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Aliens (comics line)

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Aliens1

Cover to Aliens #1 by Mark A. Nelson.

The Aliens comic book line is a long-running series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics based on the Alien franchise, chiefly the 1986 film Aliens. The line has included a number of limited series, one-shots and short stories, starting with the comic Aliens: Outbreak (originally titled simply Aliens) in July 1988.

Since the line's inception, Dark Horse has published a total of 71 different Aliens stories, as well as various collected editions, reprints and non-canon crossover comics that introduce the titular Alien species to other franchises. Of the four Dark Horse comic book lines set in the Alien vs. Predator universe, the Aliens line is by far the most extensive (and the longest-running).

Publication History

Preceding comics

Dark Horse Comics' Aliens line was preceded by Alien: The Illustrated Story in 1979, a graphic novel adaptation of Alien, the first film in the franchise. In fact, Alien: The Illustrated Story not only pre-dates Dark Horse's Aliens line, it pre-dates the existence of the company itself. As Dark Horse had no involvement with this comic (and do not hold the rights to it), it is not considered a part of the company's Aliens line and has never been collected in any form with the later Dark Horse releases.

Origins and development

According to the company's editors, Dark Horse decided early on to that their Aliens comic book line would consist of a series of miniseries, one-shots and short stories, rather than a continuing unlimited series, in order to allow for new creative blood and the freedom to change creative direction, to avoid the need for filler issues or creative staleness, and to accommodate possible/inevitable scheduling delays between series.

The line began in 1988 as an immediate continuation of the story after James Cameron's Aliens; the first two comic series (originally titled simply Aliens, later retitled Aliens: Book One and Aliens: Book Two in collected form) featured the characters of Corporal (now promoted to Sergeant) Hicks and Newt as their main protagonists, while the third, Aliens: Earth War, additionally reintroduced Alien-franchise heroine Ellen Ripley. However, following the release of the film Alien3 in 1992, which saw Hicks, Newt and Ripley all perish on Fiorina "Fury" 161, Dark Horse edited the initial Aliens comics in order to keep the events and stories within relevant to the Alien universe. To this end, the names and identities of its key characters were changed — Hicks became Wilks, Newt became Billie and Ripley became a synthetic version of herself. The stories were also retitled in reprint editions to their current names: Aliens: Outbreak, Aliens: Nightmare Asylum and Aliens: Female War.

These first three series formed a continuous story arc, concerning a Xenomorph infestation overrunning Earth and the later reclaiming of the planet for humanity, with each series picking up where the preceding story left off. This style would prove to be somewhat unconventional in the Aliens comics line; the vast majority of subsequent titles have been stand-alone, self-contained tales. Following the original trilogy, the comics also moved away from their reliance on existing individuals from the films and, starting with the fourth miniseries (Aliens: Genocide), began to focus on original characters and events in the Aliens universe. Despite this, the infestation of Earth and its effects would continue to play a prominent or background role in numerous subsequent Aliens comics. Stories featured work from top names in the comic book industry and incorporated a wide variety of artistic styles, from black and white, to painted airbrush, to typical comic book-style illustration.

Expansion

1992 saw Dark Horse attempt to expand its Aliens comic book franchise to new markets. The company produced a series of mini-comics under the Aliens: Space Marines moniker intended for younger readers; these titles were packaged exclusively with a line of Aliens toys from Kenner Products. The comics, more light-hearted and child-friendly in tone than the mainstream Aliens stories, are not considered an official part of its overall universe and have generally been met with ridicule from long-time fans for their immature style. The same year, Dark Horse also expanded its Aliens line to the United Kingdom in the form of a revamped Aliens magazine, which the company had taken over from previous publisher Trident Comics. While the venture initially met with great success, the global slump in comics sales during the mid-1990s saw the magazine cancelled two years later.

The Aliens comics line would reach its peak in 1993, with no less than eleven different Aliens series or stories published that year. In 1996, Dark Horse began a major "remastered" reprint program of some of the most important series in the line, under the Aliens Library Edition moniker.

Hiatus and relaunch

Aliens comics ran regularly until 1999's Aliens: Xenogenesis, when the line (along with Dark Horse's Predator and Aliens vs. Predator lines) entered a deliberate ten-year hiatus. During this break, the only Aliens comics published were Omnibus collections of the existing comic books.

The break in Aliens comics finally came to an end in 2009, when Dark Horse relaunched the line with a new limited series titled Aliens: More Than Human. Beginning in January 2013, Dark Horse began issuing its back catalogue of Aliens comics — starting with the original series, Aliens: Outbreak — as digital downloads via its subsidiary Dark Horse Digital. More recent titles in the line have been published simultaneously in both physical and digital formats.

Common Themes

Aliens comics stories are usually set in the same late-22nd century future as the first three movies of the Alien film series and often feature the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (or a comparable interplanetary corporate entity) and the United States Colonial Marine Corps, as seen in the Alien films. Other themes common to the series include a continued exploration of the future of human civilization, space colonization and mining, horror stories, and the continued experimentation on the Xenomorph species by rogue scientists. Corporate greed, the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition and a struggle for survival are usually involved. The stories are often used to explore new characters and other aspects of the Xenomorph species, such as their sociology and biology.

Despite the typical future setting, some stories have been set in other time periods, depicting Xenomorph outbreaks at different points in human history.

Aliens Comics

Aliens: Space Marines comics

See also: Aliens: Space Marines

Omnibus editions

See also: Omnibus

Crossover comics

See also: Crossover comics line

Novel Adaptations

Several of the comics in the Aliens line have been adapted into novels:

Non-Dark Horse Comics

As well as the numerous comics published by Dark Horse, a small number of Alien comics have also been released by other publishers. As Dark Horse had no involvement with these comics, they are not considered a part of the company's Aliens line and have never been collected in any form with the Dark Horse releases.

Cancelled Comics

At least two Aliens comics were planned and possibly partially completed but remain unreleased.

  • Aliens: Matrix
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation/Aliens: Acceptable Losses

External Links

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