Predator 2 #2 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR 2 No. 1, June 1991

“Created by a different team” to that which drew, coloured, and lettered its opening instalment, this official comic book adaption of “Predator 2” probably pleased the majority of its audience in June 1991, courtesy of “Dark Horse Comics” proud presentation featuring a number of plot clarifications which weren’t shown in the motion picture. Indeed, considering just how much clearer it is that the titular antagonist purposely stalks the different members of Detective Mike Harrigan’s team, this thirty-two-page periodical’s narrative may actually be seen by many a bibliophile as being somewhat superior to the storyline seen on the silver screen.

For starters, there is little doubt “the killer from outer space” is proactively following both Leona and Jerry when they take the Metro to Vernon Station. Admittedly, this journey is a little contrived in Franz Henkel’s script, suggesting that the squad’s veteran policeman orders them to go their separate ways simply to give Special Agent Keyes’ boys the slip should they “be around.” But the move does provide artist Mark Bright with an opportunity to proficiently pencil a couple of splendid-looking panels showing the extra-terrestrial killer watching the pair from afar.

In addition, this publication also strongly suggests that the head of the Other Worldly Life Forms (OWLF) team operating in Los Angeles is actually trying to save the metropolis from being blown up by the Yautja’s devastating self-destruct device, rather than cynically hoping to weaponize both the alien and its highly advanced technology. This change in motivation debatably brings a lot more pathos to Peter Keye’s character than is seen during the movie and adds an extra element of bravado to his death when he stops the Predator from filleting Harrigan in a slaughterhouse; “I’m not through with you, god dammit!”

Perhaps this comic’s most significant difference though, lies with just how much more talkative and personal the “city hunter” becomes once it goes “one-on-one” with Mike. Quite possibly the extra-terrestrial’s taunts are noticeable due to Henkel’s truncation of the pair’s lengthy celloid chase and pulse-pounding bout of pugilism. However, the creature’s persistent use of Danny’s voice recordings to goad his opponent makes their fight much more personal and resultantly bitter.

Script by: Franz Henkel, Pencils by: Mark Bright, and Inks by: Randy Emberlin

Predator 2 #1 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR 2 No. 1, February 1991

As comic book adaptions of a film go, Franz Henkel’s narrative for Issue One of “Predator 2” certainly appears to be a well-written conversion of Jim and John Thomas’ original screenplay. Indeed, the thirty-sheet storyline almost follows the 1990 American science fiction action flick to the letter, only deviating during the narrative’s more sedentary, dialogue-heavy sequences in an effort to maintain the different medium’s fast-paced momentum.

Such truncation might well cause some confusion to those readers unfamiliar with the plot of director Stephen Hopkins’ $57 million worldwide grossing motion picture. But it certainly means that there is rarely a pause of more than a half dozen panels between Lieutenant Mike Harrigan either shooting someone with a formidable-looking firearm or physically manhandling them ‘back at the Palace.’ Furthermore, a lot of the missing conversations are actually quite cleverly shoehorned into the grizzled street veteran’s numerous thought boxes, so despite the actual discussions not being shown, the information exchanged during them is carried over onto the printed page. 

Alongside this admirable attempt to keep his audience’s experience as exhilarating as possible, the author also does a tremendous job in capturing the sheer raw energy and sense-shattering violence of the movie’s opening. True, the lead protagonist’s fear of heights probably doesn’t carry over as well as it does on the silver screen, nor perhaps the desperate urgency needed to get Officer Johnson off to hospital before he bleeds to death. But the sheer gratuitous nature of Harrigan’s actions, as well as those of the deadly extra-terrestrial, are quickly established in any perusing bibliophile’s mind within moments of both characters making an appearance; “He wasn’t talking to me! Whatever he was hallucinating -- it must have been pretty ugly.”

Probably this comic’s biggest selling point though, besides it licenced tie-in to “the lowest-grossing film in the Predator franchise”, lies with Dan Barry’s pencils, Randy Emberlin’s inks and Lurene Haines’ colours. Between them the trio create a seriously grisly representation of (future) Los Angeles in 1997, with the artistic team’s visual recreation of both the alien hunter’s infra-red vision and invisibility cloak’s deactivation proving particularly effective – especially during poor Danny Archuleta's fatal exploration of Colombian drug dealer Ramon Vega’s “posh penthouse”.

Script by: Franz Henkel, Pencils by: Dan Barry, and Inks by: Randy Emberlin

Orphan And The Five Beasts #2 - Dark Horse Comics

ORPHAN AND THE FIVE BEASTS No. 2, April 2021

Providing a somewhat detailed backstory to “the dreaded bandit leader that used to be a hero”, as well as subsequently establishing Orphan Mo as Thunderthighs’ unlikely successor, there is clearly much more to James Stokoe’s Issue Two of “Orphan And The Five Beasts” than the comic simply being a publication-long portrayal of oriental-flavoured pugilism. Yet whilst such welcome additions to this book’s plot definitely help break-up the Canadian author’s detailed depiction of the brave warrior tackling the dreaded “Two Trees Bearing Heaven” fighting style, it is her lengthy and gratuitously violent confrontation with the gigantic bearded villain which will debatably long linger within its audience’s mind’s eye. 

