Comic Book Review - Alien #9

Rob reviews Alien #9...

It's been a couple of issues since I last sat down to review Philip Kennedy Johnson's Alien series. Since the last review, we've seen the ending to Gabe Cruz' nightmare on-board the Epsilon Research Station and discovered more information about the ever-present Xenomorph. 

Now heading into its second story arc, Johnson takes us away from Earth and into the far reaches of space as we join the nightmare unfolding around the moon colony of Euridice. However, rather than a group of hardened Colonial Marines, Johnson centres this story around a techno-repressed religious group known as "Spinners". While this second story arc is far better than our first outing, it is still not an overly brilliant Alien story. What we do have is a somewhat original idea that seems to parody both Alien³ and the original Alien Vs Predator narrative.

The colonists of Euridice aren't a die-hard bunch of Marines - they're ordinary people. These average Joe's have escaped from Earth to place their stamp in the universe. The people who call those places home have forgiven modern technology to lead a more peaceful life. Instead of towering atmosphere processors, prefab buildings, and vehicles, the colonists have old frontier-style wooden houses, farms, and fields of crops. 

Jane - the colonies leader - is the only person who has any combat experience. She's a strong-willed character who's looking out for the people under her charge. Yet truly, she's hiding a pretty important secret - one which is slowly making its way to the surface. 

So previously on Alien...a routine resupply mission goes drastically wrong which results in the U.A.S Heraclides crashing onto the planet. As the colonists scramble to rescue the crew, Jane comes across a lone survivor who in typical Alien fashion - soon suffers a bloody death. Retreating to town the civilians look towards their religion for guidance whilst Jane who's spurred on by what she's witnessed wants everyone to leave. As the civilian population gets picked off by the Xenomorph, Jane breaks into Ambrose's dwellings and uncovers a sinister betrayal.

Alien #9 soon reveals that Ambrose happens to be a Synthetic who's been secretly working for Wayland-Yutani the entire time. Due to the colony becoming self-sufficient and no longer needing to rely on the 'company', WY deliberately planted a Xenomorph on the Heraclides to then unleash upon the unsuspecting population. Things take a dramatic turn as Ambrose berates Jane about her secret illness and that she's far sicker than she let's own. The Synthetic then subdues Jane long enough for a Facehugger to attach itself to her. 

The rest of the issue deals with this fallout. Leo soon comes to Jane's aid and channels his inner 'Parker' to smash Ambrose to bits. Meanwhile, the Facehugger detaches itself from Jane as her mystery illness makes her unsuitable as a host. The duo then heads to the towns church to spill the beans about Ambrose's betrayal and the hellish plans of Wayland-Yutani. 

From the start, the whole Alien series has been a bit hit and miss. Whereas Johnson's script has gone from a bloat of fan service to now its own thing, it's all hampered by Larroca's very stiff artwork. The Xenomorph is a prime example of this. Nearly every scene that features the titular bad guy has a roughness to it. One particular scene is the issues first page. Larroca draws two Xenomorphs chasing a human through a field (see above). But his choice of angle paints the Xenomorph as anything but what it's meant to be - a perfect killing machine. It's a shame as the script does make for a compelling story - even with its comparisons to other Alien narratives. 

What I mean by this is the similarity between Jane and her colony to that of Machiko Noguchi and Ryushi. Both Jane and Machiko share a lot in common such as their relatively unknown past, their strong determination, and the fact that both don't blindly walk into hostile situations. Euridice and Ryushi are also similar locations. Both are recently colonised worlds, and while Ryushi relies on some technology it's as much as a Wild West shanty town as Euridice is a homestead. 

Despite these similarities, I'm all for finding out what's going to happen next. While Johnson utilises the often clichéd tropes of the Alien franchise, his script is slowly leaning away from these to a more original take. Alien isn't a compelling read...yet! But if Johnson can move away from both the films and Dark Horse's already bloated narrative, then we might just have a hit on our hands! 

And please for the next arc change artist! 

Rating 5/10

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