Welcome back to the Marvel Rundown! This week, the crew at Stately Beat Manor (George Carmona 3rd, D. Morris, Beau Q., and Tim Rooney) take a look at the latest crossover between 20th Century Studios and Marvel Comics, Aliens vs. Avengers #1! In space no one can hear you spoil things but since this is a blog, there’s MILD SPOILERS. Check out one of our many recent enrapturing reviews if you’re feeling spoiler-averse.
What did you think of this week’s batch of fresh Marvel Comics, True Believers? The Beat wants to hear from you! Give us a shout-out, here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat, and let us know what you’re thinking.
The Beat: What did we think of this issue?
Tim Rooney: I have to say this issue was a big surprise for me for a whole host of reasons. 1: that it exists, 2: that it is as good as it was and 3: that it was compelling even for someone like me who must shamefully admit to never having seen any of the Alien films, and 4: the alternate future setting. It took me a while to warm to and understand this post-apocalyptic status quo, and I spent most of the issue expecting it to dovetail into a time travel story. I’m glad it didn’t, though, because Jonathan Hickman’s grim script combined with the moody, gothic art from Esad Ribić is unlike anything else on the stands right now. As a layman unfamiliar with Alien outside of larger cultural osmosis, I felt like it captured the mood of the original’s horror vibes. Am I off base?
D. Morris: Tim, I’m the wrong person to ask because I am a die hard fan of these movies and have written about the franchise elsewhere on The Beat. That said, I do think someone who knows the basic idea of those movies will get the idea pretty quickly. And as someone who loves those movies and has enjoyed a lot of the recent Avengers’ runs, I really liked this comic. Hickman nails the real monster of those movies (hint, it’s not the acid bleeding creatures). Ribić’s art which has always been pretty atmospheric surprised me here. It’s a pretty natural fit for an Alien comic. This comic, like Tim said, was a complete surprise in the best way.
George Carmona 3rd: I’m currently digging Marvel’s crossovers with the Predator franchise, first with Wolverine, and currently with the Black Panther, so to bring the Alien/xenomorphs into the Marvel Universe is the cosmic cherry on top of this otherworldly sundae. The crazy thing is I just reread their 2015 Secret Wars, and this was a delightful reunion as I love Ribić’s interpretation of Hickman’s vision.
Beau Q.: So, I’ve only seen 2017’s Alien: Covenant and 1989’s Leviathan [which Wikipedia and friends tell me is basically Alien], and if the basic premise is the same as the AvA Team presents here, I think it’s a consummate primer on the sci-fi horror classic for modern day Marvel fans…HOWEVER. I’m glad Tim brought this up, how do y’all feel about yet ANOTHER Marvel AU book where the Avengers are old and dying and they have to reunite, revitalize, and fight back against some greater evil? I’m shading Avengers: Twilight here.
TR: I didn’t think about Avengers: Twilight interestingly, but Hickman’s other big launch recently, Wolverine: Revenge, and even his work with Sanford Greene on Doom. From a publishing perspective, it’s interesting that Hickman’s recent big releases are clearly outside of continuity/in alternate realities. It’s not something we see out of Marvel very often— it seems like an attempt to appeal to readers outside of the weekly comic shop goers. It is more effective in this story than in Wolverine: Revenge, which doesn’t seem to be doing much storywise.
BQ: Oh yeah, Marvel seems to be bucking from DC’s approach to keep Tom King around by fielding Hickman with alternate universe work!
GC3: The nature of the xenomorphs is akin to the zombie/apocalypse genre, it was a smart move to make this an alternate universe story, having the Avengers be a more seasoned team feels like a way to bring the story closer to that of the Aliens franchise.
DM: Beau, I’m glad I’m not the person who brought up Leviathan, because I have a soft spot for that movie. And yes, it’s basically Alien and John Carpenter’s The Thing, but UNDERWATER. And like Tim, I also thought about Hickman in relation to Wolverine: Revenge, which I wasn’t as impressed with as well. Honestly, I completely forgot about Avengers: Twilight and I reviewed that book! I had concerns going into this book that I’m glad weren’t an issue here especially since Hickman was returning to Avengers. He clearly loves Alien, and even after writing one of the defining runs on the book, still has affection for the Avengers. I’m glad he found a way to really just go to town on this and do it in a way that worked for both concepts.
BQ: From a publishing perspective, the C.B. Cebulski Marvel era loading up on 90s nostalgia bait, 80s IP, and old folks AU books from decade-prior popular Marvel creators feels like they’re giving up on the teen demographic to focus on older readers. Really weird to see them approach the modern US comics market that way when DC is going for the teen and young adult readers with their DC Compact Comics initiative to WILD success. Welp. Let’s see it pay off. Then again, I say all this, but any Hickman/Ribić book sells like hotcakes, because it’s not everyday Ribić pumps out 41 pages of breathtaking work!
TR: I love how Ribić’s art is so grimy and dark. He’s great at the large scale epic feeling of guys like Alex Ross or George Pérez in his own way, but here he crafts a barren wasteland filled with hopeless, aging heroes. It’s a surprising change of pace, but plays just as much to his strengths at creating scale and drama. That feeling of smallness in the face of impossible odds that made his work with Jason Aaron on Thor is tapped into almost in reverse. There, Thor was a god who looked small against the God Butcher, but in a way that made his inevitable, mythological victory so satisfying. Here, the characters are tiny in shadowy, hollowed out labs and bunkers and desolate cityscapes. The colorist even leaves the heroes’ iconic colors dull and desaturated. It seems totally hopeless.
