| "Aliens: Berserker" links here. For the novel, see Aliens: Berserker (novel). |
Aliens: Frenzy, originally titled Aliens: Berserker, is a four-part limited comic book series that was first published by Dark Horse Comics from January-April 1995. It was written by John Wagner, illustrated by Paul Mendoza, inked by Andy Mushynsky, colored by Cary Porter, lettered by Steve Dutro and edited by Edward Martin III, Ryder Windham and Marilee Hord, with cover art by Kilian Plunkett.
Several characters from Frenzy would go on to appear in Aliens vs. Predator: War and Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War, which therefore serve as sequels to the story.
In the Aliens comics line, Aliens: Frenzy was preceded by Aliens: Stronghold, and was followed by Aliens: Incubation.
Frenzy was later adapted as the novel Aliens: Berserker by S. D. Perry, published in 1998.
Publisher's Summary
#1: There's a ship cutting through space like a bullet, its crew a five-man surgical strike team with a single mission: Destroy Aliens! But when the crew members of the Nemesis land smack in the middle of a full-blown hive, they're not sure if it's the answer to their prayers or the beginning of a nightmare!
#2: The Nemesis team hunts and destroys Alien hives: small, medium, or large. But Terminal 949 carried a crew of nearly a thousand people, and that makes it the biggest hive in history. It would be a touch-and-go situation even with a properly functioning Berserker unit, and their particular slaughter-machine has been showing some... problems... lately. No back-up, no cavalry, and no hope, but there's one slim chance they can make it out alive — if they're willing to make the ultimate sacrifice!
#3: The crew of space station Nemesis face off against the mother of all hives in a barrel-blazing, thermonuclear, blow-out bonanza! Their outer space paradise has been infested, and this issue they unload all they've got to make a clean sweep of the station. But the bugs apparently aren't the only problem in paradise: a traitor walks among them! Can they blow away the bugs and keep the knives out of their backs, or is paradise lost?
#4: It's down to the wire now and with more casualties than firepower, the crew of the Nemesis find themselves hip deep in trouble and watching the next load coming! Their Berserker unit is a slug of cold, dead steel and their only hope lies in the direction they least expect. Don't miss this mile-a-minute, slash-and-burn finale to the most pyrokinetic Aliens adventure ever!
Reprint History
In the United Kingdom, the comic was planned to be serialized and reprinted, under its original title Aliens: Berserker, in the 1997 Aliens magazine. However, the cancellation of the magazine left the rerun unfinished after just one installment (in Aliens magazine #3, February 1998).
The series received its current title, Aliens: Frenzy, when it was eventually collected as part of Aliens Omnibus: Volume 4 in July 2008.
Aliens: Frenzy was released digitally through Dark Horse Digital on May 1, 2013, reusing Kilian Plunkett's cover art from issue 1.
Behind the Scenes
Comics writer John Wagner was the co-creator of popular British comics character Judge Dredd in the pages of the anthology series 2000AD, and the writer/creator of Vertigo Comics' A History of Violence, which was turned into a film starring Viggo Mortensen.
Cover artist Kilian Plunkett, a veteran of Aliens comics starting with his first work on Aliens magazine, Aliens: Backsplash and Aliens: Labyrinth, eventually moved on to doing cover art for Dark Horse's Star Wars line. He now serves as the main character designer on the Cartoon Network series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Trivia
- The Berserker unit actually first appeared in the earlier graphic novella Aliens: Tribes. In fact, Tribes and Frenzy share several similarities beyond just the presence of a Berserker — in both stories, the mech is part of an elite clean-up squad that is dispatched to a space station to deal with a major Xenomorph infestation. Other similarities include a member of the team intentionally allowing themselves to be captured by the Xenomorphs for impregnation in order to locate the resident Queen. Jess' propensity to say, "Yo," in Frenzy may also be a subtle reference to Tribes, in which the character of Point frequently says the same.
Gallery
Issue covers
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