Alien #2 - Marvel Comics

ALIEN No. 2, June 2021

Absolutely dripping in claustrophobic tension to the point where readers can actually hear the disconcerting pings on a motion tracker in their mind, Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script for Issue Two of “Alien” easily captures much of the excitement experienced during some of the most stressful sequences depicted during the science fiction film franchise’s lengthy lifespan. For whilst this twenty-page periodical’s plot somewhat disconcertingly picks up some thirty-two hours after its previous instalment’s cliff-hanger conclusion, the notable time-jump provides the “Eisner-nominated writer” with plenty of opportunities with which to build up this book’s nerve-wracking tension as both Gabriel Cruz and its audience slowly ascertain just what nightmare occurred on Epsilon Station following the misguided release of the Alpha specimen by a party of anti-corporate U.A. extremists.

In addition, this publication is most definitely not short of the sort of pulse-pounding action which helped James Cameron’s movie “Aliens” become “one of the highest-grossing films of 1986 worldwide.” Indeed, the retired Security Chief’s battle against a pair of fast-moving face-huggers is arguably the highlight of the comic, as bullets zing all over the place and at least one of the accompanying young cocksure marines comes face-to-face with the xenomorph’s terrifying proboscis; “Aaaagghk…! Aaaaahh! Get it Off! Oh God, please get it offfffff!”

Of course, such a frenzied fracas has been seen before on the big screen, but Johnson still manages to make his storyline appear fresh by giving Cruz an especially personal side-mission to locate his ‘missing presumed dead’ errant son, alongside the ex-soldier’s main goal of retrieving Weyland-Yutani’s extra-terrestrial property. On top of that this magazine also contains some tantalising teasers as to Gabriel’s original encounter with the titular creatures some twenty years earlier aboard the Hadley Carrier Two, and even goes so far as to suggest the lead protagonist somehow survived being impregnated with an alien embryo.

Lastly, it must be noted that Salvador Larroca does a first-rate job of imbuing all of this comic’s cast with plenty of personality, including the two naively arrogant Defence Agents who foolishly follow Cruz into the Lion’s Den without having ever bothered to watch the assignment’s video brief. In fact, considering just how well the Spanish artist manages to capture the look and feel of the “Aliens” cinematic universe with his well-pencilled panels, many fans would probably feel the illustrations alone are worth the book’s cover price.

The regular cover art of "ALIEN" #2 by InHyuk Lee