Indeed, considering that the storyline’s “first of the Beasts” is brutally bisected and disembowelled by a blinding series of blade blows, skewered through the legs with a pair of throwing spears and then later grotesquely torn asunder by rampaging horses, it is probably hard for any perusing bibliophile to imagine what other ghastly physical misdemeanour this title could possibly contain; “Hahaha!! Thought cutting me in half would slow me down, huh?! Thought you could stop Thunderthighs?!? You just cut off the dead weight, fool!”

Perhaps therefore it is this twenty-two page periodical’s intriguing premise that the “mountain bandits” actually thought their titanic boss was just a dislikeable “punk who crushed all of our horses”, that proves a much more palatable plot-thread. The titular character’s embarrassed shock at becoming the head of such a motley band of brigands is well-penned, and subsequently shows just how much the emaciated thieves loathed the “force of destruction that threatens all life in the valley with his indestructible legs" when they willingly aid Mo in the final stages of her battle against him.

Of course all this over-the-top wanton bloodshed is stunningly pencilled by this comic’s creator in his rather recognisable ‘frenetic, hyper-detailed style’, and must have taken an eternity to illustrate considering the sheer mass of gristle-splattered entrails on show. However, by the time Mo has finally killed the seemingly invincible monstrosity of an outlaw, the persistent panels presenting endless glimpses of torn arteries, sausage-like intestines and busted internal organs is arguably going to prove all too much for even the most dedicated of Gorehounds.

Script, Art, Letters, and Cover: James Stokoe

Orphan And The Five Beasts #1 - Dark Horse Comics

ORPHAN AND THE FIVE BEASTS No. 1, March 2021

Enthusiastically described by “Dark Horse Comics” as “a brand-new Kung-Fu epic”, James Stokoe’s script for Issue One of “Orphan And The Five Beasts” certainly seems to live up to its publisher’s promise considering the book’s “ultra-detailed fantasy imagery” and classic tale of oriental revenge. Indeed, considering that this book is packed full of far eastern mysticism, plenty of Samurai-era shenanigans and some seriously sense-shattering sword-fighting, its arguably hard to imagine why the twenty-three page periodical peddled so poorly in March 2021 that it was apparently only the eighty-second best-selling comic of the month.

Happily however, those bibliophiles fortunate enough to have picked up a copy should quickly have been beguiled by the Canadian author’s classic take on a village elder foolishly empowering a group of unworthy warriors with the supernatural abilities to defeat an all-conquering common foe, and then witnessing them treacherously misuse his teachings afterwards for their own benefits. Dying within a body-sized clay jar of boiling water, the old master’s highly-detailed flashback sequence is superbly penned, and does a splendid job of setting Orphan Mo on the path of their elder’s redemption; “Its hooks have sunk deep into the valley, spreading rot and spiritual pestilence… Ahead of you, demons walk the Earth. Go, and become an emissary for Hell!”

Equally as entertaining though, has to be the subsequent scintillating skirmish between the spiritualist’s protégé and a band of raiders who unwisely intercept a cart of monks taking much-needed goods to aid a local village. Quietly unassuming, this mini-series’ main protagonist dynamically defeats the cowardly thieves with a virtuoso performance in non-lethal close-combat, and provides this publication with a strong cliff-hanger when the young woman suddenly confronts the well-named traitor, Thunderthighs, at the temple the black-hearted bandit has usurped as his headquarters.

In addition to his enthralling writing, Stokoe’s artwork is also first-rate, with the illustrator’s knack for “over-the-top violence” creating some truly-fascinating panels which are well worth a reader spending plenty of time poring over. This attention to detail is particularly noteworthy during the brigands' aforementioned unsuccessful attempt to spirit away the amicable Abbot’s wares for their boss’s personal pleasure, as James imbues every weapon strike with an incredible sense of blinding speed and physical vitality.

Script, Art, Letters, and Cover: James Stokoe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #4 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 4, June 2003

Firmly focusing upon the exploits of a seemingly ‘destined to die’ Joe Dredd, John Wagner and Andy Diggle’s script for Issue Four of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus” certainly provided its audience with ample evidence as to just why the senior street judge is Mega-City One’s toughest lawman. In fact, considering that Fargo’s clone has already been ‘fatally’ impregnated by a Facehugger before this particular publication even starts, it is difficult to imagine a more grimly determined incarnation of the Apocalypse War veteran than that presented to this comic book’s audience in 2003.

Fortunately however, unlike the much more emotional Judge Sanchez, whose hysteria at having an embryo embedded inside her body almost unhinges her mind, Dredd seems to take a sort of stoic comfort in the fact that he can still serve his city one last time by ridding the metropolis of the extra-terrestrial threat, as well as the presence of the nefarious Mister Bones too. This fatalistic philosophy makes Pat Mill’s co-creation arguably deadlier than ever, as he engineers a truly horrific, albeit fitting, death for the leader of the anti-Judge activists and mutants who have killed so many of his fellow law officers; “M-My pheromone tag! He’s crushed it --! B-Back! G-Get back! Please -- You m-must recognise me! It’s me -- D-Daddy-!”