DM: I think with the Alien franchise that it’s really easy to associate these monsters with their creator, H.R. Giger, but I think Ribić gets to show off a side we don’t really get to see. I get that for a wider audience that it’s harder to go harder on the body horror, but I think he does horror fine here. There’s some effective nasty visuals in this issue. He does a lot of incredible sci-fi visuals here. The opening sequence where there’s scientists experimenting and the reveal of who the scientists are I think works really well. I didn’t think Ribić had a hard sci-fi bent to his art, but I loved being impressed by his work. It’s easy to forget that he and Hickman first worked together on Ultimates way back when, which had more of a sci-fi bent to it. Alien is about atmosphere and world building, which he shows off expertly here.
BQ: Having seen Ribić’s originals at one point, he gets so much of his signature look from graphite shading. It’s an incredibly delicate dance of light and balance, so to see it so consistently translated to the pages of an aesthetically dark, atmospheric IP like Alien, I am absolutely blown away by the pure compositional quality more so these fairly tame page layouts. Like, these layouts don’t excite, but in the narrative pace, Ribić really chose the best moments to make bigger or more vast than what most folks would normally go for! Also, I don’t think this can be replicated, so I’d love to gain insight to the collaborative process here with colorist, Ive Svorcina, because his ability to bring Ribić’s graphite illustrations to life is outstanding. I particularly loved his complicated, multilayered gradients that challenge the reader to endure a complex, post-apocalyptic world, but also aesthetically appealing, so as not to be so drab and devout of life. Svorcina is making sure there’s a sliver of hope out there and I think that’s really dope!
GC3: I agree with everything about Ribić’s art. His ability to make naturalistic superheroes is unparalleled. Val and Captain Marvel look like old women who just happen to be heroes, and when he needs to roid out with the Hulk, it’s something that makes visual sense. Mix that with Svorcina’s choices with the color palette to set tones or create space on the page and you’ve got a stunning book.
The Beat: Even though it’s a mini-series, what do we think about this book going forward?
DM: Since two of you are Alien novices, I’m really curious about your takes on this series. Because BOY do I have some thoughts.
TR: I am excited to read what comes next. The way Hickman and Ribić have set up this first issue leaves whatever comes next completely unpredictable. The air of paranoia set up here permeates every page and is unsettlingly in a great way. I am intrigued how he might play with the symbiotes and surely the knockoff xenomorphs, the Brood, will show up right?
BQ: So 1979’s Alien ends with, what, Sigourney Weaver routing the infestation on her union-worker space colony…but one gets away, right? That’s a BIG GUESS. But here, I’m assuming Hickman/Ribić go for a complete and total route of xenomorphs given the Valeria monologue. Given the ending, one has to assume that Venom will get involved, so I’m eager to see the faceoff of a Xenomorph Queen and Venom, mostly because letterer, VC’s Cory Petit, mirrored the symbiote speak for the xenomorphs– with the classic black balloon and white stroke that’s a little more difficult for visually impaired readers to access! So…I’m excited to see a double page splash of SKREEE, maybe a XenoHulk, and if/how Danvers’ significant threat will play out here! Exciting, exciting!
DM: If Hickman somehow ties the Brood into the xenomorphs, I know one person who will be very, very happy. The opening pages of this story with the androids implanting xenomorphs in various Marvel aliens got me really excited. Hickman wants to play with the idea of Marvel alien species as xenomorphs and I love that. If you know anything about the biology of xenomorphs, the idea of a Skrull xenomorph is absolutely terrifying. And for anyone unaware, I believe in this opening issue Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers meet in a Weyland-Yutani building, the evil company from the franchise, which sets up even more interesting possibilities.
TR: Hickman and Tini Howard reinvented and made me love Apocalypse in a way I never had before. I absolutely need to see him show up again. Maybe as some desecrated, superpowered husk? So many horrible possibilities.
GC3: The Marvel and Alien easter eggs are something I would expect from Hickman. I loved his return to Krakoa with Apocalypse being the last mutant standing. Starting the book off with a nod to the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda run by Ta-Nehisi Coates sets a great starting point for new readers and fans when Panther chops the head off of the fake Shi’ar scientists. That milky blood gives them away every time. In general, knowing that the biggest threat isn’t the aliens, but the greedy humans that keep trying to weaponize them, I’m curious to see how they wrap this up. I’m also waiting for someone to say “game over, man!”
BQ: Oh! I loved that Apocalypse appearance– feels like a classy reference to any number of famous last stands; namely Zhang Fei’s Battle of Changban where he cuts the ambushing forces off at a bridge and asks for death! SPOILER: he don’t die there.
DM: I really love that Hickman’s concept behind this series appears to be “horrible possibilities”.
The Beat: So what’s our final verdict on this issue?
TR: Honestly, the only reason not to BUY this issue is if you want to wait for what I am sure will be a beautiful hardcover collection. This is great stuff.
BQ: It ain’t get better than this. BUY.
DM: This is a very, very, very strong BUY from me. Every page left a giddy smile on my face. Now I need to read the Predator vs. Wolverine series.
GC3: When I did a quick read of this, I knew we had to talk about it, because Hickman is in his bag right now. F’ing BUY.
Next Week: Exceptional X-Men #1, more Venom War, Kid Venom, more, and What If…? Donald Duck Became Thor!! ‘NUFF SAID!
