Aliens Vs. Predator Orgins

With the new AVP game coming out in February Dark Horse Comics deserves much of the credit for having the idea in the first place. Dark Horse also deserves credit for creating a successful launch on their Aliens comic series in 1988, two years after the last movie was in theaters. In the last 22 years Dark Horse is the sole proprietor of quality Aliens and Aliens vs. Predator stories. We’ll give Aliens 3 a nod as being not bad, but after that give up on both franchises.

Before that Dark Horse first published a 6 issue Aliens series with Mark A. Nelson and Mark Verheiden. The black and white panels were perfect at capturing the dark future of horror in space. Mark Verheiden crafted a tale of an alien specimen drifting in space and brought to earth for study. The alien communicated empathically and soon religious groups were seeking the xenomorph as way to be reborn in its image. Hicks and Newt are reintroduced into the series and find one another before the alien infestation.

Book 2 follows Hicks and Newt through space leaving behind their now desolate home. Dennis Beauvais uses his airbrush to paint the most beautiful art for this property to go beyond the cover. Hicks, Newt and half of her love interest from the previous series escape earth on a shuttle with a preset destination. They find a crazed colonel who seeks to train the aliens as warriors. Part of this was taken and used poorly in Aliensresurrection.

An alien found in deep space is brought back to earth.

Hicks, Newt and half of her love interest drift in space towards an unknown destination.

An alien queen is set against her children.

The third chapter of this book flops in story and art. It marks the first of a long line of choices made by Dark Horse where they take a talented artist and match his style with the wrong project. Sam Kieth’s style just doesn’t fit with the final chapter of this story arch and the story itself gives you the impression that nobody expected this to do so well. Read the first two and forget book three.

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