Unsurprisingly, this twenty-four page periodical’s creative team also can’t resist setting up a somewhat ‘Ripley-like’ confrontation between Dredd and the alien hive’s queen. Packed full of pulse-pounding tension as the dying Judge declares his intention to gun the egg-laying monstrosity down where she stands, many of this comic’s readers were probably as slacked jawed as Sanchez is portrayed as being at the thought of just a couple of lawgivers taking down an entire Xenomorph XX121 nest. But the lawman’s desperate attempt to crush the aliens’ ruler beneath an unstable cement ceiling, whilst simultaneously trying to escape via an old subway station’s exit “sealed off with resin”, makes for a sense-shattering action sequence.

Similarly as successful is the writing duo’s ‘spotlight’ upon the guilt-laden Packer and her inner demons at having underestimated the deadliness of her pest control team’s current prey. Resolute to neutralise the “alien frenzy” once and for all under an unrelenting torrent of boiling lava, Dredd and Sanchez seemed determined to ‘die like a judge’ until the Verminator’s leader makes a highly memorable self-sacrifice using her jet-pack's fuel supply as a ready-made explosive, and engulfs the entire old Grand Central Station, and then some, with flesh-sizzling magma.

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #3 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 3, May 2003

Arguably consisting of just one long calamitous confrontation between the Grand Hall of Justice’s finest and more Xenomorphs than even James Cameron could crowbar into his 1986 science fiction sequel film “Aliens”, this “Dark Horse Comics” publication surely had its readers in 2003 absolutely spellbound. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine John Wagner and Andy Diggle penning a more pulse-pounding twenty-four page periodical than Issue Three of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus”, especially when it initially appears that Judges Ball and Simpson will need to bravely try to hold off an absolute torrent of the “highly aggressive endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial species” almost single-handedly.

Admittedly, this comic does experience something of a ‘calm before the storm’ moment, as Mega-City One recovers from having a huge crater “eaten away by the creature’s own body fluids” appear at City Bottom, and Packer’s proud Verminators mourn their recent losses courtesy of an unconvincing Resyk funerary ceremony. But Mister Bones and his mutated anti-Judge activists don’t allow such dialogue-heavy discussions to last for too long before blowing a hole straight into the heart of the Justice Department’s headquarters; "The charge is shaped to detonate without damaging the hive around us… And then -- the incubus will rise!”

The resultant battle between Chief Judge Hershey’s heavily outnumbered forces and the Xenomorph XX121 drones really is an incredibly thrilling experience, courtesy of this comic’s collaborative writing partnership intermixing sheer, blood-soaked carnage with moments of humanity every half dozen or so panels. Such a combination of action and emotion, like Charlie Shook refusing to join his Pest Control colleagues when the rest of the team decide to take up arms alongside Joe Dredd, is incredibly enthralling, and genuinely adds an element of fear for the audience when someone they know something about suddenly faces their gory end against the unremitting aggression of the savage extra-terrestrials.

Henry Flint and colorist Chris Blythe should also take a bow for imbuing this book with some truly staggering visuals. Stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the senior lawman’s last stand, each heroic human’s final moments are wonderfully pencilled onto their determined faces. Marinello being dragged down to his death, Butterman’s belly being eaten away by acidic juices, and even Judge Sanchez’s sheer terror at the slaughter around her, are all indelibly burnt into the bibliophile’s brain. Whilst few can surely have stifled a cheer when Giant is pencilled arriving in the nick of time with four gun-toting Mechanismo Droids...

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #2 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 2, April 2003

Bringing the titular character’s mano-a-mano confrontation with one of H.R. Giger’s Xenomorphs to a truly cataclysmic conclusion, John Wagner and Andy Diggle’s narrative for Issue Two of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus” must most assuredly have landed well with the mini-series’ audience. In fact, Old Stoney Face’s shoot-out with the “primal creature” at the Eisenhower General Hospital is arguably faultless, as the Apocalypse War veteran uses every weapon at his disposal, and then some, to finally kill the monster which previously had led to the deaths of “three people in thirty seconds” whilst hiding inside the building’s central ventilation shaft.

Delightfully however, simply because Mega-City One’s toughest lawman succeeds in his mission does not mean that this tremendous crossover title is over all-too soon, with the comic’s collaborative creators quickly shifting their focus away from the Justice Department’s meticulous investigation into just how Jimmy Godber “was breeding the aliens for pit fights”, and instead finally introducing this storyline’s lead antagonist, the facially disfigured Mister Bones. Shrouded in dark shadows and villainy, the former freebooter captain exudes menace in every panel he appears in, and quickly makes it crystal clear that he won’t be happy with any other result than the total destruction of the metropolis which sits above his Undercity-based secret headquarters; “Y-You’re sick, Bones! Rotten to the core! I don’t know why we ever got mixed up with you! You’re worse than the judges! Grud help them! Grud help Mega-City One!”

