Loving The Alien

A whole new universe prepares to scream silently as the Alien franchise finds a new home and bursts into Marvel Comics

- Alien

AFTER OVER THREE decades at Dark Horse, Alien is invading Marvel Comics next month. Written by Philip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Salvador Larocca, the new monthly title represents an all-new starting point for readers old and new.

“For the many fans of the Dark Horse books, I don’t think our series expressly contradicts anything in those, but it also doesn’t build upon them, as it relies exclusively on the films – and in particular the first two films,” Johnson tells Red Alert. “Anyone who has seen either Alien or Aliens will have plenty of familiar elements to latch onto in our series, but even if we get some readers who have never seen an Alien film, it should be a good place to jump on. If we convince some readers to watch those movies either to get ready for our book or immediately after reading it, I’ll be thrilled about that.”

As its singular title indicates, Kennedy has mostly drawn on Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 original in addition to James Cameron’s equally iconic 1986 follow-up rather than any of the subsequent sequels and prequels. “Even though our upcoming story is inspired by Aliens, it owes just as much to the first film, so Alien felt like the truer title,” adds Johnson. “Well-read or observant fans of the