized timeline and just enjoy the ride.
This issue finds a group of investigative journalists journeying to Hadley’s Hope in search of the truth of what happened there 35 years ago. It’s hard to deny how amazing Vasquez’s character was in the film and tying the protagonist to her was the right choice as his character can tie into the greater expanded universe but also makes the delivery of the ending that more effective. It’s easy to root for him because of the noticeable similarities he shares with his aunt and how he’s fighting back against Weyland-Yutani. Framing portions of the story from a recorded confessional allows the reader to quickly gain an understanding of Cutter’s viewpoint and Percy is effective at writing these scenes to the point where they don’t feel like a wall of exposition and build throughout the book as Cutter delves further into Hadley’s Hope and it becomes a personal journey for him. The appearance of the Xenomorph is abrupt, I wish there was more of a stalking aspect incorporated, but the way the story unfolds does more to have readers invested in the characters.
I love the look of this book. Hadley’s Hope feels just as desolate as it did in the film, though now altered after the nuclear explosion. The winds still rage throughout and though there’s snow, it’s lumpy mess that plasters on the visuals. The book is visually unnerving as it incorporates the isolated shadows of space and fills the scenes on LV-426 with decaying corpses or degraded facilities and ships. There’s an even pace throughout the first half of the book, but it speeds up as we encounter the Xenomorph and reach the latter half. Speaking of the Xenomorph, it is incredible. Its design is simple but radiates on the page, readers can quickly identify how it’s evolved based on its surroundings and its abilities are so cool (pun intended)! I had hoped the scenes would be slightly gorier or showcase more of what this creature could do but it does leave more to the imagination.
What better way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Aliens than by giving readers another reason to hate Weyland-Yutani? If you’re a fan of the films or just in need of a quick Xenomorph fix, definitely pick up this issue.
A Look Inside