Also inserting plenty of dynamic tension and atmosphere into this twenty-four page periodical’s scintillating story-telling are Henry Flint and colorist Chris Blythe, whose combined artistry repeatedly imbues this book’s action sequences with plenty of punch and pizazz. Indeed, it’s hard not to feel the sheer terror Fisk must have been feeling when she realises the lethal alien she has been searching for is right behind her, or Maier’s sheer incomprehension at his horrific fate as Millar’s fiery corpse unerringly plummets straight towards him. In addition, the British penciller’s ability to crowbar in the odd moment of humour amongst all the bodily mutilation taking place is equally worth mentioning, with a cooing baby endearingly tapping a fearsome xenomorph’s chin as the alien’s slavering jaws hover above its crib debatably resulting in this book’s biggest chuckle.

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #1 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 1, March 2003

Published weekly in the British comic “2000 A.D.”, as well as monthly by “Dark Horse Comics”, this cross-company mini-series must have had both "Dredd-heads" and fans of the “Aliens” franchise drooling at the prospect of Mega-City One’s toughest lawman battling one of “nature’s most adaptive and deadly killing machines.” For whilst Old Stoney Face already enjoyed a history rich with such notable extra-terrestrial foes like the Kleggs, Trapper Hag, the Nosferatu and Raptaurs, all of them arguably paled into insignificance when compared to the cultural impact of H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph XX121; “Gotta warn them! They don’t know what they’re dealing with!”

Delightfully, John Wagner and Andy Diggle’s script for Issue One of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus” doesn’t disappoint either, providing plenty of pulse-pounding action straight from the book’s get-go as low-life Jimmy Godber desperately attempts to avoid a bullet in the head from the criminals he double-crossed, whist simultaneously trying to reach Eisenhower General Hospital for medical assistance. Readers familiar with the “highly aggressive endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial species” will know exactly what is coming next, but such foreknowledge doesn’t stop the Judges’ first encounter with a Chestburster from still being a wonderfully shocking experience for all concerned.

Just as impressive as the Alien’s introduction is the collaborative writing team’s establishment of Packer and her Verminators. Despite the pest controllers being quite numerous, and resultantly struggling to attain much ‘screen time’ within this twenty-four page periodical, each individual still manages to demonstrate their own distinctive characteristics, personal beefs and ambitions, before “humanity’s ultimate nightmare” begins to whittle down their roster.

Undoubtedly this comic’s biggest highlight however, has to be Joe Dredd’s exploration of a rental warehouse at City Bottom and the lawman’s sense-shattering slugfest with an adult xenomorph. Dynamically pencilled by artist Henry Flint, and riddled with enough Ovomorphs to make even the biggest fan of Pat Mills’ co-creation somewhat nervous as to his future, this action-sequence is packed full of some truly jaw-dropping moments of horror. Whether it be Brubaker taking a Facehugger smack in his face, Pitt losing her fingers to a splash of the extra-terrestrial’s deadly blood, or Gomer and Earl literally been dissolved where they stand by a torrent of concentrated molecular acid, Wagner and Diggle are utterly merciless in their dissolution of the Senior Street Judge’s ill-prepared squad.

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Aliens: Resistance #1 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: RESISTANCE No. 1, January 2019

Following “the events of the popular video game Alien: Isolation, which starred Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda, fifteen years after the events of the original film”, this first in a four-issue limited series published by “Dark Horse Comics” must have proved a somewhat baffling experience for those readers unfamiliar with its electronic survival horror roots despite Brian Wood providing some semblance of a summary as to his narrative’s background at the comic’s beginning. Indeed, the American author’s over-reliance upon his audience just soldiering on oblivious as to just how the female engineer became “the only survivor of the Sevastopol incident”, coupled with a poor pen-picture concerning this book’s other main protagonist, Zula Hendricks, makes it frustratingly hard to even understand just how the central cast so quickly become fast friends, or how “three years later” the rogue United States Colonial Marine Corps First Class Private manages to track down Ellen’s offspring when she is depicted simply wandering the vast wasteland of Earth..?

Admittedly, the “graphic designer who wrote the comic Aliens: Defiance” does manage to imbue this twenty-page periodical’s screenplay with some all-too brief moments of excitement, when he depicts Ripley attempting to infiltrate a Weyland-Yutani Corporation facility and being fired upon with alien acid blood-laced bullets by its suspicious super-enhanced synthetics. But just how the heroine managed to place herself in such perilous jeopardy in the first place is sadly never satisfactorily explained, nor why Hendricks’ partner on the Europa, Davis, needs “a minimum proximity of three meters from a node to pull data” on the location of a black site’s weapons test facility..? Disappointingly, all this action seems to have been contrivingly created for was to pad out the publication’s page count long enough for Zula to prepare her convenient missile-carrying flyer for nine days of hibernation sleep before it reaches the women’s target destination. 

Just as disappointing as the Eisner Award-nominee’s sedentary storyline though are Robert Cavey’s lifelessly lack-lustre illustrations, which although perfectly well-drawn debatably lack any dynamic vivacity even when he’s pencilling Amanda breathlessly racing down a partially-destroyed corridor for her very life. The creative team’s poor decision not to populate this comic with any sound effects, or even an exhausted grunt or wincing groan here and there, additionally makes the publication seem all the more a depressingly flat reading experience, dispiritingly devoid of any noticeable noise or energy.

