Dark Horse Comics 2016
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Moritat
Coloured by Rain Beredo
Lettered by Michael Heisler
Captain Paget and her Colonial Marines—along with assorted survivors from ill-fated missions to the planets LV-797 and LV-223—went through hell to finally make it safely back to the USS Hasdrubal, only to discover that one member of their party, Chris, believed to be dead, was still alive on the surface of LV-223—inside an Alien hive! When Paget led a rescue mission back to the planet, the team encountered two others of the presumed dead—Galgo and his Predator companion, Ahab. Together, they make their way to the hive to save Chris . . .even though they may be too late!
This one has it all folks everything we’ve wanted to see from the franchise in one story. Chris is a guest of the Queen, safe for now as she incubates one of the xenomorphs inside her. Galgo and Ahab are running around and the Engineer on the planet is wreaking all kinds of havoc stranding everyone here. Dan does a brilliant job intertwining all the various arcs into one cohesive story as revelations and surprises abound.
I love that Chris understands what is happening to her and that she doesn’t want the resources spent on finding her. This mission is not only foolhardy but we all knew it was suicide from the moment of its conception. Still love does crazy things and we saw what deal Jill was willing to broker to ensure her wife was taken care of. Though if by some miracle they do manage to get Chris off planet no one can be prepared for the birth of a new Queen.
I think how Dan is tying in that black goo, the Engineer and the Predator into this story like it’s something that’s been the status quo from the franchises inceptions is extremely well thought out and executed. Taking familiar things and giving them a new twist on this planet that has been given new life thanks to that black goo really leaves an impact.
Moritat brings his unique style to this incredibly well. His eye for storytelling using page layouts with their angles and perspective really bring into this so very well. His depiction of the xenomorphs are great to see. The characters all have great individual looks and express emotion through facial expressions and body language. The violence we see is both brutal and yet tastefully done so there’s no excessive gore to be seen. This really does evoke the fear, anger and anguish of the franchise extremely well.
With how this issue ends i’m excited to see how the next one begins. I mean there’s really that whole sense of confusion, terror and absolute thrills that the guys have brought to us. While we may not get a whole slew more of the movies that explore this universe we’re getting some of the very best storytelling possible to keep the franchise alive and well. That i’m on the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting the next issue is proof positive they are doing something right.