My love for you is like a truck...wait, I still know I've done that before.

Probably? Or close enough! Just enough time for another quick Aliens comic: from 1995, Aliens: Berserker #4, written by John Wagner, pencils by Paul Mendoza, inks by Andy Mushynsky.

This was the conclusion of a mini-series, and as was traditional, not everybody makes it out: with some of his friends captured, and the battlesuit's pilot used up, young Ellis is forced to get in his mech to save them. Or, at least one of them: still, good effort. The suit isn't strictly mechanical, though: there's a painful looking interface to his skull, and I think it's shooting him full of fake adrenaline and such. While Ellis seems to take to the job, he and the rest of his "Berserker" crew are betrayed by their C.O, "Pops," who takes the Company line, but does insist on saving the one girl, Lara, for himself. Lara doesn't want anything to do with Pops, even when he pops open a mini-fridge for champagne--and gets a facehugger launched at him! (A page I knew I had seen before, on Sleestak's Aliens vs. Archie!)

Jess, Lara, and Ellis manage to escape before Pops's "failsafe" goes off; although Ellis looks pretty fried. The trio would go on to another mini, Aliens vs. Predator: War, which featured some other returning characters as well. Ugh, I think I just remembered the battlesuit or whatever from 2018's the Predator, a movie like Aliens: Covenant, that was so bad it's almost completely fallen out of my head. (I found Prometheus for a couple bucks at the pawn shop, so I was able to watch that with the Youngest; I still think it's interesting but not great. Then we watched a bunch of bonus features/deleted scenes/really pretentious footage that just makes it seem like a monster movie with a swelled head.) Read more!

This new film probably won't have an Alien smoking a stogie, but I can't write it off completely.

(sigh) I'll be honest, this week has kind of gotten away from me; but I maybe might go see Alien: Romulus, despite the fact that Alien: Covenant a few years back burned me like an acid facial. (The only positive thing I remember about Covenant is that it continues a franchise tradition: namely, killing off characters off-screen between movies.)

Romulus is from the director of the 2013 Evil Dead, and is supposed to be practical effects, or at least not all CGI? That raises my expectations a bit, and I was interested in seeing it in a full theatre, with a jumpy crowd, to goose things a bit more. I may or may not--my Oldest son and my dad both had COVID recently, so maybe now's not the time. Also, I realized I had three of the Alien movies on Blu-Ray, because there used to be more promos for, like, buy this disc, and get a movie ticket to something. My Youngest pointed out, COVID might have killed that, though. He's just watched Alien and Aliens, and I think he enjoyed the copious behind-the-scenes footage in the latter as much as the films themselves. (Aliens I did not have on Blu-Ray, but a relatively recent DVD, that was bought used from Blockbuster or somewhere; and had a ton of deleted/unused scenes folded back in. I swear that movie gets longer every couple of years; like they were still filming for it.)

Anyway, since this is a blog about comics, right? From 1994, Aliens: Stronghold #3, written by John Arcudi, pencils by Doug Mahnke, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti. As often the case around here, we're coming in at the middle, as Dr. Strunk and Phil are saved from facehuggers by the synthetic-xenomorph Jeri. Strunk seemed to doubt Jeri's good nature, but while other synthetics might have been reprogrammed by the scheming Dr. Nordling, Jeri was incapable of allowing a human to be harmed. For his part, Nordling double-crosses his buyers with poisoned cigars, although Jeri ends up with one of them, since seeing him smoking was always good for a laugh. Nordling also sics the golden mechlike synth Dean on Jeri, although Dean lets him up when it realizes Jeri wasn't a real alien. But the heroes weren't out of the woods yet...

Darn it, I think I spent a solid five minutes rifling through the longboxes of recently purchased stuff, looking for a random Alien book; but I think I also had a beat-up copy of Aliens: Sacrifice right handy, too. Eh, this one's more fun. Read more!

It's kind of less "versus" than "babysits" this time around...

I usually read the first Batman vs. Predator maybe once a year, but I hadn't gotten to this one: from 2007, Superman and Batman versus Aliens and Predator, written by Mark Schultz, art by Ariel Olivetti. 

By this point, I think there had been three BvsP series, Superman vs. Predator, both of them separately versus Aliens, and a JLA vs. Predator; so Supes and Bats are kind of "ugh, these guys." A volcano in the Andes is about to blow, but it's also secretly the home to a tribe of Predators that had crashed on earth during the ice age, and hating cold they set up shop in the volcano. These Preds are kind of throwbacks: while they still have the ship and the weapons, they do not appear to have completely fetishized the ritual of hunting like the other ones we've seen. Don't read too much into their anthropology, though, the Preds still had an Alien hive, for weekend hunting or whatever. Maybe they were milking them, I don't know. 

With a paranoid government agency throwing a fit about it, Supes and Bats (and Lois, who is delightfully chill with her husband's weird work friend) get the Predators and the Aliens into the Fortress of Solitude, so they can get them on their way back home. Somewhat predictably, none of them co-operate in the slightest. Batman may have lost a bit of patience here: he tells Supes at one point, he's sworn never to take a human life. He may be snarking a little, but that may be a dick thing to say to Superman with his wife right there. Superman, who claims to have maybe lost a step a couple times here, is largely on top of things; freezing the xenomorph eggs for transport: he doesn't like them, but feels they must play a part in the grand scheme of the universe. Or something. I respectfully disagree; but they get the job done. And with Ariel Olivetti art, it's a pretty book: I got it on a buy one/get one deal, I wonder what the other book was...