The regular cover art of "ALIENS: RESISTANCE" No. 1 by Tristan Jones

Aliens: Dust To Dust #4 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DUST TO DUST No. 4, January 2019

Wholly successful in his mission “to tell the story from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy… because that’s the age I was when first exposed to Aliens”, Gabriel Hardman’s conclusion to this four-issue “Dark Horse Comics” mini-series must have satisfied the vast majority of its eagerly awaiting audience when the book’s closing instalment was finally released in January 2019. Indeed, the Hugo Award-nominee’s decision not “to write about marines or anyone who seems like they could stand up to the Xenomorphs” genuinely seems to imbue his narrative with all the “extraordinarily scary and difficult circumstances” fans of the franchise would expect, yet make the publication even more pulse-pounding as a result of these blood-curdling challenges being faced by a “kid”.

Of course, that isn’t to say that the young orphan doesn’t need the help of others in order to successfully survive his ordeal on the planet LV-871, as one of the biggest shocks contained within Issue Four of “Aliens: Dust To Dust” is the revelation that Assistant Administrator Waugh is actually a Synthetic, whose limited functioning resultantly requires Maxon to “retrieve the sharpest piece of metal debris you can find in the shipwreck… [And] cut off my head.” But the boy still needs to climb “the whole way up” the nearby facility’s tower so as to reach the Evac Shuttle at the top and subsequently throw back the spacecraft’s throttle “twenty-seven percent” so as to “stay on the outlined orbital trajectory.”

Likewise, Hardman manages to produce another surprise in depicting Anne’s alien sacrificing itself in order to thwart the Queen Xenomorph from literally devouring this comic’s remaining protagonists towards the end of the twenty-page periodical. This demonstration of maternal instinct is all the more unanticipated due to the author’s one-armed creation previously seeming to attack the fair-haired lad when his party is lead into the colony’s storage chamber, and is only stopped by a hydraulically-powered mechanical arm slamming it aside just before it can impale the terrified boy; “You guys go! Get to the shuttle! It won’t hurt me!.. Ahhh!”

Also adding to this book’s claustrophobically-chilling atmosphere are Gabriel’s somewhat scratchily-drawn panels, with the penciller’s preference “to draw comic stories with… a lot of darkness” providing its action-sequences with plenty of terrifying appeal. Indeed, if the illustrator were telling “a bright, happy story” then he most certainly would “not be the guy for the job.” However, as “this is Aliens” the motion picture story-board artist is undeniably “a pretty good fit.”

Script and Art: Gabriel Hardman, Lettering: Michael Heisler, and Coloring: Rain Beredo

Aliens: Dust To Dust #3 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DUST TO DUST No. 3, October 2018

Only pausing mid-way through its narrative whilst the rapidly dwindling survivors of the Trono colony somewhat hard-heartedly decide whether to leave their youngest member behind before attempting to “follow the bank of the spillway right to the facility”, Gabriel Hardman’s sense-shattering screenplay for Issue Three of “Aliens: Dust To Dust” must have had the majority of the mini-series’ audience panting for breath when the long-delayed publication finally hit the spinner-racks in October 2018. For although the twenty-page periodical momentarily becomes a little weighed down with the morality of “pushing forward without” the twelve year-old orphan, it quickly picks up its pulse-pounding pace once Maxon makes to ‘go it alone’ and inadvertently encounters an entire nest of xenomorphs hiding underneath the floor of the very system engineering facility he’s fleeing from.

Indeed, whether it be Roman and his aged wife’s horribly bloody deaths during this comic’s gore-fest of an opening, or the callous co-pilot’s ‘all-too just mutilation’ at the hands of a howling mob of aliens, having literally just refused to let the terrified boy and Waugh back into the building because “I’m not dying for them”, the persistent deadly threat of Ridley Scott’s legacy is palpably all-pervading, and rarely lets up even when the captain believes there’s “no evidence of xenomorph activity” and begins making sensible-sounding plans to reach a terraforming station the following morning. Certainly, it soon becomes hard to keep track of just who is still alive within the group as the “mysterious and deadly creatures” stalking them continuously claw, bite and tear their number asunder…

Arguably this comic’s greatest highlight however, has to be young Cregar’s headlong dash through the magazine’s final third, which starts with the adolescent being roughly rushed around the alien-infested sanctuary’s exterior by the unfriendly Assistant Administrator, and ends with him haplessly plunging into a fast-flowing river of “overflow from the facility’s cooling tower” along with the tale’s last remaining few fighters and a plethora of hostile life-forms. In fact, Hardman’s scratchy-styled line work for this sequence is so well-suited to the scene’s sense of panicked desperation, that it is a pity the frenzied flight across the broken bridge’s depilated suspension cable doesn’t last that bit longer and perhaps replaced the Hugo Award-nominee’s patronising panels within which Anne’s son is told to rest because “you’re just a kid.”

