Aliens: Mondo Heat is a one-shot comic book that was first published by Dark Horse Comics in February 1996. It was written by Henry Gilroy, illustrated by Ronnie del Carmen, colored by Pamela Rambo, lettered by Steve Dutro, and edited by Bob Cooper, with cover art by del Carmen.
The comic is one of the few Aliens, Predator and Aliens vs. Predator comic books to serve as a direct sequel to an earlier story. Specifically, it follows the further adventures of Xenomorph-slaying mercenary Herk Mondo, who previously featured in Aliens: Colonial Marines and Aliens: Mondo Pest.
In the Aliens comics line, Aliens: Mondo Heat was preceded by Aliens: Incubation, and was followed by Aliens: Lucky.
Publisher's Summary[]
When you've got a major infestation of Aliens, and the Colonial Marines are nowhere in sight, you won't find a better "exterminator" than Herk Mondo. But Herk's got a couple of big problems: he's completely unarmed in the middle of the infestation, and he's got an active volcano ready to blow beneath his feet! You can be sure of one thing, though — the volcano may blow, but Herk'll keep his cool.
Reprint History[]
Dark Horse Comics[]
Aliens: Mondo Heat was eventually collected as part of Aliens Omnibus: Volume 4 in July 2008.
The comic was released digitally through Dark Horse Digital on May 15, 2013, reusing del Carmen's cover art.
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 3 collection, alongside many other later Dark Horse stories. The collection was released on November 22, 2022.
Behind the Scenes[]
Interestingly, when the character of Herk Mondo made his first, somewhat random cameo appearance in Aliens: Colonial Marines #6, he was already apparently a galaxy-renowned bug hunter, as the Colonial Marines who encounter him already knew him by reputation and are in awe of him.
Mondo Pest and Mondo Heat writer Henry Gilroy would go on to write a small number stories for Dark Horse's Star Wars line, and eventually become main writer/story editor for Cartoon Network's Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a position that he still holds.
The Mondo stories are rarities amongst the Aliens comics published by Dark Horse in that they are clearly action/comedy stories with cartoony and sexual sensibilities thrown in alongside the typical Aliens horror motif — somewhat comparable to the Duke Nukem character. They also make Herk Mondo one of the few recurring characters to have appeared in more than just one Aliens miniseries.