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Aliens: Backsplash is a two-part comic book short story that was first published by Dark Horse Comics in the company's self-titled anthology series Dark Horse Comics #12-13, from August-September 1993. It was written by Jim Woodring, illustrated by Kilian Plunkett, colored by Matt Hollingsworth, lettered by Ellie De Ville, and edited by Ryder Windham. Issue #13 of Dark Horse Comics also featured featured an Aliens cover by Plunkett. The comic serves as a prequel to the four-issue series Aliens: Labyrinth, produced by the same creative team.

In Dark Horse's Aliens comics line, Aliens: Backsplash was preceded by Aliens: Taste, published concurrently with Aliens: Colonial Marines, Aliens: Earth Angel, Aliens: Crusade and Aliens: Labyrinth, and was followed by Aliens: Salvation.

Backsplash was later adapted as part of the novel Aliens: Labyrinth by S. D. Perry, published in 1996.

Publisher's Summary[]

#12: It was supposed to be an easy job. With a Particle Plasma Projector, you can literally vaporize any Alien where it stands. But there's always a few hundred more Aliens than you think. Don't miss "Aliens: Backsplash," an exciting two-part tale of the perfect mission gone bad.

#13: Okay, what are the odds here? A small group of Colonial Marines, deep underground, with no usable transport and minimal firepower. Forty bazillion ill-tempered Aliens. Could be bad. Find out for sure in part 2 of "Aliens: Backsplash"!

Reprint History[]

Dark Horse Comics[]

Aliens: Backsplash was first serialized and reprinted in the United Kingdom in 2 parts in Aliens magazine, Vol. 2 #15-16, from September-October 1993.

The comic was later collected as part of Aliens Omnibus: Volume 3 in March 2008; it was, however, stripped of its title and simply formed the first part of Labyrinth in this release.

Marvel Comics[]

Following Marvel Comics' acquisition of the rights to Alien comic books, the comic was collected as part of Marvel's Aliens: The Original Years Volume 2 collection, alongside many other early Dark Horse stories. The collection was released in January 2022.

Behind the Scenes[]

Backsplash and the series to which it served as a prequel, Aliens: Labyrinth, represented the first American comic book work for Irish artist Kilian Plunkett, who got the job via submitting artwork at comics conventions, eventually catching the eye of Dark Horse Comics editor Ryder Windham. Plunkett would go on to a noteworthy career as a cover painter at Dark Horse, working on numerous other Aliens projects, including the United Kingdom-based Aliens magazine, and later on several Star Wars comics. He currently works as one of the main character designers on Cartoon Network's Star Wars The Clone Wars animated series.

Gallery[]

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