The regular cover art of "ALIENS: DUST TO DUST" No. 3 by Gabriel Hardman

Aliens: Dust To Dust #2 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DUST TO DUST No. 2, July 2018

Firmly focusing upon Maxon’s perilous plight aboard a spaceship that fast becomes “a death trap from which escape seems impossible”, Gabriel Hardman’s treatment for Issue Two of “Aliens: Dust To Dust” certainly provides its readers with plenty of pulse-pounding action. Indeed, despite this particular instalment of the “Dark Horse Comics” mini-series only featuring a single xenomorph XX121, and an infant-sized “vaguely worm-like organism” at that, the diminutive endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial arguably proves just as lethal as it’s human phenotype by tearing out the throat of one hapless passenger and resultantly causing the vessel’s captain to remotely blow the ship up in the hope that "there aren’t any more this far out.. [as] we’re miles from Trono.” 

Intriguingly however, the “co-writer/artist of Invisible Republic” doesn’t arguably make the highly aggressive creature the ‘villain of this particular piece’ and instead seems to favour simple ill-fortune in the role of antagonist, as the twelve-year-old's transporter desperately battles to climb through planet LV-871’s horribly polluted atmosphere in a frantic bid to reach the safety of the U.S.S. Carver; “Once we make contact, they’ll send another shuttle and we can attempt a transfer.” This seemingly endless battle against the elements really provides an enthralling roller-coaster of a ride with the vessel’s lack of knots to gain a safe altitude not being helped by either the fact that due to a hole in their port shielding it can’t actually reach orbit, or that its aft stabiliser snaps just as pilot De Vore is fast-approaching a towering mountain range.

Similarly, the previously gallant Assistant Administrator Waugh, whose heroic efforts ensured that young Maxon and his ill-fated mother successfully got aboard the spaceship in the first place, swiftly deteriorates into a rather brusque unlikeable fellow, once it becomes clear that any authority he apparently believes he has as a governmental official can be easily overruled by the shuttle’s no-nonsense captain. Such a change in personality proves fascinating, especially as the man appears to take his frustrations out on the twenty-page periodical’s central lead by scolding and roughly handling him, as if it’s the boy’s fault that the entire alien infestation has destroyed the bureaucrat’s settlement.

Slightly less successful than his writing though, is Hardman’s scratchy-style of pencilling, which occasionally makes it quite hard to discern what is actually taking place within a panel. True, the “Planet Of The Apes” artist for “Boom! Studios” sketches a genuinely heart-melting, utterly-silent sequence early on within this publication, when the craft’s passengers realise that Maxon’s mother is dead. Yet his story-boarding of the spaceship’s crash bags deployment as it nears an outcrop of deadly-looking stalagmites may debatably take several re-reads before it becomes entirely evident as to just how the bone-shuddering landing actually occurs…

The regular cover art of "ALIENS: DUST TO DUST" No. 2 by Gabriel Hardman

Aliens: Dust To Dust #1 - Dark Horse Comics

ALIENS: DUST TO DUST No. 1, April 2018

If Gabriel Hardman’s intention was for Issue One of “Aliens: Dust To Dust” to try and recapture some of “the intensity and terror” of “James Cameron's 1986 blockbuster [movie] Aliens”, then he undoubtedly succeeds, as a “12-year-old Maxon and his mom” fiercely fight off an infestation of xenomorphs which seems just as insanely terrifying as that faced by Newt and Ripley. In fact, the storyboard artist for “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises” somehow even arguably manages to replicate “the [self-same] emotional rollercoaster of motherly feelings” the Nostromo’s warrant officer “develops for the terrified little girl” with his narrative’s “edge of your seat” depiction of the “mother and son” fighting “for their lives against the deadliest monsters in the galaxy.” 

Admittedly, this twenty-page periodical’s persistent pace could have proved to be a somewhat tiring experience for any bibliophiles within the title's 12,611 strong audience who were ill-prepared for such a frantically fast read, as it simply does not stop from the moment the anxious adolescent wakes up to the sound of automatic gunfire and discovers his unresponsive parent in bed with a face-hugger firmly latched onto her face. But in penning such a pulse-pounding narrative the “co-writer/artist of Invisible Republic from Image Comics” indisputably “weaves an Aliens story harkening back to the classic film.”

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine any passing bibliophile returning this publication to its spinner rack once they have started following the pairs headlong drive through the partially-destroyed streets of the Trono colony, or their subsequent foot race alongside Assistant Administrator Waugh as they’re pursued to the very doors of the last departing evacuation spacecraft by a veritable horde of angrily hissing extra-terrestrials; “Hold the shuttle! We’re here!” Such sequences really prove enthrallingly gripping story-telling, and one can almost hear the desperation in the cast’s breathless dialogue as their party perpetually encounters more and more of the vicious creatures, whether they be hidden beneath stairwells, seizing upon hapless pedestrians desperately trying to flee for their lives, or assaulting moving motor vehicles with their deadly sharp-pointed tails.

