Prometheus: Fire and Stone #2
Engineered for deep space terror.
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
It's hard to properly crtique a single issue of such a massive and complex crossover event like Fire and Stone is turning out to be. How do you judge the merits of one piece of a sprawling puzzle? Especially one that's as steeped in a deep mythology as this book is? I can tell you that I have no solid answers for those questions. I can also tell you, however, that Prometheus: Fire and Stone #2 is a fun, and terrifying read that fits perfectly into the bigger scheme of things.
Tobin's writing touches perfectly on the uneasiness of being on an alien world, especially one that's almost entirely hostile. "Some sort of alien killing machines! Claws, teeth, acid, blood." Captain Foster hauntingly declares after this wayward crew's first encounter with the ever-popular and ever-horrific Xenomorphs who are really the stars of this issue. Some characters get lost in the shuffle here as there's a lot going on, but, the Aliens never do. No, Tobin understands these beasts. He understands how they would opperate, how they kill, how they stalk maim and torture both psychologically and physically. From the very first few panels these black and silver agents of death are perfectly captured in a type of gruesome snapshot. You may find yourself wanting to root for the human characters here and be dissapointed when they take a sort of back seat but, at the same time it's hard to deny the all-encompassing power and ferocity of these monsters.
Ferreyra, too, understands this hostile alienness that rests at the center of this book. Over the numerous Alien productions that Dark Horse has published, none have captured the titular beasts quite this way and that's due, in large part, to Ferreyra. It takes a special kind of touch to make a jungle alone seem powerful and brooding but these pages do just that. The brief appearance of an Engineer is exquisitely done also, capturing that kind of knowledgable hatred for their human creations that they exhuded in the Prometheus film.
This book makes little advances in plot aside from the very last panel but, that's okay. It's okay because this is clearly one piece in a large puzzle. It's a very well-done puzzle piece. One that rests precariously between the explorative nature of all things human and the fear of the unknown.
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
It's hard to properly crtique a single issue of such a massive and complex crossover event like Fire and Stone is turning out to be. How do you judge the merits of one piece of a sprawling puzzle? Especially one that's as steeped in a deep mythology as this book is? I can tell you that I have no solid answers for those questions. I can also tell you, however, that Prometheus: Fire and Stone #2 is a fun, and terrifying read that fits perfectly into the bigger scheme of things.
Tobin's writing touches perfectly on the uneasiness of being on an alien world, especially one that's almost entirely hostile. "Some sort of alien killing machines! Claws, teeth, acid, blood." Captain Foster hauntingly declares after this wayward crew's first encounter with the ever-popular and ever-horrific Xenomorphs who are really the stars of this issue. Some characters get lost in the shuffle here as there's a lot going on, but, the Aliens never do. No, Tobin understands these beasts. He understands how they would opperate, how they kill, how they stalk maim and torture both psychologically and physically. From the very first few panels these black and silver agents of death are perfectly captured in a type of gruesome snapshot. You may find yourself wanting to root for the human characters here and be dissapointed when they take a sort of back seat but, at the same time it's hard to deny the all-encompassing power and ferocity of these monsters.
Ferreyra, too, understands this hostile alienness that rests at the center of this book. Over the numerous Alien productions that Dark Horse has published, none have captured the titular beasts quite this way and that's due, in large part, to Ferreyra. It takes a special kind of touch to make a jungle alone seem powerful and brooding but these pages do just that. The brief appearance of an Engineer is exquisitely done also, capturing that kind of knowledgable hatred for their human creations that they exhuded in the Prometheus film.
This book makes little advances in plot aside from the very last panel but, that's okay. It's okay because this is clearly one piece in a large puzzle. It's a very well-done puzzle piece. One that rests precariously between the explorative nature of all things human and the fear of the unknown.
A Look Inside
