Aliens vs. Predator: Xenogenesis, also known as Aliens vs. Predator: Genocide, is a four-issue limited comic book series that was first published by Dark Horse Comics from December 1999-March 2000. It was written by Andi Watson, pencilled by Mel Rubi and Ben Herrera, inked by Mark Lipka, Norman Lee, Christopher Ivy and Mike Perkins, colored by David Stewart and Studio F, lettered by Pat Brosseau and Steve Dutro, and edited by Philip Amara, Mike Hansen and Adam Gallardo, with cover art by Hugues Labiano.
Aliens vs. Predator: Xenogenesis formed the Aliens vs. Predator component of Dark Horse's franchise-crossing Xenogenesis event in 1999, and was released in conjunction with Aliens: Xenogenesis and Predator: Xenogenesis. The three loosely interconnected stories all share a similar new art and storytelling style that was a departure from the those typically found in the series until then.
The conclusion of Xenogenesis also marked the beginning of a ten-year hiatus in the regular publication of new Aliens vs. Predator comics. During this time, the only original comics to be released would be a handful of movie tie-in issues. Aliens vs. Predator: Xenogenesis was preceded by Aliens vs. Predator: The Web, and was followed by the Alien vs. Predator: Thrill of the Hunt.
Publisher's Summary[]
#1: A girl named Charley is doing time on a prison colony. Her boyfriend Elliot has a step-mom in The Company who's willing to get Charley out of stir... for a price. All Charley and Elliott have to do is pull a heist at a rival company's research complex. Simple, until a certain dreadlocked hunter from space frees the research. And you get just one guess as to what that "research" is.
#2: Charley and Elliott located the deadly "research" being conducted by a rival to The Company, and now they're trapped inside the complex! When a Predator comes to free and hunt this captive Alien, Charley and Elliott might have a ticket out of this mess... if they're not casualties of the crossfire.
#3: It's all just one big mess! Charley and Elliott survive an attack by Aliens and reach the safe containing the prized Alien eggs. Too bad someone or something got to it first! Problem is, Charley and Elliott's employer won't give them the security codes to get out of the complex until they've completed their mission. What's worse? A particularly creative Predator has turned the entire complex into a hunter's maze!
#4: With Aliens overrunning the secret complex, the remaining people trapped inside are in the middle of a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the creatures and the ultimate hunter the Predator! And Charley and Elliot are in the most dangerous predicament of all even if they survive the Aliens, they've been chosen as the Predators' new prey! What began as a simple mission of corporate piracy has turned into a horrific battle for survival!
Reprint History[]
The comic was collected as part of Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus: Volume 2, under the new title Aliens vs. Predator: Genocide, in October 2007.
The comic was released digitally through Dark Horse Digital, under its original title Aliens vs. Predator: Xenogenesis, on May 29, 2013, reusing Hugues Labiano's cover art from issue 3.
Behind the Scenes[]
Marking a drastic departure from the traditional style of the Aliens, Predator and Aliens vs. Predator comics previously produced by Dark Horse, the Xenogenesis event was heralded by the company as the beginning of "the future of Aliens" comics. Instead, the stories were so poorly received they led to the almost complete cessation of the three lines for an entire decade. The Xenogenesis stories are mostly panned by fans as contradicting previous material and for being written/drawn in a "comic-booky" style completely inconsistent with the spirit of the rest of Dark Horse's historic material for the lines.
Despite its relatively short run of only four issues, Aliens vs. Predator: Xenogenesis underwent a number of staff changes during production, the end result being that no two issues had the same creative team behind it.
Due to a number of internal references, it is hard to place exactly what time period the Xenogenesis stories occur in with regard to the existing Alien films or comics series, though it is clearly the Earth's future.
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