Sadly however, Hardman’s ability to pencil all these sense-shattering shenanigans is not quite as strong as his wordsmith skills. For whilst the artist’s scratchy style does a first-rate job of illustrating the devastation and ruin which the aliens have caused on planet LV-871, as well as imbue every figure with a captivating quota of dynamism, it does occasionally cause his darkly lit panels to mask much of the actual detail to events, such as Maxon’s discovery of his ‘bedridden’ mother and the parasitoid paralysing her…

Script and Art: Gabriel Hardman, Lettering: Michael Heisler, and Coloring: Rain Beredo

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

Conan The Slayer #12 - Dark Horse Comics

CONAN THE SLAYER No. 12, August 2017

Whether or not “Dark Horse Comics” knew that “Marvel Entertainment” and “Conan Properties International” had agreed “to bring Robert E. Howard’s famed pulp hero back to the comics publisher” at the time this particular twenty-two periodical went to print isn’t clear. But what is arguably evident is a palpable lack of appetite on behalf of the book’s creative team to print either a fitting end to its multi-part adaption of “The Devil In Iron”, or indeed, any sort of satisfactory conclusion to the series whatsoever.

For starters, Cullen Bunn’s script makes very little sense and whilst inspired by Conan’s exhilarating battle with “the seemingly indestructible Khel”, doesn’t actually add anything to the August 1934 pulp adventure other than to drag the eighty-year old short story out well beyond its natural ending. This unwise decision creates no end of problems for the Cape Fear-born writer’s narrative, as it resultantly relies entirely upon the comic’s audience to believe that having survived “the cursed isle of Xapur”, both Ghaznavi the Wise and the “savage barbarian” would merely ‘flee’ “through yet another of the Vilayet islands” rather than escape the place entirely by sea. Worse, Conan also brings the utterly useless Nemedian Princess Octavia with him on this perilous mission simply because he feels she “should want retribution as much as I do” against the royal advisor for using her “as bait for the snare.”

Sadly, such illogical lapses in the GLAAD Media Award-winner’s narrative are just the beginning, as the Cimmerian soon finds himself embroiled in a bizarre fight-to-the-death against a tribe of cannibal dwarves whose mission in life appears to be to corrupt children into drinking human blood. Quite how this tale supposedly brings a resolution to Howard’s original work is mystifying, especially when the titular character would have been ‘gutted’ on the Sin-Eater’s sacrificial altar if he hadn’t been rescued by the Ghul; a creature who Bunn would have his 7,230 readers believe forever follows (and protects) Conan in order to feast upon the bronze-skinned warrior’s bloody victims.

Equally as alarming as this magazine’s abysmal storyline is Dheeraj Verma’s ill-disciplined artwork. Having been depicted as a brawny, thick-set, steely-muscled barbarian in this adaption’s previous instalments, the “internationally renowned Indian comic book” creator’s decision to sketch the Cimmerian as a fresh-faced adolescent is utterly bewildering... Unless of course it was his hope to imply that the barbarian’s inexperienced youth was the reason behind why the “sword and sorcery hero” was so easily out-fought by a rag-tag group of pygmies; “How could this fool have caused us so many problems?”

Script: Cullen Bunn, Artist: Dheeraj Verma, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh

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

Conan The Slayer #11 - Dark Horse Comics

CONAN THE SLAYER No. 11, July 2017

There’s undoubtedly plenty for fans of Robert E. Howard’s creation to enjoy within the covers of Issue Eleven of “Conan The Slayer”, for whilst Cullen Bunn’s adaption of “The Devil In Iron” contains the usual mix of ferocious swordplay and murderous bloodlust, the script also provides the Cimmerian with an opportunity to demonstrate his shrewd, sound-thinking too. In fact, both the lives of “the new Kozaki hetman” and “the beautiful Nemedian princess Octavia” entirely rest upon the so-called barbarian using his intelligence to discover the location of a secret door and rationalising that “a knife that fell from the heavens” is probably the only weapon capable of hurting Khosatral Khel.

Similarly engrossing, is the change that this title has brought upon the “Turanian lord of Khawarizm”, Jehungir Agha. Seemingly all-powerful and arrogantly confident in his ‘sovereignty’ at the beginning of this title’s run, this particular twenty-two page periodical now depicts the coastal town lord as an utterly terrified fleeing fellow, whose sole goal is to escape “the doom that overtaken his warriors” and the “iron giant [that] had sallied suddenly from the gate battering and crushing his best fighters into bits of shredded flesh and splintered bone.”

So wide-eyed and open-mouthed a coward really is unrecognisable from the “villainous Turan governor” the North Carolina-born writer has previously depicted, and yet quite wonderfully, the American author then has him suddenly switch back to the boastful Agha of old when he surprisingly spies Conan and Octavia, and allows his hatred of the pair to overshadow his terror of Xapur’s demi-god, Khel. Indeed, not only does Jehungir immediately forget his flight from the “ancient fortress city”, but unwisely lets loose an arrow at the leader of the Vilayet kozaks before charging him with his unsheathed sword; "One of us, wastrel, will not leave this place alive!”

Of course, Conan’s demonstration of his often-hidden deductive powers and Agha’s sudden reassertion of his wits, are merely forerunners to this comic’s cataclysmic conclusion as “the Hell-spawned giant was upon them once again.” Disappointingly however, the highly anticipated rematch presented between the Cimmerian and Khosatral is inauspiciously swift as Sergio Davila pencils the Kozak hetman effortlessly dispatching his foe within a matter of moments, thanks to the “great dagger of the Yuetshi” which he now wields. With hindsight, Bunn seems to have perhaps missed an opportunity here to at least extend (if not arguably improve) an element of a story which “some Howard scholars claim… is the weakest of the early Conan tales.”

