If you told me in 1991 that in 30 years, Disney would own the Alien franchise, I would have laughed in your face. The ultraviolent science fiction films given life by two of the best directors of their time were not movies you would bring your young nieces to, and the comic adaptations were no different. They featured horror writers and artists, who were given free rein to add their own perspective and lore to the xenomorphs, creating a distinct run of miniseries. Thus, Marvel publishing Aliens Epic Collection: The Original Years Vol. 2 is a gift to Alien fans; it’s a gorgeous collection highlighting some of the most disturbing monsters in the universe.
Collecting Aliens: Genocide #1-4, Aliens: Hive #1-4, and Aliens: Tribes, Aliens: Newt’s Tale #1-2, along with material from Dark Horse Insider #14-27, Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special, and a Dark Horse Presents issue, these comics all come from the age when Dark Horse was the home to many comic adaptations of notable film franchises. It’s also important to note that these were all created prior to Alien 3 being released, and clearly didn’t foresee the plot pivot that occurred in that film.
Marvel Comics
This is a collection of a few miniseries from the early 1990s, each of them a standalone story with some slight sinew connecting their narratives. We have billionaire Daniel Grant who leads a perilous expedition to the Alien home world, where two queens and countless deadly creatures await, with the promise of a substantial reward for any survivors. This is followed by Stanislaw Mayakovsky and the young thief Gill design a cybernetic Alien to steal royal jelly from the Alien Queen Mother. We get the tried and true Alien infestation of a space station orbiting Earth, resulting in a desperate mission balancing on one man’s hidden agenda. We even get a short tale featuring Newt’s story from the Aliens movie.
It’s shocking to see how different these various Alien minis are. We go from Aliens: Hive (written by Jerry Prosser) where tension is built in this heist-focused tale as the “heroes” and their cybernetic creation puts the cast in peril. The talented Kelly Jones matches the script with his dark and ghostly comic art. This is followed by Aliens: Tribes, which isn’t a comic at all, but a traditional prose written by horror legend Steve Bissette. It focuses on the Alien being discovered aboard a space station orbiting Earth, and a specialized extermination team is deployed to eliminate it. Yet, the twists and turns keep the reader alarmed throughout. Complimenting the script are two dozen beautiful paintings by Dave Dorman, each pin-up worthy. The fact that this was even on comic shelves is a testament to the respect Dark Horse had for its readers.
Marvel Comics
Speaking of visuals, this book necessitates multiple readings just to take in the sheer brilliance of its artists. There are so many beautifully drawn and painted pieces in this book; I could easily fill this review with dozens of images to support my point. From engaging page layout to terrifyingly grotesque monsters, this collection is a buffet for the eyes. Each miniseries in this collection has its own visual identity, with ample variety and creativity making each run feel distinctive.
The trade includes a host of variant covers and the much-appreciated introductions that were published when these books were initially collected in trade paper back. As always, these notes give great insight into the creative process at Dark Horse during this period.
It’s been said that the Alien franchise is just a haunted house movie in space, but there is a lot more thought and creativity than that crude description. Each of the arcs in Aliens Epic Collection: The Original Years Vol. 2 has a clear identity and purpose, demonstrating that the xenomorphs can be used as a prop to tell many different types of stories. Fans who were too young to read these comics when they were released in the early 1990s will be stunned by how durable these comics are, and they should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in the Alien franchise.
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