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We're ever so slightly ahead of schedule here lately, so why not burn a day checking out some of the stuff I've picked up recently? First up: Toys R Us had a sale going on the DC Multiverse Wonder Woman figures, bringing them down to about $13 each. Somewhat disappointingly, the two Wonder Woman figures are the worst of the lot! The hooded WW with the winter fur wrap isn't removable, and I'm sure there's a plain version coming later. As for the Diana figure, Action Figure Barbecue had a review that pointed something out that you won't be able to unsee: she's sculpted wearing open-toed shoes...and her toes are an unpainted, shoe-shaped mass.

Huh, I just pictured Quentin Tarentino vomiting in terror. Weird. Anyway, I'm not sure there's a graceful way to fix that at this scale and price point, but that could bother some more than others. Hippolyta and Steve came out nice, and buy the lot of them and you get the "Collect & Connect" Ares, who is pretty sweet. Huh, just realized Ares gets bare feet, so it is doable, maybe? Overall, not quite Marvel Legends good, but you could get Ares way cheaper than the usual build-a-figure.

Also from Toys R Us: their exclusive Marvel Legends Groot! While not 100% necessary if you have the old build-a-figure, the pack-in baby Groot and potted Groot are fun. I thought I had got him for a couple bucks off as well, but he was about regular ML price.

This next one might be a hair more difficult to pick up: DC Icons Static figure. He had been downgraded a bit, from a more deluxe boxed figure (like their recent Batgirl with motorcycle) to a more standard edition; which meant losing a couple accessories: I think he was originally going to have some lightning effects, alternate hand or two, and a cloth coat. The downgrade should mean a lower price point, so watch that when you shop for him. Still, he does get an alternate head--although I don't think I'll have him without the 'X' hat--and a manhole cover and lightning for him to ride around on. Which would be cool, except the peg on the manhole is too small to keep him securely on there. That's annoying, but the sculpt and paint looks sharp, and it's a character I've wanted a figure of for about ever. And I had an old coat for him from a Marvel Legends Gambit!

Meanwhile, I'm waiting on a box from eBay; which is not coming any faster no matter how many times I refresh the tracking. I'll take a picture when I get it.

A couple months ago, I bought the Wolverine on Blu-Ray, to get a free ticket to Logan. I'm a pretty easy mark for that kind of promotion, it's like getting a free DVD for a movie I was probably going to see anyway. A couple years ago, I got Alien on Blu-Ray to get a ticket for Prometheus; so this week I bought Alien: Resurrection for a ticket to Alien: Covenant. I probably won't be able to go for a week or two, but I haven't seen Resurrection for a few years, either. The back of the case mentions a 2003 special edition; maybe that fixes some of the problems from the original. Couldn't hurt.

God, what CD did I have this on? Some compilation, somewhere...Chris Cornell's death is rough, man. Right now, it looks like suicide; and I just want to put this up here: Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-8255. There are hard times, but there are reasons to hold on, too. Take care of yourselves.
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I dropped the ball on this one, but no one called me on it in the last four years: we were looking at some of the continuity in Dark Horse's Aliens comics, specifically the return of Ellen Ripley at the end of Nightmare Asylum. I didn't think , or at least wasn't sure, that it was followed up on; turns out it totally was! In 1990's Aliens: Earth War, written by Mark Verheiden, art by Sam Kieth. (With covers by John Bolton.)

Continuity-wise, so far everything has sprung off of Aliens, since Alien 3 was still a couple years out. Hicks and Newt--still Hicks and Newt here, in the original issues, not Wilks and Billie--hadn't seen Ripley in years. They had gone into coldsleep at the end of Aliens, but Ripley was gone when they woke up, and here we see where she went: a second, government ship had been sent to follow-up on LV-426 Acheron. Ripley was intercepted and forced to go back on a "scientific expedition." For good measure, she gets to watch helmet-cam footage of Kane from Alien, in case she was working through any of her survivor's guilt; but she goes along to protect Hicks and Newt.

Somewhat predictably, the second expedition doesn't go any better than the first, but is over right away. Based on the distress call from the derelict ship on LV-426, Ripley discovers the aliens aren't just spreading "like some horrible cancers," they were trying to get back to a Queen Mother. "Why," isn't especially clear; but the aliens were still somewhat mysterious in that fashion. It had been implied that they had some level of telepathy, which also helped make a mess of earth: the planet was infested with aliens, but a lot of people had also lost their minds to the aliens' influence. (To mix a couple genre metaphors, think failing a sanity check as in Call of Cthulhu and going full Renfield.)