Script: Cullen Bunn, Artist: Sergio Davila, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh

Conan The Slayer #10 - Dark Horse Comics

CONAN THE SLAYER No. 10, June 2017

Selling some 7,520 copies in June 2017, at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, Issue Ten of “Conan The Slayer” contains a Cullen Bunn storyline which frankly never stops from the moment Jehungir Agha decides to take “ten mighty archers of Khawarizm” on to “the isolated island of Xapur”, up until the book ends with “that inhuman juggernaut”, Khosatral Khel, literally tearing the coastal town lord’s men to pieces with his bare hands. Indeed, such is the velocity of the North Carolina-born writer’s break-neck narrative, that at times it’s hard to momentarily catch one’s own breath before plunging back into either Conan’s desperate, head-long charge through the corridors of the ancient fortress, or the barbarian’s unbelievably bloody battle with a giant deadly fanged snake.

Fortunately however, the American novelist doesn’t simply rely upon a carousel of action-packed set-pieces in order to retell Robert E. Howard’s “The Devil In Iron”, but impressively manages to include plenty of thoroughly enjoyable narration whenever his cast are too busy fighting for their lives to actually produce any dialogue. These insights into the Hyborian Age hero's thought processes are particularly engaging when the Cimmerian finds himself hurriedly bolting the solid steel door shut to the demi-god’s own chambers, and later as he silently pads his way up to a dais with his “eyes glued on the sleeping reptile” whilst searching for a hidden “magic Yuetshi blade that laid Khosatral low once before!”  

Unhappily though, there seems to be little that Bunn can do to improve the likeability of the enslaved Nemedian princess who accompanies the blacksmith’s son throughout almost the entirety of the twenty-two page publication. Open-mouthed with terror and predominantly impotent with fright, Octavia seems to do very little in this tale except hinder the titular character, and even criticises his numerous efforts to keep the “girl” alive, such as when he temporarily befuddles Khel by throwing a tapestry over his head or categorically states she is not to follow him into the lair of an oversized venomous serpent; “Crom! When I tell you to stay put -- stay put!” 

Wonderfully keeping stride with all these scintillating shenanigans is Sergio Fernandez Davila’s lavishly pencilled drawings. The Spaniard’s understanding and ability to sketch surging muscle is really put to the test throughout this comic’s entirety, and although he occasionally seems to struggle with the consistency of Conan’s facial features, there can surely be no doubting the vibrant life which he brings to the two lead combatants as they continually beat away at one another from scene to scene. 

Script: Cullen Bunn, Artist: Sergio Davila, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh

Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens #4 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS No. 4, June 2017

“Dark Horse Comics” have kept very quiet as why this comic book series’ finale was ultimately delayed from hitting the shelves for a staggering eight months. But considering just how much ground John Layman’s script covers within the confines of just twenty-two pages, it was quite possibly due to the former “Wildstorm” Editor and artist Chris Mooneyham desperately trying to storyboard an alien invasion of Mega-City One and its subsequent (surprisingly swift) downfall all in the space of a single pamphlet.

Indeed, considering that Issue Four of “Predator Vs Judge Dredd Vs Aliens” depicts the Archbishop Emoji’s apocalyptic death cult being massacred by Doctor Niels Reinstot’s “xenomorph-infected man-animal hybrids”, Judge Dredd’s extensive hunt for the lethal extra-terrestrials and creation of an uneasy alliance with the Yautja, as well as the lawman’s discovery, successful penetration and explosive destruction of the creatures’ subterranean hatchery, it’s incredible that the Milwaukie-based publisher didn’t decide to simply extend “Splice And Dice” to include at least a fifth instalment… As it is however, this concluding chapter’s narrative moves at such an incredible pace that it disappointingly turns what should have been a cataclysmic rematch between H.R. Giger’s lethal creations and the future metropolis’ finest into just simply yet another in a long line of hostile invasions which is all-too readily defeated by a couple of judges; “Control, this is Dredd. Alien organisms have been eliminated.”

Fortunately, despite the terrifying tempo of this “ultimate science-fiction crossover”, Layman still manages to provide a few moments of magic within his narrative, and cause a couple of surprises along the way too, such as the bug-eyed “self-proclaimed geneticist” coldly killing his psychic partner-in-crime, the “robo-messiah”, and later transforming into the “ugly, mother spugger” queen, Intercivus raptus regina, by self-injecting himself with the DNA serum he had originally concocted for Cassandra Anderson. Similarly, there’s plenty of fun to be had watching the Mega-City One judges and predators battling it out side-by-side, as they are literally swarmed by adult aliens and scuttling face huggers.

Whatever the cause for this magazine’s postponement, Chris Mooneyham’s pencilling shows no sign of haste, and instead delivers plenty of thrills with his gorily graphic illustrations of citizens being literally torn to shreds, and a wonderfully envisaged egg-laying alien monarch. In fact, the comic book artist’s drawings of an unshaven Dredd blazing away at his enemies one moment, and then angrily sticking a big finger in the face of the formidably tall Yautja in the next, was arguably worth the wait for this title’s culmination alone…

Script: John Layman, Artist: Chris Mooneyham, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh