Since Ridley Scott’s Alien debuted in theaters,  there have been comic book adaptations of the film. As the popularity of the movie increased and became a series of related franchise films spanning across decades,  the amount of comics associated to the property has increased exponentially. The sheer volume of material in the medium based on the concept could probably rival some b-list Marvel or DC characters at this point, and one thing that’s become abundantly clear is that Aliens works best in comics with  a highly expressive visual artist in a singular style. That’s  not an accident, it’s ingrained in the original films DNA from the design work of Moebius and HR Giger. This is apparent in the original adaptation by Walt Simonson in Heavy Metal, through some of the early Dark Horse series with Mike Mignola & Sam Kieth, up to the more recent Predator: Fire & Stone or Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens by Chris Mooneyham. The upcoming debut of Aliens Dead Orbit, created in totality by one of comics best current artist James Stokoe, continues on that trajectory with one of the mediums best adaptations of the material in years. The first issue exemplifies the creators mastery of craft with his singular imaginative vision, while standing out for the way it utilizes the framework of the horror genre that the films are based in.  Continue reading Review of Aliens Dead Orbit #1 →