Escaping with some soldiers, Ripley had been working on a plan to capture the Queen Mother, take her to earth, and blow them both up. Ripley believes the QM and her drones would both be vulnerable then, and had little reason to care about what happened to earth anyway: the corporation and/or government had betrayed her multiple times already, and referencing a scene deleted from the original theatrical release of Aliens, Ripley's daughter had grown up and died of old age while she had been lost after the first movie.

Events are complicated by broadcasts from earth of a little girl struggling to survive, that reminds Newt of herself; and the terraforming of earth by a third party...This was Dark Horse's maybe fourth or fifth Aliens mini-series, and each had built off the last, but this does feel a little crammed. The continuity would be adjusted a bit afterwards: I think this was the last with Ripley, Hicks, and Newt; the next mini-series was Aliens: Genocide. This was also pretty early work from Sam Keith, who has done more Aliens work since.
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"Holowreck."

Ah, the traditional holodeck! Complete with traditional holodeck malfunction. Traditionally, the holodeck is about as safe as a trip to Jurassic Park--in fact, the only thing conceivably more unsafe would be a holodeck visit to Jurassic Park.

In cheerier news, the imagination rainbow Deadpool uses is from a Spongebob Squarepants series 3 blind-bagged Mega Bloks figure. Love it.


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"Miner 3049'er."

...did I ever play Miner 2049er? Not to the best of my knowledge. But I did end up with a couple extra Lego minifigure Space Miner guys for myself and the Youngest. Well, not really extra, I thought they were cool; even though in popular fiction "space miner" seems like a more hazardous occupation than Camp Crystal Lake swim coach.

The red spaceman in the background of the third panel is mine, from a gazillion years ago; still pulling some active duty with the Youngest.

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Aliens vs. Ninjas vs. Sound Engineers. Wait a second...

I picked this series up for a buck an issue, but I may have been thinking of another one when I did: from 1994, Aliens: Music of the Spears, written by Chet Williamson, pencils by Tim Hamilton, inks by Timothy Bradstreet.

The series opens with a team of ninjas attacking a secure corporate facility, in a curious act of industrial espionage, to harvest an Alien facehugger egg. It's part of a convoluted plan that leads back to frustrated musician Damon Eddington, who wants the sound of an Alien for his compositions. His employer at Synsound backs Damon's request for his own ulterior motives, namely getting back at a rival corporation's executive that stole his boss's mistress. Damon records every note he can, from the Alien embryo bursting from the chest of a deluded cultist, to the Alien stalking and killing the homeless victims fed to it; but he hasn't quite found the perfect sound yet, nor are the egg's former owners finished looking for it...

As mentioned on previous Aliens posts, this story is set further on in timeline than seen in the movies: by this point, while the Aliens (or Xenomorphs or whatever) are by no means domesticated, they are on occasion harvested for the Alien Queen's royal jelly, which has different effects depending on how it's processed, or the whims of the writer. This time, it's the people's drug of choice, apparently more common and easier to get than any other. The humans have also figured out that the Aliens aren't all one big happy hive, either: a harnessed warrior called "Ol' Blue" is pressed into service as a bloodhound, but hates any hive not his own.

Not my favorite Aliens story, but certainly not unreadable either, if you're a fan who's read a few. This series is very much about sound, though; and that may or may not work for you: I often think comics about music work about as well as, I don't know, songs about fuzziness or something. But again, if you've followed Aliens for a while...you probably can hear it, can't you?
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"Bug Hunt."

Man, I need a Predator figure...I splurged this weekend on the Jungle Extraction Dutch figure from NECA, and it's a right proper figure! Great articulation, paint, and sculpt; for about the same price as a Marvel Legend or DCUC figure--maybe cheaper! Absolutely worth picking up.

The bit about the animals on Rann being confused by bright colors, is from Grant Morrison's story in the DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space issue. I don't know if Rann has shown up in the New 52 yet, but I'm kind of worried it's filled with aliens and predators like, well, Aliens and Predators; as opposed to the weird charm it used to have.

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"Alienated."

I do believe NECA is putting out an update this year (check out Big Bad Toy Store for details!) but I found the old McFarlane Hicks Movie Maniacs figure at a yard sale. Two bucks with base, even! And of course Deadpool promptly stole his pulse rifle.

I put this strip together while what I believe is the most recent DVD release of Aliens was on in the background. Every couple of years, they seem to re-release that movie with somehow more footage every time, so it may be well over six hours long the next time it comes out.
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80-Page Thursday: Dark Horse Presents #17!

Another quick look at one you might still be able to find at your comic shop: Dark Horse Presents #17, with stories and art from Richard Corben, Carla Speed McNeil, Michael Avon Oeming, David Chelsea, and more.

McNeil's Finder is an odd chapter this time, with a reference to quadrotriticale that surprised me. Corben adapts Edgar Allan Poe's "The Sleeper," and Layman and Kieth's Aliens serial wraps up in probably the way you'd expect. Chelsea's "The Girl with the Keyhole Eyes" finishes as well, and while I still think it's a shaggy dog story, it's entertaining.

There are a couple done-in-one stories this issue as well: Oeming and Santos' "The Sacrifice" and another Mr. Monster story from Michael T. Gilbert. By the time I post this, some of these stories may have be solicited in single issues--I'm positive the Aliens one will be collected, for one.
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