Aliens: Dead Orbit #4 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT No. 4, December 2017

Focusing almost exclusively upon Wassy’s headlong flight through Spacteria 284255 to the supposed sanctuary of the modular station’s Life Support facility, James Stokoe’s script for Issue Four of “Aliens: Dead Orbit” is arguably a tour-de-force of science fiction horror, which seldom lets up even when depicting the engineering officer unwisely delaying his departure in order to collect a packet of cigarettes. Indeed, this twenty-three page periodical’s narrative, which culminates with the sole survivor battling a debilitated drone in outer space, must surely have reminded its 11,598 followers of both Ripley’s terrifying race through the bowels of the Nostromo in the 1979 motion picture “Alien”, as well as her subsequent high-octane battle with the Xenomorph Queen in the movie’s 1986 sequel.

Fortunately however, the Canadian comic book artist’s storyline isn’t simply about the main antagonist running for his life, but also includes some heart-wrenching moments when Wascylewski recalls the gruesome deaths of his team-mates and some of the difficult decisions he has to make in order to ensure his continued existence. Top of these consequence choices has to be the astronaut’s haunting sprint “to observation” alongside Park and his female colleague’s bloody demise at the (taloned) hands of two of the endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial species, with its gripping scene, played as a flashback whilst Wassy is fleeing another of the aliens, really bringing home the sheer terror the central character is experiencing as he tearfully seals his space-suit’s helmet shut and prepares to turn his back on his deceased crew-mates; “Park!!”

Equally as well delivered is Stokoe’s nail-biting battle between the engineer and a drone who seemingly just won’t take ‘No’ for an answer despite taking a face full of mining charge, and later losing a limb in a secondary explosion. Resolute in his course of action as he is mentally traumatised, the Spacteria crewman continually appears to have done just enough to make a successful escape before being once again thwarted by the bloody-minded determination of the Xenomorph. Ordinarily, such a long-winded game of ‘Cat and Mouse’ may well have become tediously tired, yet somehow James’ excellent storyboarding arguably makes the reader want the conflict to continue, even though it soon becomes painfully clear that the human is fast running out of survival options in the coldness of deep space…

Story, Art and Lettering: James Stokoe

Aliens: Dead Orbit #3 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT No. 3, June 2017

Despite forcing this book’s opening to subsequently contain a pulse-pounding jump scare and obligatory corridor chase scene, it’s debatable that many of this comic’s 12,115-strong audience actually appreciated James Stokoe’s decision to ‘push’ his story forward somewhat since the mini-series’ previous instalment concluded and thus literally skip over some of the main protagonists’ search for their space vessel’s extra-terrestrial intruders. As a matter of fact, the sheer suddenness of the Captain of Spacteria 284255 being grabbed from above and pulled up through the air vent by a Xenomorph, probably had many of this twenty-two page periodical’s bibliophiles reaching for their earlier edition of “Aliens: Dead Orbit” in the mistaken belief that they’d somehow expunged at least a couple of additional scenes from their memory.

Disconcertingly however, that simply isn't the case, and to make matters worse, the vacuum created by the Canadian writer’s mercenary culling of the Weyland-Yutani way station’s entire exploration is disagreeably filled with an irritating seventeen panel-long argument between Wassy, Torrenson and Park. Obviously the crew-mates are going to be upset at seeing their commander literally snatched from their midst and potentially torn asunder, but does this point need to be so monotonously laboured over?

Fortunately, once matters move to Harrow and his quandary “in Medical watching over the last salvager” things definitely ‘pick up’ for both this publication’s plot and pace. Indeed, in many ways it’s a pity Stokoe didn’t focus far more upon the blade-wielding heavily-mutilated patient’s predicament than that of the modern-day Wascylewski, as the one-eyed bandaged mummy’s painful realisation that her infected cryogenically frozen colleagues have supposedly been woken up, and therefore probably spread the alien menace on into her new surroundings, is far more enthralling than repeated viewings of the tightly bound engineering officer ineffectively struggling against the xenomorph’s famous secretions.

The crew’s failed attempt to bludgeon the doctor free from the medical man’s homicidal captor, the deranged woman’s ensuing plan to destroy the “company station” by piloting its escape shuttle straight back into the installation, and Wassy’s head-long race towards the flight bay in order to thwart such a proposal, all proves genuinely exhilarating stuff. Yet is then sadly ruined by James returning the reader to the present day for the comic’s cliff-hanger, and depicting his story’s lead superhumanly punching his way out of the hive webbing which up until this point has held him perfectly steadfast, as well as extraordinarily outrunning two drones in order to reach an inebriated Torrenson first; “Heh, Heh. Ha! Haha!”

Story, Art and Lettering: James Stokoe

Aliens: Dead Orbit #2 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT No. 2, May 2017

Packed full of pulse-pounding corridor chases, chest-bursting chaos and blood-soaked baby xenomorphs dashing for freedom from the confines of a juddering corpse’s rib cage, James Stokoe’s narrative for Issue Two of “Dead Orbit” doesn’t admittedly bring anything particularly new to the “Aliens” franchise. But frankly, it’s doubtful that many of this twenty-two page periodical’s fans really cared, for in replicating the motion picture series’ more graphically memorable moments, and then weaving them amongst his own tale of terror on board the Spacteria 284255, the Canadian writer genuinely appears to capture all the spine-tingling horror of H.R. Giger’s merciless extra-terrestrials.

Indeed, within moments of the Weyland-Yutani way station’s newly-arrived patients starting to shudder and convulse in the Med-bay, it is likely the vast majority of this comic’s readership felt their hearts starting to beat a little faster; especially when Doc Harrow angrily remonstrates with his skipper that he is doing all he can simply to sedate and stabilise the badly mutilated “three unlicensed passengers”. This all-pervading sense of unease doesn’t abate either, just because the scene disconcertingly shifts to Wascylewski’s more sedentary investigation into the supposed freebooter salvager’s ship manifest.

Coldly curious as to why the recovered deep space vessel’s “payroll suggests” it still has five missing crewmembers, the engineer’s partial briefing to his shipmates actually succeeds in slowly heightening the storyline’s mounting tension up until the point where Captain Hassan is suddenly urgently called back to Medical, and Stokoe pencils some truly gruesome splash pages depicting infant aliens erupting from the inside of their ill-fated carriers. This sequence, notable for the carousel of panels showing the open-mouthed horror on the faces of “Wassy” and his dumb-struck colleagues, is incredibly-well illustrated, and goes a long way to recapturing all the chaotic atmosphere of Kane's dinner-time demise in the original 1979 British-American film “Alien”; “Stay back! Don’t touch them!”

Perhaps far less satisfying, is sadly the comic book artist’s conclusion to this publication, which disappointingly switches back to Wascylewski’s ‘present day’ predicament as the increasingly derelict fuel depot continues to break apart, and the protagonist finds himself momentarily breathing vacuum. Eyes bulging, gasping for a lungful of non-existent air, and unable to acquire an emergency rebreather, the sole survivor is shown one minute blacking out before the station’s computer can recalibrate the life support systems for that area, and then in the next being inexplicably dragged off into darkness by a pair of slavering drones...

Story, Art and Lettering: James Stokoe

Aliens: Dead Orbit #1 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT No. 1, April 2017

Described by “Dark Horse Comics” as the first in a “thrilling and claustrophobic” four-issue mini-series, this opening instalment of “Aliens: Dead Orbit” definitely makes it clear that writer, artist and even letterer James Stokoe, “re-watched the first two films and wrote down a bunch of notes” when he “was starting on the plot idea.” In fact, apart from the comic’s narrative taking place on the Weyland-Yutani way station Spacteria 284255, this twenty-two page periodical's plot initially seems to resemble the opening moments of James Cameron's 1986 American science-fiction action horror film "Aliens", by having a group of astronauts discover an "unmarked vessel" “this far out in wilderness space” and attempt to revive its passengers from their cryosystem; "Goes well with the "salvager" theory."

Unfortunately, despite so ‘iconic’ an opening gambit clearly providing an obvious nod to the franchise’s formidably long history, and seemingly containing as much detail within every panel as its illustrator could pencil, such an over-familiarity with the plot also disappointingly makes for a somewhat lacklustre and unoriginal introduction to Captain Hassan and his crew. Certainly, their fractious relationship with one another, especially Wascylewski and the foul-mouthed communications officer Rock, comes as no great surprise, and simply seems to mirror the disharmony amongst bickering Weyland-Yutani employees which has been so common place within the silver screen series…

Equally as disconcerting as his reliance upon the ‘blockbuster’ motion pictures for inspiration and story ideas, is Stokoe’s somewhat frustrating technique of interrupting the Spacteria staff’s frighteningly catastrophic attempt to wake up their ‘guests’, by occasionally leaping forward in time to a point when the fuel depot’s engineer appears to be the group’s sole survivor and is in urgent need of a mysterious carry case which he’s inadvertently left at the feet of a xenomorph. Just what’s inside this box is not explained, nor is the rationale as to why Wascylewski decided to bring it with him on his spacewalk. But it’s clear from the sequences that no-one else is going to outlive this encounter with the aliens, and such certainty that all the other characters are going to die dishearteningly dispels any suspense or tension as to the rest of the cast’s fate.

The variant cover art of "ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT" No. 1 by Geof Darrow