Comics

[Comic Book Review] “Aliens: Fire & Stone” #1 Is Breathless Carnage!

Published

10 years ago

September 24, 2014

As expected, “Aliens: Fire and Stone” #1, details the events of the Hadley’s Hope, a colony on LV-426, and the events that led to the discovery of the ship on LV-223 in the first issue of “Prometheus: Fire and Stone”. This type of segmented storytelling gives the entire event an enormous scope and weight. Because of the alternating release schedule of the books, each issue will almost certainly deliver a deeper understanding of both books (if not all four) and finally put these franchises in the cohesive universe they ought to be in. It is unlike any event I’ve read before, and I’m loving every second of it.

WRITTEN BY: Chris Roberson
ART BY: Patric Reynolds
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: September 24, 2014

Reviewed By Eric Switzer

When “Prometheus: FIre and Stone” #1 was released, I praised it for being tonally consistent with the film and reading almost like a sequel. “Alien: Fire and Stone”, however, isn’t afforded the same quality because the “Alien” franchise has so much more to draw from and compare to than the singular “Prometheus” film, this is an inherently different book. Instead what “Alien: Fire and Stone” has going for it is a carnage-tastic opening scene and a pace that will have you holding your breath from beginning to end, not to mention some of the coolest panel compositions I’ve seen this year.

This issue doesn’t do exactly what I expected, and I like that. “Prometheus” #1 sets us up to follow the story of the fall of Hadley’s Hope, a tragedy that ends with the escape ship reaching LV-223. Instead we see Hadley’s Hope fall in the first few pages and the escape ship reach LV-223 by midpoint in the book. By keeping the events in both “Aliens” and “Prometheus” in the same setting I think we are going to see a lot of really cool interconnection between the books, more so than I expected.

Where this book falls short of “Prometheus” #1 is in the execution. Unlike “Prometheus”, this book starts amidst a crisis and characters are introduced haphazardly and without the kind of development we saw in “Prometheus”. Secondly, I hate to say it because so much of the art in this book is so damn cool, but I found myself having to flip back more than once and reexamine a previous pages to figure out what was going on. It is unfortunately distracting and the book loses a little bit of momentum when the action is muddled and I have to really study the panels to follow it.

Neither of these complaints are enough to turn me away from such an exciting event and I can encourage you enough to pick up both “Aliens” and “Prometheus” right now. Up next is Joshua Williamson with “Predator” #1. He has been killing it on BOOM!’s “Robocop” and I can’t wait to see his take on Predator.

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Epic Switzer AKA Eric is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.

Zac Thompson

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

6 days ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.