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Aliens, Comic Reviews

ALiENS #13: WE JUST GOT OUR ASSES KiCKED

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Back in the early 90s Dark Horse US published a monthly Aliens comic depicting the Earth War starring the Hicks and Newt characters from the second movie. Of course, after Alien³ this was no longer canon but the company’s UK branch was about to start publishing sequel stories anyway. I don’t know if volume one of the comic under previous publisher Trident covered the war but no spoilers please, I’ll read them eventually for the blog.

The UK exclusive strip Crusade picks up after the war but very little background is given to us. Editor Cefn Ridout seems to assume everyone knows about it already. A recap would’ve made all the difference, especially as sales were climbing with new readers coming on board. “As if the opening of London’s own Alien War in August weren’t enough” for Aliens fans? Ah the 90s, when our comics seemed to forget there were readers outside England. The editorial above shows you all the credits for the issue and then we’re launched into 12 pages of Crusade.

It’s fair to say first impressions aren’t great. Coming as it does after Paul Johnson’s artwork last issue and Chris Halls’ cover may be unfair to artist Christian Gorny (Heavy Metal, Haarmaan, Narcangel) whose work in other titles is acclaimed. Mike Cook’s (2000AD, The Real Robin Hood, Dead Meat) story doesn’t get off to a great start either. It’s confusing (not helped by the comic’s lack of background to the war) with dialogue that ’s trying too hard to make it seem conversational between friends, which has the opposite effect and comes across stilted and broken, although Woodrow Pheonix’s (Sonic the Comic, Manga Mania, Dracula) lettering does give it a nice journal feel at times.

From what I can gather London was spared from the alien infestation and the reason remains a mystery. The city is desolate, cut off from the rest of the world and inhabited by Mad Max-like tribes. Elsewhere, Colonial Marines are sent down from orbit to alien hotspots for quick hit-and-run raids. One of their recon teams has gone missing over London, which resides in a country they describe as an “A-grade shithole” that was mainly used for toxic waste before the war.

I say “from what I can gather” because it’s difficult to follow. I couldn’t tell you the name of one individual, there are no main characters standing out and their interactions all feel forced. No one feels remotely real. Instead, they’re just plot points to move things along. It doesn’t help that a lot of the time characters are seen from behind or from strange angles so you’ve no idea who’s talking anyway.

At times the art looks unfinished, such as the second two examples above. At times an interesting scenario tries to squeeze itself in, such as the fact the recon team were shot down by powerful weaponry, something the tribes simply don’t have and the aliens obviously have no need for. So there’s a mystery in there to be solved but I just don’t know if I care enough. Then it just stops. No cliffhanger, it just stops. This strip was made for this comic, it’s not like it was an American strip unceremoniously snipped in half, so there’s no excuse.

There’s still potential in this post-Earth War storyline but so far Crusade isn’t living up to it. This is harsh, I know. I pride myself on positivity on this blog and I’ve loved Aliens so far. Even the worst strips (I’m looking at you, Hive) had moments of redemption but there are none to be found here. Well, except for a moment when a sound effect seemed to indicate the TARDIS was arriving!

On to the Motion Tracker and on the first page of this month’s news we can see the early days of UK Aliens and sci-fi cons, complete with promises of star guests that they simply couldn’t fulfil, expensive tickets and low turnout. I remember those days here in Belfast after Doctor Who returned over a decade later. There’s also a column about toys which always confused me when it came to ’18’-cert films. Collectibles I can understand, but Aliens, RoboCop and Terminator all had children’s toys produced (this was before the days of the RoboCop TV series or cartoon).

What irks me is how there was less of a demand for the female characters among the mainly male buyers. Even for the Alien films?! Films rooted in their lead female characters and themes? I may be a man but geez, men can be such [censored]. On the other news page the comic has the audacity to run a competition with one question in this comic, a second question in Star Wars and the answer in Total Carnage! I wonder if anyone actually entered?

Our eight pages of Colonial Marines finally sees some alien action for our main characters as Lt. Henry and his marines enter the sun gun complex and are immediately at a disadvantage when acid dripping down from a dead alien body above melts through some of their protective suits, forcing them to strip and adding finding new ones to their plans. Henry is convinced this is a hive and thus they can’t waste time retreating to retrieve more from their ship.

This chapter is all about their slow infiltration, building tension as they inch their way inside, now knowing the xenomorphs are behind the loss of communication and instantly putting pressure on each individual member of the team. This is unfortunately undone somewhat when the motion sensor picks up movement and it ends up being a human survivor hiding in a vent. Sound familiar? There’s nothing original here but for the most part it’s executed brilliantly.

As you can see the chapter ends with Vasquez freezing on the spot after all of her previous bravado, showing she’s a different character than her sister in the film. Although, at one stage someone does ask if she’s looking forward to delivering payback for what the aliens did. But how does she know they killed her sister? Ripley, Hicks and Newt were the only survivors. Two of them died before waking up and the third not long after! And it’s not like the company would’ve let on. An oversight perhaps on the part of writer Chris Warner but nothing that spoils this enjoyable little tale.

On to more information about those aforementioned toys with a full-page advert (albeit black and white with poorly reproduced photographs) for Forbidden Planet. Again, these aren’t the kinds of collective figures you can buy today, they are actual toys. Some even sound like the kind featured in The Real Ghostbusters range also by Kenner, with Bishop having a rotating gatling gun, Hicks a mechanical arm for some reason and the A.T.A.X. is a marine in an alien bodysuit!

Moving on, back in the 90s my copy of Alien³ on VHS got a lot of screen time and so did the Alien War trailer before the film. I remember thinking it looked incredible, with James Horner’s searing soundtrack adding to the intense atmosphere. In 1993 it proven to be so successful in Glasgow it was being moved and expanded to a larger building in London. Dave Hughes chatted with its creators Gary Gillies and the appropriately-surnamed John Gorman about the experience.

Am I the only one who reads their reasoning behind halving the experience’s length and thinks it was really a way of getting more paying punters in? Unfortunately, it never became the envisioned franchise spoken about here and after it was closed following a flood in 1996 it never reopened, apart from a short stint in Glasgow again at the turn of the millennium. (Later in 2008 they opened a similar experience in Glasgow unaffiliated with the Alien films.)

Part two of Horror Show also takes up eight pages and surprisingly it concludes next issue. But… nothing’s happened! It also looks like it’ll end with no real aliens taking part, which is a waste of David Roach’s great art. Maybe the point was to introduce this virtual nightmare entertainment company for future stories? It begins with a young woman dressed in a sub-par alien costume sneaking into a nest to destroy the alien queen. Ridiculous? Well, if you’d been paying attention you’d know this is just the young woman’s nightmare.

The company managers are getting angry that all the nightmares they’re recording in their fake dream clinic always end up including the aliens, even if the original scenario had nothing to do with them. Set after the Earth War there seems to be a mass sense of guilt about those that died down on Earth while these people survived in lunar orbit.

This is interesting but unfortunately its reveal towards the end of the strip is spoiled by the recap of what happened last month telling us. Confusingly, one of the volunteers is also called Hicks (it’s not him) and two pages are printed in the wrong order. One of the doctors is sexually abusing the sleeping volunteers, while in their dreams it’s the aliens claws that are all over them. It’s a particularly creepy moment but not much else occurs.

In the next chapter of Steve Bissette’s prose story, Tribes, Rat is the most interesting character by far, albeit in a tragic way. Her job is to be captured by the aliens! She sets herself up in a small space just outside their hive and makes a noise, but she’s sealed herself off with wire-like meshes that slow the aliens down so they don’t rush to an instant kill. By the time they’ve got through to her and she hasn’t put up a fight they’ve calmed down and take her away for implantation instead.

As we know, their captives wake just before the egg placed in front of them opens, this small window of time allowing Rat to send a beacon to her teammates. All the way through this part of the story parentheses appear that act like mental flashbacks to her childhood, echoing the sexual assault she suffered at her father’s hands; a lifetime of abuse and suffering ultimately preparing her for a job no one else is capable of (or wants). It’s horrific and makes for compulsive reading.

This small but still interesting cutaway of the Colonial Marines transport ship Sulaco from Aliens is part of a two-page introductory Technical Readout, the first in a series of features from the always-fascinating Lee Brimmicombe-Wood about the spacecraft. These should make for an interesting series over the coming months. Also coming next month is the final chapter of Alien Vs Predator II, so as previously promised I’ll talk more about that next time.

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag this month. Two stories have been as entertaining as we’d expect, in fact one surpasses previous chapters. On the other hand the other two are completely missable. But this can happen in an anthology comic and with stories ending and others beginning all the time, the Marines and Tribes will see me through until the next shake up. We’ll take a step closer to new tales with the next issue on Tuesday 22nd July 2025.

iSSUE 12 < > iSSUE 14

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Comic Reviews, Dracula

DRACULA #7: TALES FROM THE CRYPT

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On this day back in 1993 came the seventh edition of Dark Horse International’s Dracula comic, now firmly in its post-movie adaptation stage. Irish artist Kilian Plunkett’s cover was unique to the UK comic, what with the issue containing part two of the same American issue of Topps Comics’ Vlad the Impaler from last month. Blog regulars should recognise the name too, as Kilian contributed the superb cover to #8 of Aliens in a completely different style.

The 13-page second part of Roy Thomas’ strip kicks off with defeat. Vlad’s time in his late father’s role of Prince of Wallachia was short-lived after the Sultan who raised him to be a brutal warrior died. The sultan’s son, Mehmed the Conqueror sought to invade and take over all of Europe, so Vlad allied himself with the Hungarians to defend his home of Transylvania against Mehmed’s ally and the man who killed his family, Danesti. After more history book-like retelling of battles he chases him down.

But Vlad’s actions weren’t to protect the people of the land. As a plague hit the country the poor were ignored and left to die so that he could march to defend Christendom and avenge his father’s death. That’s right, he was fighting for power in the name of god while ignoring those in need. Some things don’t change. At one point he sees a comet in the sky and in a rare bit of fun he tells readers how he wouldn’t know anything about it until he met someone called Halley hundreds of years later.

After this, a brief moment of what appears to be open-minded kindness takes over Vlad. He doesn’t hunt down Danesti’s supporters, instead explaining how he knows they simply believed in their leader and did as they were told. He invites the royal court and their families to an Easter feast and begins to describe the castle he wishes to have built in his name, Castle Dracula. Then the other shoe drops. He shall force them to build it.

The art is just as superb as it was last month. Esteban Maroto’s line work and Paul Mounts’ colours lend a seriousness to it all. The grotesque moments really are grotesque and the power behind the man is palpable when he launches into a tirade against those who sucked up to him the first chance they got, when they’d previously called for his death.

All of a sudden the rich and powerful, who were all too happy to stomp over those less fortunate than them to retain their positions, are pleading for leniency. The elderly ask to be left behind, to be spared the many years of hardship ahead. In response, Vlad beheads and impales them as an act of treachery and it’s this image that’s left to imprint itself on our minds as the final page of the strip this month.

While the script still feels like those strange little historicals found in year one of Marvel UK’s Transformers (Dracula’s script brought to the page with skill by letterer John Costanza) the art once again elevates it. The fact the story slows a bit to concentrate on one battle and its aftermath helps too. It no longer feels rushed and it’s beginning to develop a bit of depth to its main character. That in particular bodes well for future issues.

On to the Bloodlines news pages. The film was a “loose adaptation”? Oh dear, is Dave Hughes turning against the movie he hyped so much now that the comic is no longer a tie-in? Francis Ford Coppola’s movie updated the racist undertones of the original novel to modern sensibilities, but to describe it in this way is rather odd. I’d forgotten all about the fact the movie brought a brief resurgence in monster movies and I’d like to see Robert De Niro as Frankenstein’s monster, so that might be one for this Hallowe’en.

I wonder if The Mummy film mentioned here is what would eventually become the Brendan Frazer and Rachel Weisz movie released six years later? What would Dave have made of it not being a horror film? That section under ‘Neck Romancers’ really hasn’t aged well and it’s shocking to see this reported on as something normal, and yet again the writer’s obsession with Sadie Frost returns, despite the actor being English, not Eastern European.

The Mega-CD game is generously described as receiving “rave reviews”. In reality, UK magazine Mega Power described it as, “One of the best movie tie-ins to date, but still an appallingly bad game.” Given how the game would only work on a Mega-CD, which was a very expensive add-on to the Sega Mega Drive, it’s a rather niche prize. Sadly, it also looks like the promised series of interviews with female horror writers is already making way for men.

The Vampirella back up strip, still written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Tom Sutton, sees Adam and Conrad Van Helsing (the latter of which is confirmed as blind) catch up with the alien vampire heroine but the younger Adam is incapable of killing her. We’ve seen hints that his newly developed psychic powers may be picking up clues as to her good nature but Conrad doesn’t want to hear it and fears she’s hypnotised him.

The Carnival of the Damned sees Vampirella head to a wonderfully atmospheric fun fair like something out of an episode of Tales of the Crypt. We meet Pendragon, a drunken mess of a magician who fears the Crimson Chronicles book when he sees it in the hands of Vampirella. She explains she made a promise to a dying man to hunt down all who follow it. The Van Helsings are also here, Conrad convinced Vampirella is evil because he can sense evil so strongly around him. Um, Adam? You maybe want to explain the carnival to him? 

It seems the carnival’s owner summoned one of the servants of chaos to save him from financial ruin but he soon discovered he was being tricked in order to bring forth demons, so Pendragon burned the book and it destroyed the carnival. With only half his power brought forth, the demon is the new owner and can hold back the flames to stop killing everyone but in doing so they’re trapped, unable to leave.

While searching for Vampirella, Adam enters the House of Mirrors and sees a vision of his mum being killed by a vampire! He tries to break the glass to get to her and gets sucked in. We find out Ashton (the human form of the demon) feeds off souls in this way to slowly gain enough power to break through into our world. Sensing Vampirella, he’d planted a mental vision in her head to entice her to find the carnival.

If he can get her to read from the book he can access all the power he needs. It’s a complete tale told in 14 pages and I’ll hand it to Archie, it contains enough story to fill a strip twice the length without feeling crammed in. It has that horror anthology feel and I think it works a treat. Her first strip may have been forgettable but since then she’s been the highlight of the comic. I also like the fact this doesn’t boil down to an action scene, instead it’s a battle between the minds of Ashton and Vampirella. 

On TV this would’ve needed impressive acting so it’s a brave move for a comic and Tom pulls it off brilliantly; it’s suitably tense and horrific. The Van Helsings also escape while the carnival burns and it’s here that I have my only gripe. Conrad is convinced Vampirella set the fire to kill them, yet when they thank Pendragon for saving them he doesn’t take the chance to clear her name, instead giving a cryptic “I was just following another” response.

After a brief interview with Anne Billson (which is nowhere near as in-depth and interesting as last month’s with Anne Rice) comes the letters column, Fang Mail. However, the highlight of the page is the first mention of Jurassic Park in the comics checklist. Like Dracula it’s three-weekly to begin with, the first two issues detailed here and on the back page is the full-page advert for the launch.

Dracula continues to be a unique comic, one that I’m enjoying a lot. A thoroughly interesting history lesson followed by a classic horror anthology strip (of sorts) is about as different to anything else I’m ever likely to include on the blog, so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. I hope you are too and that you’ll come back for #8 on Sunday 13th July 2025.

iSSUE SiX < > iSSUE EiGHT

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Comic Reviews, Transformers: Generation 2

TRANSFORMERS GENERATiON 2 #9: THE DARiNG DUO

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As Optimus Prime watches on, portrayed as a dust cloud in the gathering storm, Jhiaxus’ minions crumble to dust as the mysterious dark force in the universe wrecks havoc on Derek Yaniger’s latest Transformers: Generation 2 cover from Marvel in 1994. It may be a more basic cover than what we’re used to from Derek but you may enjoy it, because he’s nowhere to be found inside for the first time in this series.

Simon Furman’s Swarm kicks off with the Autobots examining a planet ravaged by this… whatever it is, while Megatron looks on impatiently. Just as with the original series, the comic (which remember is primarily aimed at children) can get away with showing the husks of dead, rotting – or rather, rusting – bodies because they’re robots, not flesh. This is the first time they’ve found physical evidence of Prime’s visions.

Megatron knows Jhiaxus isn’t to blame so he isn’t interested, meaning Prime still hasn’t told him the truth behind his visions. I still can’t wrap my head around that decision, it feels so out of character for him. We do get a moment of Grimlock and Megatron agreeing (which is a shock in itself, I think to them too) when they both seem equally concerned about still being on this planet whenever whatever is responsible returns.

But Prime is committed to this path and assembles a scientific team to investigate, temporarily ignoring the pleas to leave. Megatron sincerely believes Jhiaxus could wipe them from the universe and this is just a distraction, but Prime is convinced it’s the real threat, that there’s a link somehow, although he’s no idea how. Hey Prime, maybe talk to your new ally and work it out?

We the readers zoom off to a primitive planet across the galaxy where the aforementioned next generation of Cybertronians are laying waste to the land and its people who have suddenly found themselves on the brink of extinction. But the ease at which they’re being wiped out by Mindset and his Stormtroopers (another reference to the World Wars after Jhiaxus’ goal in previous issues, nothing to do with Star Wars) comes to a shocking premature end as they look to the sky.

The time it takes to move from its position on the horizon to killing them is apparently so quick they don’t even have time to form thoughts, which is a rather terrifying idea worthy of a good horror film. This thing is alive and begins to react to the attacks from Jhiaxus’ troops, reconfiguring itself into different shapes to take on their various forms. Is it transforming?

It absorbs the metal of its enemies to grow and completely ignores the organic species. We get a brief look inside its mind as it transforms (my word use) into a familiar bipedal shape, beginning to feel some form of familiarity with the ‘food’ it’s just consumed. As Mindset stands up to it, it notices this one is stronger. However, it also realises it has a purpose and a need. But what could that be? Cue Mindset’s last desperate bid to survive.

His fate sealed we take a trip to the Warworld, the Decepticon spaceship being used by both them and the Autobots. Having finally left the planet they’ve taken off in search of Jhiaxus again. Prime laments the choice and once again is off thinking to himself. Then he feels something inside his body as Mindset and his troops are wiped out. He knows “it has begun” and at the exact moment elsewhere on board Onslaught of the Combaticons has some kind of reaction too. Why Onslaught? And I love that description of the Combaticons!

A following caption says this bond between the team members goes deeper than they know. How so? I’m intrigued. The story ends as Starscream (with a head full of stupid-looking human teeth again, hence no photo) approaches Jhiaxus and offers the heads of Prime and Megatron in return for a position of power. Then it’s on to the Tales of Earth back up strip.

Finally Optimus is opening up to Megatron about this new foe. The results from the survey are in and presented by Preceptor (naturally). He concludes that on a genetic level the entity’s configuration is identical to theirs. Megatron takes it surprisingly well and seems to understand Prime wanted proof before telling him. Seeing the two of them actually discuss their situation and work together is really interesting to this long-time reader. It reminds me of Prime and Scorponok’s mutual respect towards the end of G1, a high point of the original comic.

Prime isn’t even particularly pissed off that Megatron stole the Matrix anymore and they seem to respect why they each do things the other diametrically opposes. It feels like a maturely-written situation and I commend Simon for being able to bring something fresh and original to these two characters after so many stories by this point. Prime admits he previously left the mind machine early, which was when we readers found out this entity is a byproduct of the evolution of their race beyond Primus’ intentions.

You’ll notice Derek Yaniger isn’t the artist for Tales of Earth this issue and he’s certainly missed. Don’t get me wrong, Manny Galan is on top form (as are inker Jim Amash, letterer Richard Starkings and colourist Sarra Mossoff) but it does strike me there’s no need for a back up strip without a change of artist. This month it’s a continuation of the main story rather than a parallel tale and it’d all work just as well as one. It ends with Jhiaxus attacking them on Earth. It’s been another incredible issue.

Below, you can see this month’s Bullpen Bulletin contained a small snippet about one of Marvel US’ licenced titles, something which very rarely happened in these news columns. The 150th issue of G.I. Joe, a comic which began two years before Generation 1 of Transformers, was about to hit stores. Surely a huge event, yes? Indeed. Little did fans know only five issues later the comic would be cancelled.

Looking back we can find solace in the fact IDW would resurrect the series in the next millennium and produce #156 to #300 and now Image Comics and Skybound have taken up the mantle from #301 onwards, all still written by Larry Hama. You can check out the phenomenal box set of the original Marvel comics released by Skybound on the blog too.

On the letters page Derek is praised by both readers and the comic, however it’s announced another artist will be taking over the back up strip next issue. The fact it’s none other than Geoff Senior softens the blow somewhat! Now that’s something to look forward to. There’s also a brief mention of the rumour of a UK G2 comic which may have elicited excitement at the time, given the epic G1 UK comic’s legendary status. Unfortunately it’d be a quickly cancelled five-issue run (from Fleetway, not Marvel).

A reader asks if a Jhiaxus toy was available and the comic tells him the answer is no but that it “doesn’t matter” because “in #12 he – ah, but that would be telling!” That sounds like a rather large spoiler if you ask me. Finally, on the inside back cover is an advert for The Shadow starring Alec Baldwin. I remember this being on TV one afternoon about a decade ago and, having nothing better to do, I sat down and watched it. You know what? I’d never even heard of the character but I really enjoyed it. I must watch it again sometime.

While I obviously wish the comic had carried on for many more years the ramping up of the story feels more organic this month, with the Optimus Prime/Megatron scenes the standout moments for me. It all points towards something really rather special to come in that final issue. We’ll take another step closer in five weeks on Sunday 29th June 2025.

iSSUE EiGHT < > iSSUE TEN

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Aliens, Comic Reviews

ALiENS #12: HEY MAN, i DON’T WANNA RAiN ON YOUR PARADE

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Cefn Ridout’s editorial begins by describing Paul Johnson’s cover as “provocative” and a reminder of the pathological horror in the films. I agree. Aliens #12 from Dark Horse International already has my spine chilling. As I explained last month, anything involving a baby or young child like this will always terrify me. I wonder what people thought when they saw this on their shop shelves back in 1993.

Elsewhere in the editorial (presented here to give you the full issue credits) it sounds like the H.R. Giger interview, which I was really looking forward to after seeing the headline on the cover, will be another rant about Alien³, something I’m getting tired of at this stage. Let’s hope it’s better than that. We’ll find out further below. But first up are the last 12 pages of the UK exclusive strip, Peter Milligan’s Sacrifice.

The first half of this evokes a wonderfully creepy atmosphere and I just love the alien’s entrance and Ann’s reasons for being there, which I detailed last month. It takes what should be a ridiculous set up of one person going up against the alien with nothing but medieval-style weaponry and gives it real heft and purpose. Can her mother forgive her? Does evil really exist? By extension, does her god?

But in the end she finds she isn’t as alone as she thought. Inspired by her words and her bravery the villagers have come to her aid and trap (albeit temporarily) the alien in netting, giving her some breathing room. Even our scar-faced villain Ricketts comes good but pays the ultimate price as the sacrificial lamb of the piece before the alien falls foul of their trap. This is something I have a problem with, though.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the end result and its originality for an aliens story. Its acid blood also slowly leaks out and begins to melt the spikes, allowing it to writhe closer to freedom again. But where did the trap come from? Okay, Ann was gone for hours but if the villagers had been out there making it both she and the alien would’ve heard them. Was it always there? If so, why was it not mentioned before so it didn’t feel like such a handy coincidence? It makes no sense and it’s disappointing as a solution.

Ann is pulled into the pit by the alien’s tail and pulls out her grenade to sacrifice herself. But first she must know the truth. She must know if it really is the devil, to look it in its eyes and know if her faith was even real. Of course, we know the aliens don’t have visible eyes but the image from Ann’s dreams comes back to haunt her as she sees the glow of the villager’s fire torches reflected in this simply superb image by cover artist Paul.

The spikes behind its head giving the impression of horns is a nice touch too. Indeed, while the story has suddenly taken a turn for the worse the art remains sublime. It truly has been revelatory and a key factor in the chilling atmosphere these past few months. But Paul isn’t finished yet. The story may have had a silly resolution but you can’t fault the visuals of it.

Such a shame this is followed up by Ann somehow surviving that explosion despite being in the pit! We also find out she’s now in a relationship with Masters. Yep, the man who wouldn’t listen to a woman saying “no” gets the woman! This in particular has not aged well. It does have a refreshingly bleak ending when she doesn’t find her “god”, but overall the conclusion has not lived up to what came before.

The Motion Tracker news pages by Dave Hughes make the mistake of taking one negative review in an earlier issue of this comic and concluding that the Aliens Special Edition was “divisive”. No it wasn’t! This reminds me of silly online headlines I read now when a Doctor Who episode gets almost universally praised, even getting nearly 100% on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes, but because one or two “fans” give pointedly critical reviews the episode is described as “controversial” or “divisive”. Rubbish!

Speaking of negative reviews, the graphic novel of Hive is announced. I won’t go into that again, you can read back over previous issues to see what I thought of it (it ran from #1 to #9). There’s an interesting Egyptian-themed teaser image for the upcoming Stargate movie which I’ve never seen before. Finally in the details of movies coming out that might interest readers, the comic makes the sacrilegious decision to name Iron Eagle as the definitive Louis Gossett Jr. movie when surely it’s Jaws 3-D.

On to the Colonial Marines strip and it takes up eight pages in the middle of the comic, with things get off to a light, fluffy start.

As you can see it’s full of the usual tensions we got in the film. There’s nothing original here although it’s told in a fresh way with a set of believable characters, even if some of them do seem like copies of those we’ve already seen. This month’s story is basically the next stage in the infiltration of the sun gun complex but it’s highly enjoyable, especially our main character, Lieutenant Joseph Henry.

It’s interesting that the synthetic human isn’t going and I suspect (as does Henry by the looks of it) that there’s more behind that reason than just his cost.  Elsewhere, it appears those cheap 70s sci-fi aliens are somehow controlling the xenomorphs rather than being a separate group of antagonists. It rather depletes the threat of the comic’s title species if I’m being honest. The fact they sometimes look like spoof versions of themselves doesn’t help either.

Let’s hope I’m wrong and the addition of these new aliens doesn’t dilute our regulars too much.

So, on to that interview with the original designer of the aliens and their world, the incredibly talented H.R. Giger. I know his artwork is rather twisted and often his non-Alien work can be quite sensuous, but there are points in this chat that just feel damned creepy. I mean, wanting to make this alien killer more erotic?! I also agree with the decision made not to use his updates to the creature as they would’ve changed too much, especially his plans for its mouth/teeth and hands.

At least David Fincher is talked about positively here. The amazing special edition of Alien³ (which is not a “third sequel”, the clue is in the name) also reinstated the ox and the film can now be seen as Fincher originally intended before all of the studio interference, making it possibly my second favourite of the series after Aliens. I’m not sure who wrote this piece but as a reader they come across a bit obsequious. Were they hoping Giger would read this and be so grateful of their sucking up he’d hire them? I jest of course, but you get my point.

Replacing the Predator strip is the first part of Horror Show, an eight-page Aliens strip written by Sarah Byam (Billi 99, Black Canary, What If), drawn by David Roach (Nemesis the Warlock, Batman and Demon, Tales of the Jedi), coloured by Alex Wald (Shaolin Cowboy, American Splendor, Playboy) and lettered by Phil Owen (Dark Horse Comics). A character who is very clearly a pastiche of Orson Welles runs a company that uses technology to research people’s fears. They pay his company to place them into a realistic nightmare scenario as a form of therapy, to help them overcome it.

In reality the dream sequences are being recorded and used to create virtual Total Recall-like horror entertainment for profit. We see someone attacked by a shark and lose a leg, only to be confronted by an alien, their near-meltdown being music to Orson Masch’s ears. Even an alien costume turns up. This could be an interesting ‘Aliens meets Total Recall strip’, but I have this niggling feeling this could be another Hive, a strip that also reduced the aliens to a man-made version of some form.

In the continuing publication of the Tribes novella the team are infiltrating a hospital that was formerly an alien hive. However, in an interesting twist they suspect the hospital staff of leading some form of pro-alien religion and the reader discovers a doctor who appears to be gestating an alien queen inside themselves. However, they’re trying to delay it to a specific time. We don’t know why yet.

The Technical Readout feels like a bit of a cop out this month, being little more than a paragraph about the Colonial Marines and a quick sketch. On the Bug Hunt letters page a reader has the terrible idea of treating Alien³ as a Dallas-style dream sequence and the comic’s recent changes have been met with high praise. The call for Aliens: Countdown’s artist Denis Beauvais’ return is met with the news that his Frankenstein strip will be appearing in Dracula (it didn’t). Of course, with hindsight we know that comic would be cancelled in a few months, so will we get to see any of that strip before then? We’ll find out in its real time read through.

This issue may have struggled to reach the heights of the simply amazing #11 but that’s not to say it isn’t without its highlights. Paul’s artwork always shines, Tribes is the best read this time and Colonial Marines is still enjoyable and has bags of potential. I’m very hyped to see what the new exclusive UK strip is next time, to see more of Lt. Henry and his crew and to see if the Mars-based Schwarzenegger movie can work its magic into Horror Show. I’ll catch you (or if not, a facehugger will) on Tuesday 24th June 2025.

iSSUE 11 < > iSSUE 13

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Comic Reviews, Dracula

DRACULA #6: VLAD THE LAD

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It’s quite different this month, isn’t it? Although John Bolton’s new logo is reminiscent enough of the movie’s for it to feel like a natural progression for the publication. Inside, the continuation of Vampirella’s story and the Bloodlines news pages help with the transition into something very different too. The movie adaptation was a Topps Comics production in the States and Dark Horse International sticks with them for the next main strip.

Speaking of sticking, there’s a free glow-in-the-dark sticker (which I admit looks a lot better through my iPhone’s lens than in person). It’s a somewhat child-friendly gift for a comic with a strip containing bloody beheadings. In fact, it’s rather strange the comic no longer comes with the “Not suitable for younger readers” warning. Although I doubt the sticker would’ve convinced many parents to buy this for their child!

Movie adaptation writer Roy Thomas is scriptwriter for what is basically another adaptation, this time of history books. A three-issue mini-series marketed in the States as “The True Story” of Dracula, in reality very little of the real Vlad the Impaler made it into the Count character in Bram Stoker’s book, such was Stoker’s limited knowledge of Vlad or the time in which he lived. This issue contains 15 pages of the first chapter but there’s so much crammed in I was surprised after reading it that it wasn’t more.

Introducing himself as Dracula complete with fangs, a crumbling castle and assorted monsters and supernatural entities, he welcomes us to his tale by gliding in on a green mist before presenting “the year the cross-wielders call 1431”. His father, Vlad Dracul is a protector of Christendom, was named after the Order of the Dragon and is the military governor of Transylvania and Prince of Wallachia. He’s actually just a strongman for sultan Muran, receiving fortune, land and protection in return for loyalty and the people’s taxes. We see a happy family life with young Vlad, Mircea (oldest brother) and Radu (the youngest). However, it’s not long until we see their true nature.

Young Vlad snitches on someone questioning why their family name means both “dragon” and “demon” in the country’s native tongue. Taking pride in showing his boys how vicious he can be to anyone who questions him, his father has learned from his overlords who impaled their enemies’ heads on spikes (something Vlad III would later become known for). His father takes them to Gallipoli to learn about how their nations relate to one another, but it’s upon this trip that a major event in Vlad’s life takes place.

Muran has discovered elder Vlad has been playing east and west against each other and reaping the benefits. The Turks had invaded the sultan’s lands of Transylvania and Wallachia and Vlad had stood back and let them, thinking he could befriend whoever the ultimate victors would be. In revenge for this disloyalty his two youngest sons are taken in as “guests”, but they’ll be treated as hostages if their father is ever disloyal again.

Young Vlad trains to be just as vicious a warrior and becomes good friends with the sultan’s son Mehmed, learning how to rule through fear while his younger brother becomes loved by the harem! During the next year their father proves his disloyalty yet again and in an uprising he’s killed, whilst his eldest son and heir to his throne Mircea is buried alive. Muran then passes down their belongings to young Vlad who he sees as a more loyal successor.

I’ll admit it’s difficult to review this. Esteban Moroto’s (Conan, Red Sonja, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs) art, Paul Mounts’ (Fantastic Four, Ultimates, Reborn) colours and returning letterer John Costanza evoke a lovely classical feel despite this being a new comic at the time, and I find it fascinating because I never knew any of the story of Vlad the Impaler beyond the few pieces in Dracula which were somewhat accurate. However, I’m not sure if it works as a comic strip.

As a history lesson it’s very entertaining and I was drawn in by the story of this man in his youth. But, as a comic strip it reads like an adaptation of a text book, with chunks of the text turned into speech for the players. So yes, it’s a strange one. The original story it’s based on is interesting, and I look forward to comparing it to Dracula, but it’s presented in such a stilted way in its script.

In the middle of the comic is a multi-page, in-depth interview with Anne Rice, writer of the Interview with the Vampire series amongst others. For once it’s not just quotes lifted from various other sources, Dave Hughes actually met the lady herself during what sounds like an exhausting promotional tour. I’ll admit it’s a novel and movie I know nothing about but from reading this and doing a bit of research I have to say I’m intrigued. After last month’s feature on the BBC’s Dracula mini-series this comic is filling up my Hallowe’en viewing rightly.

I’d no idea the novel was released the year before I was born. I’d always assumed it was relatively new when the film was produced. The movie was still in preproduction during this interview and there’s no mention of Tom Cruise. In fact, I was disappointed to read online of Anne’s negative reaction to his casting. However, once she saw the movie she said he “is Lestat” and admitted she was completely wrong (even calling him up to apologise) so now I’m even more eager to watch his performance.

“We want our rewards from life and we don’t sacrifice them to bring justice to all mankind. The whole lure of the sensuous world fascinates me.”

Anne Rice

I’m always fascinated to learn of a writer’s process, whether I’ve read their work or not, and this feature does not disappoint. It covers the original novel’s creation and how long it took to go from initial idea to finished story. There’s also an interesting dissection of the appeal of vampire stories, although this would appear to be flipped on its head a few years later when Buffy became such a huge hit.

The Bram Stoker’s Dracula movie is cited as proof that tastes were changing, although I think Anne’s description of Silence of the Lambs seems a bit overwrought. It’s in the creation of her original novel, the changes made to the character, her belief it wouldn’t work but she kept going, as well as the ultimate reception that combine to be really interesting. It also doesn’t hurt seeing John Bolton’s gorgeous illustrations from the comic book adaptation of her second novel.

(I did ask Siri to play the Sting song mentioned here and I only made it halfway through it.)

There’s no one-off strip like last issue’s Werewolf which I’d have preferred over Vampirella, but fortunately her tale is a vast improvement over her previous entry. It’s a complete 12-page story by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Tom Sutton, in which she is tracked down by a member of the chaos cult. This is done via a cat, so I was immediately enjoying this more than last time. The two villainous characters are a frail elderly lady and her unwilling but ultimately murderous son with echoes of Psycho, released nine years earlier. (Son Lenny even spies on Vampirella through a hole in a wall behind a painting.)

Their backstory boils down to the cat being mind-controlled by Mrs Jethryn because she’s bound to the library building by a curse that allowed her son to be resurrected. After a battle with Vampirella, Lenny’s happy to be killed and finally freed. I can happily report the cat gets a happy ending too. Released from her control it runs off home with the woman’s soul trapped inside, unable to influence the cat or even make her presence known. I’ve no problem with much older strips appearing (for example the classic Machine Man in early issues of Marvel UK’s The Transformers was a great fit) and this small story is fun to read. However, we see Vampirella stealing a raincoat to protect her from the weather… so why can’t she steal some actual clothes?!

Dave returns for his usual Bloodlines news pages and you may wonder why you see Space:1999 here. It’s because of the guest stars who might be of particular interest to readers. I’ll also admit the two-part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation sounds intriguing, and that’s coming from someone who’s never seen a full episode. I do find it strange Children of the Night’s narration is criticised when you consider how Bram Stoker wrote Dracula.

On a more positive note I was thrilled to see the interview with Anne was just the first of a series with female authors, so that’s something I’m really looking forward to next month. The issue ends with the first letters page, Fang Mail, which is a great name and there’s an advert for Manga Mania which had a whopping 88 more pages yet only cost 45p more. You’ll see examples of these Dark Horse International adverts in a special collection at a later date on the blog.

The comic had proved to be a success while it was adapting the movie with good sales and a good reception from readers. However, now knowing it would be cancelled just a few issues later it’s clear not everyone was a fan of the new contents. Still, I look forward to finding out more about Transylvanian history when #7 hits the blog on Sunday 15th June 2025.

iSSUE FiVE < > iSSUE SEVEN

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Comic Reviews, OiNK Contributors

DAViD LEACH CONQUERS THE UNiVERSE #4: THEY SAY HE’S VERY FUNNY

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How many times in your life have you heard someone start a sentence with, “They say…”? For example, “They say the best way to beat a cold is…”, or “They say it’s better to have loved and lost…” etc. How many times have you used that phrase? Countless, I’m sure. But have you ever wondered who “They” are? This has been the silly premise of David (Psycho Gran) Leach’s hilarious David Leach Conquers the Universe self-published comic series, which reaches its conclusion with the long-awaited #4.

Starting out as deranged conspiratorial ramblings in the first issue we soon came to realise David’s life is supposedly being controlled by a bunch of strangers playing a Dungeons & Dragons-type game. Now it’s time for the inevitable confrontation. But how on Earth did our hero possibly survive the end of the previous issue? (If you don’t know what I mean, go and buy it!) David’s solution takes a few pages to explain.

By this stage we all know this version of David loves to talk. Incessantly. Inspired by the cliffhanger serials of his youth and how they foiled their own seemingly impossible cliffhangers, he’s basically cheated. But the long-winded explanation is not only worth the price of entry on its own, it also speaks to something that seems to have niggled at David’s (real life) brain for decades. 

It’s a great start! The issue is chock full of ludicrous storytelling and so many quick fire gags you may need to catch your breath every few pages. For example, in a flashback scene David arrives at a hospital to be greeted by a man who asks, “Mr. Leech?” To which David replies, “It’s ‘Leach’”. Obviously this spelling correction only works on the written page of a comic, seeing it as part of a verbal conversation is really funny.

There’s a surprise return of a former foe, housed in a corridor of cells reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs. In fact, David walks straight past Hannibal on the way to his much scarier enemy. Apart from this diversion the whole issue takes place in the games room of ‘They’, which sounds small in scale compared to the previous issues but have faith in David; what transpires here is bigger, sillier and funnier than everything that came before.

“I set out right from the first issue to make an autobiographical comic that was a complete pack of lies”

David chatting to me about the series

It all boils down to a one-on-one with the main baddie and as seems tradition with this series it’s dialogue-heavy, with David often talking the ear off the villain and driving them crazy in the process. Below are two excellent examples taken from just such a scene including another staple of the comics: David’s pot shots and wry digs at himself, his personality or his career. (It’s all very meta, but in a good, non-social media way.)

Now and again an item will pop up which will seem completely random and out of place. Anybody familiar with the dramatic principle of Chekov’s gun should know these things aren’t random at all and will pay off at a later stage, especially in the hands of such a talented writer. With David Leach Conquers the Universe you soon start trying to anticipate the groan-worthy pun to come, which is ultimately the real reason behind the introduction of these seemingly random things.

Throw in a surprisingly touching moment involving David’s family and a funny epilogue to conclude it all and you’ve got a well-rounded ending to this years-long mini-series. Any OiNK fan, or simply any fan of genuinely funny comics, will find loads to enjoy throughout these four issues and I can’t state emphatically enough how much you’ll love laughing along with them. This final issue is a great pay off for the end of the series too.

While the above advert doesn’t include the third issue of Psycho Gran Comic Capers Cavalcade you can check out highlights from it on the blog already, but we’re here to talk about David Leach Conquers the Universe. If you’ve already read the first three instalments you can purchase the 36-page finale for just £5 (plus £2 postage) from the Dead Universe comic shop in Aylesbury by popping in, phoning (07852 836307) or emailing them (info@deaduniversecomics.com).

Alternatively, you can simply order direct from the horse’s very talkative mouth and get yours from David himself. Just use his email (davidleach2000@yahoo.com) on PayPal. What if you haven’t read any of the series? Then get caught up for just £20 for all four issues (plus £5 postage) and David will happily send you them all in one great big bundle of joy! I highly recommend that you do.

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Comic Reviews, Transformers: Generation 2

TRANSFORMERS GENERATiON 2 #8: iNTO HiGH GEAR

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Having only finished the real time read through of the original G1 comic last year it doesn’t feel too long ago that the Autobots and Decepticons teamed up to defeat Unicron, so the big selling point of this admittedly brilliant Derek Yaniger cover doesn’t feel as epic as it was originally intended. Inside, three pages after the man strip begins it’s interrupted by the 6-page back up strip, before that story just ends and returns to the main one!

Those first few pages are basically Jhiaxus again stating the mission of his overly-evolved Cybertronians as the Nazis of the universe, invading planets to wipe out all inferior (in his eyes) life. Seeing his troops in chunky tank forms wiping out whole civilisations I can’t help but compare them to the Daleks. Their missions are basically the same after all.

Things properly kick off in Tales of Earth: Part Five when the half-destroyed form of Megatron standing over the similarly brutally beaten Optimus Prime somewhat triggers Grimlock. The ability of Megatron to wipe them out if he so wished is very apparent across these pages, which makes Prime’s belief (and Megatron’s confirmation) all the more dramatic. And that’s even with the aforementioned G1 truce still fresh in my mind, so kudos to the comic that this still works.

However, by contrast the back up’s cliffhanger is a bit of a damp squib, seeing as how it’s Starscream thinking about leaving the Decepticons to go out on his own. As usual. Back to the main Escalation story and Manny Galan’s pencils (with Jim Amash inking and the excellent Sarra Mossoff colouring) have improved immensely. Things seem more focussed, the characters more solid and the wobbly wire necks are gone.

Prime is questioning their very existence. If their creator, Primus did indeed stop their evolution because he knew their race would eventually become one devoid of basic compassion and morality, then how was their creation ever justified? After all, as Ian Malcolm would say, life finds a way. Not even a planet-sized robotic god can avoid the key rule of Jurassic Park.

Oh, we almost got some transformation images there! But more importantly there’s Slapdash. The yellow F1-type car was a Headmaster toy I loved so much as a kid. Sometimes it’s the littlest things that can bring joy. Or indeed the largest, dinosaur-shaped things. While I questioned why Starscream had teeth and a snake-like tongue in a previous issue, below they make much more sense. I love Manny’s depiction of these fan favourites. Thank goodness Sarra has kept them to their original color schemes too instead of the gaudy 90s style of the toy line.

Smokescreen buys it when he tries to take a more aggressive approach. He underestimates the enemy’s strength compared to the Decepticons they’ve fought for so long and ends up exploding in a fireball. Inferno rushes in to dampen the flames but it’s too late. Apparently he now has a fiery temper to go with his fire engine alt mode and he ends up killing those responsible, while putting himself directly in harm’s way.

Luckily he escapes (briefly) but I just had to include this panel to show off Richard Starkings’ and Bill O’Neil’s lettering. I’ve raved about the bold design of the speech balloons from the beginning of the series and this really shows how much their sound effects add to the strip too. In fact, everything to do with the art seems to have been dialled up to eleven this month.

I love this panel of Optimus unloading on Jhaixus’ warriors. It feels very animated, like it could be a still frame from a cartoon and seeing the blasts reflected on his chest windscreens is a nice touch. Manny is really going for it in the action scenes! I just wish he’d attempt to show the characters transforming instead of only showing them in before and after poses. Come on Manny, you’ve only got four issues left.

Back to the battle and things aren’t going well for the Autobots. Inferno bites the dust when the building he jumped into for safety collapses, reinforcements for the enemy are on the way, every move they make is countered and in the air the Aerialbots are outnumbered and outgunned. Fireflight is hit and proclaims things are so desperate he’s going to shut his optical sensors and hope for some kind of…

It might not feel as original as writer Simon Furman probably wanted but it’s still great fun seeing Combaticon Vortex and another Decepticon called Ransack (a G2 creation who also appeared in Revenge of the Fallen, a similarly-named robot was a Deluxe Insecticon in the G1 toy line) rush in to save the Aerialbots. Meanwhile, on the ground Megatron and his ground based warriors are taking great pleasure in destroying what he describes as the “pale imitation” Decepticons.

The issue ends with Prime’s inner thoughts confusing me somewhat. He’s weighing up whether he should tell Megatron about his visions of the black mass making its way across the universe and dissolving all life. I mean, it sounds like something important he should share with the enemy he’s now in an uneasy alliance with if they’re to save their race together. But nope, he keeps it to himself. Perhaps this from the previous page sheds a bit of light on his decision?

This, plus Megatron’s insistence he’s only playing nice because of his desire to kill Jhiaxus, seems to result in Prime keeping things close to his chest. After everything that happened at the end of G1 this seems a rather dubious decision and only taken to serve the story, rather than the story serving the characters. As I took this issue off my shelf to read it I spotted the next issue’s cover shows Jhiaxus’ troops dissolving, so Prime better get talking.

As per usual, near the end the strip breaks off for the Bullpen Bulletin and this issue’s is part of a tribute to Jack Kirby who had passed away that year. The bulletins were updated weekly across Marvel’s range so we’re only seeing this part in Transformers. It contains a couple of quotes from names familiar with our G1 comic, namely Jim Salicrup (the original 8-part Transformers story and Visionaries) and George Roussos (G.I. Joe).

At the back of the comic comes the latest Transmissions letters page and the sad news the comic wouldn’t be continuing past its 12th issue. There are some hints about the conclusion too. Strangely, the first letter states they’re happy G2 is more realistic “like the animated movie”. Um, okay. I’m not the only one who agrees Manny’s work has improved immensely, however I don’t understand the comic’s “theory” about the Matrix. The Matrix itself wasn’t destroyed when it stopped Unicron, surely that was evident from the end of the movie too? The fact the writer doesn’t seem to understand why his character has it again (after he’s written it back in) is a bit strange!

That aside, it’s been another great issue and as we rocket towards the now-announced finale I fully expect the pace to pick up incrementally, even from this high-octane outing. I just hope the characters lead the way and aren’t forced into various decisions and/or positions just to get us there. As ever though, I look forward to the next issue. That ninth edition will be up for review on the blog on Sunday 25th May 2025.

iSSUE SEVEN < > iSSUE NiNE

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Aliens, Comic Reviews

ALiENS #11: WE’RE iN SOME REAL PRETTY SHiT NOW, MAN!

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This comic is never short of fantastic covers and Colin MacRae’s introduction to #11 of Dark Horse International’s Aliens is no exception, depicting the next chapter in the Colonial Marines epic from across The Pond. (Erroneously credited as Colin MacNeil, this was corrected in #14’s editorial.) The first thing I noticed upon scanning through the issue is the page count. Just as the publisher’s Dracula gained four pages, it appears Aliens has permanently lost the same amount, the free comic given away over the past two issues disguising the fact somewhat.

As you can see another change has occurred with Cefn Ridout taking over as editor from Dick Hansom, and his first task is to give the readers a shake to get more interesting correspondence for the letters page. In his very first paragraph he even uses the accidental reprint of a previous Alien Vs Predator II chapter to comic effect in this regard. He’s definitely off to a good start! All credits for this issue are also above.

Our UK strip, Sacrifice started off fine but unremarkable, however it really kicks into gear this issue. The atmosphere is palpable! It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted, especially those with kids. I don’t personally, but ever since my mate had her’s I find scenes like this below particularly horrific. There’s even a season one episode of ER I now find more terrifying than most horror films!

After this, Ann no longer cares if she lives or dies and she slowly walks back to the compound. Masters is the one person who seemed to care about her but got all creepy last time, and when he approaches her she punches him square in the face. She may be a priest but sacrificing babies to the alien has rightfully pushed her over the edge. However, Ricketts (the guy with the grotesquely scarred face) attacks her, calling her a murderer because the alien attacked and killed villagers because it didn’t get the baby.

It’s here the strip takes a horrific turn I simply was not expecting. Not only is the question of the mysterious generator room answered, but so is my own about how many babies would be needed, a plot point I previously thought made no sense. But it wasn’t meant to make sense. I was expertly fooled by writer Peter Milligan. They’re not some form of devil worshippers. Their devil is very real for a start. The story explains all with these two pages below, the second one delivering a shock after turning the page.

The whole point of living, of trying to survive against the alien is brought into question if this is the way, and as a priest Ann’s struggles with this feel very real. We also find out Ricketts’ disfigurement occurred when he tried and failed to save his wife. He almost becomes a sympathetic character. Almost, until he does something that genuinely shocked me, I can’t lie. Something that proves this is truly a horror comic.

Ann’s mum sacrificed herself to save her daughter from an alien and the guilt has driven her ever since, so she decides she’ll face the alien instead. Ricketts is delighted, it’ll save them a few babies, and to this he earns a well deserved knee in the groin. (I may have inwardly cheered.) She’s lost her faith, but if the alien is proof evil exists then in her eyes God should too. She needs to look it in the eye to confirm her own beliefs. Masters gives her a grenade and she has her cross and a makeshift spear, and in a ‘knights of the crusade’ moment she’s ready.

The story has me gripped. And horrified. But that’s the point of a good Alien story, isn’t it? The themes are very similar to Alien³’s and I can’t wait to see what happens next, especially since the comics checklist (which gives details of the next issue) says the climax is next month. 

Much like the Dracula comic at the same time, Dave Hughes’ news pages covered Alien³’s takings in the cinema the more favourable UK numbers are covered. I was in awe of The Lawnmower Man at the time which also really benefitted from a longer special edition, and even Gary Oldman’s Prince gets a shout out. On the first page is another funny competition and the comic knows fine rightly most people entering it shouldn’t really be getting their hands on the prize. I’d never heard of Charles Dutton’s sitcom Roc, but I’ve now found out all of the second season’s 25 episodes were aired live! That’s pretty damn incredible. 

I think Dave perhaps meant “flawed epic” in the ‘Alien Stars’ column? More memories are stirred of seeing sequels to Poison Ivy loitering on late night telly when we first got satellite TV, and the cover to K2 never intrigued me enough in the video store. If only I’d realised who was in it. More fond memories too of that transition period when widescreen videos started to make their impact, and I can find no evidence of a film starring Bill Paxton called ‘Twisted’. It’s somewhat familiar, obviously! (Although there’s no mention of Helen Hunt.)

Our 8-page chunk of Colonial Marines this month could be seen as little more than that classic Aliens moment of the marines’ first foray into the seemingly deserted colony in the film, only reworked to a Sun Gun setting. But that doesn’t take away from the lovely, slow-burn atmosphere expertly portrayed here. This story is taking its time and works all the better for it.

As I read these pages I’m imagining the characters’ voices crackling over their comms, and in a change from the film it’s the waste disposal team that have been sent in first to check the levels of toxic waste; no one is even considering this has anything to do with aliens. Typically, the head of the team is all about profit and doesn’t care for the marines. That is, until they come across familiar, organic materials covering the walls inside. Then, of course, a piece of that wall begins to move.

Our main character, Lt. Joseph Henry suddenly realises what’s happened. As do the marines. He orders the disposal teams to evacuate but we know it’ll be too late. The strip could easily have rushed through this bit but it took its time and as a result, after the intensity of Sacrifice, this issue really isn’t pulling any punches in the atmosphere stakes.

Time for a breather and the Technical Readout details a random crane machine, proving Lee Brimmicombe-Wood can bring enjoyable details to even the most seemingly random and inconsequential bits of fictional tech. Lee gets a thank you at the end of the next feature, Jim Campbell’s Under the Knife. It’s a piece detailing an anonymous doctor’s autopsy of an alien body and it’s brilliantly written. Think a doctor’s breakdown of a dissected body can’t be compulsive reading? Think again.

Jim expertly walks the fine line between keeping the mystery of the monsters (and thus their fear factor), and giving readers just enough juicy details to keep them glued to the page and feel like they’re learning more than they actually are. Trust me, you’ll want to take five minutes out of your day to get stuck into this one. Let’s hope Jim returns to bring us something similar in future issues, perhaps for the facehugger. A little gem hidden away in this issue.

Another gem is Rites of Passage, the wordless two-part Predator back-up strip. It may only be eight pages, and it’s basically one fight scene but it makes an impact. Pitting a seemingly defenceless tribesman against the technologically advanced alien may seem familiar all these years later after the excellent Prey movie, but I can imagine how thrilling it’d have been in 1993 discovering this fight isn’t as one-sided as we (and the Predator) may have assumed.

Ian Edginton’s story is still thrilling today. We don’t even know this man’s name but we cheer him on as he uses his ingenuity to defend himself, before going on the offensive and taking out the alien’s weaponry in an exciting double-page spread by penciller Rick Leonardi, inker Dan Panosian and colourist Greg Wright. I also love how much character there is in this version of the Predator when it’s free of its helmet.

There are moments when you genuinely believe our hero is going to lose, making the eventual win all the more worthwhile. When another Predator arrives it looks closely at him and leaves, and you feel its look is its way of showing respect for the victor. We come back to the beginning of the story and the man is now an elder with familiar items attached to his shield and spear, and he sees another falling star in the night sky. Excellent stuff.

The Aliens Vs Predator II debacle is mentioned in the editorial and discussed on the letters page, but is this month’s chapter another attempt by Cefn to get readers writing in as he joked earlier? Have a read and see if you spot anything strange about this.

The strip is only two pages long as usual but I think they’ve been printed in the wrong order. The first thing I noticed was our lead character throwing her weapon at the alien Queen and being without it at the end of page one, but she has it again at the top of the next page. The first caption on page two is also a quick recap of the last chapter, the story flows from page two to page one better, and the end of page one is clearly the cliffhanger. Oh dear.

Prose story Tribes reads so much better this month, beginning with an excellent description of life inside an alien hive and then concentrating on the characters, building them into real humans in my mind. Most intriguing are MOX and Rat. The former is a psychotic human almost killed in battle but kept alive and sedated in an armoured shell until he’s needed to go berserk. The latter is an infiltration specialist who appears to have developed the skill of being silent as a child because of her abusive father.

Because it’s a novella being broken down into bite-sized chunks it’s another slow burn, something this comic seems to do incredibly well. It’s building up organically and I think it reads all the better for it. The conclusion should be all the more powerful after getting to know the people involved and caring about what happens to them. It’s also building an interesting plot and even an insight into the aliens themselves. Much improved and I’m looking forward to more.

On the inside back cover is the full-page advert for the refreshed #6 of Dracula which you can see in the review of #5 of that comic, and that just about wraps things up for another month. The best issue so far. No competition. Of course, you need to have read the previous chapters in all the stories to really appreciate them, but the emotional investment this issue brought has really surprised me. I’m locked, loaded and ready for #12 on Tuesday 20th May 2025.

iSSUE TEN < > iSSUE TWELVE

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Comic Reviews, Dracula

BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA #5: FiNAL(E) BITE

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More and more headlines adorn the front cover of Dark Horse International‘s Bram Stoker’s Dracula as  strips and features are added, the comic morphing like the Prince himself on this great Mike Mignola image. Gone is the glossy cover, replaced with a good quality matte paper throughout that seems to suck up the ink magnificently, and you’ll notice a lack of specific dates on the spine. That’s right, the comic is now an ongoing monthly title instead of a limited series of three-weekly issues. Not that anything is made of this in the editorial. More on this below.

Our main strip runs to 17 pages, concluding the adaptation and again it’s the art that really stands out. The spectacular moments during the final 20 minutes of the film must’ve been daunting for penciller Mike, inker John Nyberg and colourist Mark Chiarello. The minimalist style flies in the face of the film’s production design but it works perfectly, such as with this opening scene above. The carriages aren’t even drawn but it works. (Accompanied by John Costanza‘s lettering of Jonathan’s diary.)

In fact there are some small, incidental panels of individual characters which, if combined in a grid, could make for a lovely minimalist poster for fans of the film. Look at these images below of Jonathan (Keanu Reeves), Arthur (Cary Elwes), Mina (Winona Ryder) and Quincy (Billy Campbell) and imagine that large poster made up of these and likewise panels for all of the others.

The first half of the strip concentrates on the journey to Dracula‘s castle and the inner fight of Mina’s as she struggles between her love for Jonathan, the enforced lust for the Prince and Helsing‘s attempts to save her. As with previous chapters the only negative here is the memory of these scenes from the film making for an unfair comparison. The horseback gunfight was an absolutely thrilling moment as our heroes fought the setting sun, accompanied by Wojciech Kilar‘s booming score. Reading it instead of watching it accentuates just how much their music brought to the scene! Also, the key factor of the setting sun is completely missing apart from one mention in text.

Meanwhile, further ahead at the castle Helsing battles with Mina’s soul. The powerhouse performances by the actors is replaced by some dramatic poses, which are highlighted wonderfully by the lack of detail, the silhouette of Mina over Helsing with the three vampire women scrawled in the background being my favoured panel here. A couple of pages later (after Helsing is seen entering a crypt post-sunrise) we see the ultimate fate of the three watching horrors. It’s surprisingly gore-free given what we’re actually looking at. In fact, gore is something that’s largely been missing throughout the adaptation.

Not that the film relied on gore for its scares, but the comic really dials it down to little more than the odd splash of bold red, such as in Dracula’s final moments after Jonathan slits his throat. From here on it pretty much follows the film shot-for-shot, word-for-word. Well, why would you want to change such a perfect ending? Throughout these months there have been other changes made to the overall film, and there was no way it could match the atmosphere or looks, but what this series did differently to other adaptations was make bold artistic choices.

What we’ve been treated to over these first five issues is nothing short of a work of art. An adaptation of a work of art into another, in fact. For fans of the film it’s just such a unique take, a love letter to the movie. It feels like the team has created a tapestry of the film in comic art and as such it transcends a mere “comics adaptation of the current blockbuster movie”. It’s best enjoyed as a piece of art in this way and when it is it’s the best movie adaptation I’ve ever seen.

Dave Hughes‘ Bloodlines news pages are chock full of goodies this month (although we’ll try to ignore the creepy description of actor Sadie Frost as “delectable”), beginning with the box office takings of the film so far. Until beginning this series I’d no idea it was this big at the time! Saying “set is the operative word” when describing where it was made is a reference to the fact the whole thing was filmed on huge soundstages. Even the outdoor scenes were elaborate sets, something I wish the comic had delved into in more depth.

There isn’t exactly glowing praise for something they then immediately give away in a competition, I wonder if Coca-Cola had anything to say about the ‘Cult Classic’ logo used on the Evil Force video cover, and after reading the Sound Bites it’s no wonder Gary Oldman loves playing Jackson Lamb so much these days. One last thing of note, I have no idea how that “natural conclusion” was made in the ‘Scarlett Woman’ news item! (Oh, and I’ve given up on the promised Sadie interview ever appearing now.)

Vampirella‘s strip (written by Archie Goodwin, drawn by Tom Sutton) is reduced to seven pages to make way for a second back up, although personally I’m quite glad there’s less this time. The place she found herself in happens to be where a cult is trying to bring forth a demon of chaos and the scantily-clad alien vampire is to be sacrificed in order to do so. The man she fell in love with after five minutes turns out to be the soul of a warlock in a dead man’s body. He saves Vampirella and decides the evil nurse woman will be used as a vessel instead. How romantic. However, when she says no to him he turns on her (which sadly sounds rather familiar these days) and soon he’s trying to sacrifice her again.

She’s saved by the monster from her visions, who is actually the soul of the deceased man inside the withered old body of the warlock. You keeping up? The summoned beast has come for their souls but instead devours all of the cult and the place crumbles under its power. It’s left up in the air whether it made its way through the portal and the strip ends with the revelation that Van Helsing is making his way around the graves of the crashed airplane’s passenger list, staking them all until he finds the vampire he knows was on board. (Such a shame the comic’s ‘Previously’ round up describes this despite it not being mentioned in the previous issue, ruining the twist.)

As my first delve into the world of Vampirella I’m not particularly underwhelmed because I had low expectations (see last issue’s review to find out why). I know it’s an old strip and it’s very much of its time, however I’ll admit there’s intrigue with Helsing’s mission and the chaos demons, so we’ll see if the characterisation of the lead develops more next time.

There’s a fascinating two-page article by Adrian Rigelsford about a forgotten BBC Count Dracula production from the year of my birth, 1977. (The article begins with a play on words based on the pop rock band Transvision Vamp so I was sold immediately!) I didn’t think I’d be interested in some older Dracula adaptation but as soon as I found out Octopussy‘s Kamal Khan himself, Louis Jourdan played the Count I was, ahem, sucked in.

It all sounds fang-tastic (sorry). Originally shown as a three-hour movie and then split into episodes for repeats, at the time of this comic’s publication it was thought to be one of those “lost” BBC shows, which as a Doctor Fan I know all about. However, in a spooky coincidence, in the same month this issue was released the BBC repeated Count Dracula as a two-parter, possibly spurred on by the success of Francis Ford Coppola‘s movie. It hasn’t been broadcast since but was released on DVD in the early 2000s, so there may be a little second-hand purchase for Hallowe’en this year.

Finally, there’s a second six-page back up strip simply called Werewolf. I sighed when I saw a credit for Vampirella’s writer but this is an error, it was actually written by Larry Ivie (Eerie, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, artist on Castle of Frankenstein) for #1 of Creepy back in 1964 by Vampirella’s Warren Publishing. This story follows a complete asshole of a big game hunter (aren’t they all?) but he’s by no means the hero of the story. Treating local tribespeople like simpletons and beating his assistant, the ultimate outcome of the strip is satisfying as a result.

He’s been hired to track down a fabled immortal beast that’s said to transform into a human during the day. It has never killed but its evil apparently infects those around it. In the end he does indeed track it down and empties bullet after bullet into it to no avail. Not until he hits the one tiny white spot on its body does it fall to the ground. It then turns into a previous animal hunter, who had been cursed to live as the beast until someone else skilled in killing innocent animals could take it down.

The hunter of the story then transforms into the werewolf, doomed to live this way for hundreds of years just like his predecessor. The moral of the story is clear and it’s always fun to see someone who hunts animals for fun get their commence in my book. Or in my comics, I should say. A simple, straight-to-the-point story with some gorgeous art by Frank Frazetta (Famous Funnies, Conan the Barbarian novel covers, album covers and movie posters), this bodes well for the comic’s choice of any additional back up strips from here on. Speaking of which, time to check out that back cover.

There’s a full-page Next Issue back cover just like Aliens had in its #8 and this too was used as advertising across the range. With four more pages (is this where Aliens’ four pages wandered off to?), the origin story of our main character, more Vampirella and an interview (fingers crossed) with Anne Rice, the comic is about to continue morphing into something quite different, heralded by the change in logo away from that of the movie’s. All for the same price though. Which of course is free for you lot, just tune into the OiNK Blog from Sunday 11th May (four weeks from now instead of three).

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Comic Reviews, Transformers: Generation 2

TRANSFORMERS GENERATiON 2 #7: MEGA(TRON) MEMORiES

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Once more Derek Yaniger‘s art is a storming start to the latest issue of Marvel US‘ Transformers: Generation 2 comic from 1994 and inside it’s all-action. Written by Simon Furman, New Dawn begins with Megatron‘s Decepticons purging a planet of its robotic life in order to steal its natural resources, giving penciller Manny Galan, inker Jim Amash and colourist Sarra Mossoff a chance to introduce some of the new G2 toys as dramatically as possible!

There are a handful of brand new robots I’d never heard of before but it was the reintroduction of an old character that really caught my eye. With the Matrix captured (far too easily) last time, Megatron has been busy creating (and recreating) an army and to see an old favourite return in this way was a thrill. It’s just a shame Simon got their name wrong. But when I read this initially (before researching for the review) I wasn’t aware and just enjoyed the shock and awe.

In G1 Darkwing and the UK letter answerer Dreadwind combined into the giant jet toy called Dreadwing. It’s this name Hasbro went with for this stealth bomber Decepticon in the G2 range but Simon has named it Darkwing. Just to add more confusion, back in #5 Darkwing was named as a downed Decepticon jet (hence he needed rebuilt by the power of the Matrix) but his colour scheme was that of Dreadwind. So that’s that cleared up!

The attack goes flawlessly for the Decepticons but in the background one of their ilk isn’t happy with how he’s being used; he’s been resurrected for a single-minded purpose just to be disposed of when the job is done. No prizes for guessing it’s Starscream, once more raising the questions of why Megatron chose him in the first place and why has he a head full of human teeth.

He seems to have picked up on some classic Earth sayings in his time on our planet during G1, which I admit I did chuckle at. With his army back at full strength Megatron addresses his troops, rallying them for the fight ahead against Jhiaxus‘ new generation of Cybertronians. It gives the comic a reason to include one of those great crowd scenes it was always so good at, and Manny et all don’t disappoint.

That’s a bit harsh of Megatron shouting “Death to the Pretenders!” so close to Fangry and Stranglehold, though. Not really, it’s a funny little in-joke and at least Octopunch in the bottom-right corner stops himself from inadvertently referring to his former boss! This sort of build up is something we saw a few times over the course of the epic first generation comic, which makes what happens next all the more shocking.

First we get a moment of reflection with Jhiaxus bemoaning the fact that “tact and diplomacy” haven’t worked. If what he’s done was tactful and diplomatic then the comic successfully predicted some of our idiotic world leaders today. While the Deceptions are the ones to initiate the fighting, it’s actually their ship that’s boarded by Jhiaxus’ troops. What follows is nothing short of a massacre!

This has echoes of the Autobot Ark being boarded by Megatron and his army right back at the very beginning of the G1 comic, which adds to the dramatic outcome and the shock felt with the deaths of so many long-standing characters. Manny’s art is superb, even if an acid “drop” in zero gravity makes no sense. In the end, Megatron takes the fight to Jhiaxus… and subsequently gets seven shades of grey and green smacked out of him, as per the cover.

We see Megatron burning up upon entry to the planet below and have to take a breath to fully appreciate how everything has changed in the course of one issue. There’s a point where the story feels rushed, when Megatron sees Skullgrin‘s ship crash after an attack and suddenly he believes everything Prime told him last issue. Much in the same way as he claimed the Matrix, there are elements that feel they’ve been sped up from what Simon may have originally intended, in order to get the story to a finishing point for the final issue.

But it’s a testament to the quality of the comic that despite this it’s still so damned enjoyable. Soundwave takes some troops (including one of my favourite childhood Transformers toys, Dragstrip) down to the planet and discovers what they initially think are Megatron’s remains. However, as you can see it takes more than a savage beating in the depths of space, unprotected planetfall and a full speed descent over many miles into the solid ground to keep a good Decepticon down.

Tales of Earth continues as the backup strip and, while not an awful lot happens in part four, what it does contain are a few pages that are my absolute favourite of the whole issue, perhaps of the whole Generation 2 series so far. As Optimus Prime lies on an operating table getting slowly mended by medical drones, his thoughts wonder.

Having been close to death so many times must play on your mind, right? Reading that panel above, we know Prime is thinking back over the millennia and the endless war between the Autobots and Decepticons and the futility of it all. The back and forth between wins and loses, the only winner will surely be death, for them and their race. They’ve even saved one another upon occasion. Do they somehow know they actually need each other?

All of these thoughts are interesting enough but it’s how they’re presented that really grabbed me. I’m positive readers at the time loved these next few pages just as much and I know fans reading them here for the first time will feel exactly the same. Beginning with a double-page spread presented in landscape format, Prime’s thoughts trace back over specific key moments from the seven-plus years of the original comic.

His inner monologue is brought to the page wonderfully by Richard Starkings alongside new partner Bill O’Neil (Gen13, writer on Fathom and John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken Chronicles) and their unique lettering, punctuating a glorious spread by Derek, Jim and Sarra that includes the aforementioned Ark assault and even the moment between Ratchet and Megatron atop a clifftop on Earth from the early days. Speaking of Ratchet, look at that final memory carefully and you’ll see extra limbs and a familiar head shape in that Megatron-like silhouette.

Seeing this on the next page again was thrilling! What a surprise! It was a huge moment in the final year of the original comic and wonderful to see it play a key role in the Generation 2 story, as Prime remembers how he saved Megatron and Ratchet, despite the latter’s wish to be killed so that their enemy wouldn’t survive. What a moment. What an issue this has been. At the end the cliffhanger is a half-destroyed Megatron bursting in and standing over the helpless Optimus. You’ll see him in all his battered glory in next month’s review. Things just stepped up a gear. No pun intended.

In the middle of the comic is an eight-page pullout and a removable cardboard order form for the Marvel Mart, which according to its own cover is “Marvel’s First Catalogue Ever”. It says it’s full of rare merchandise yet the majority of it is comics and box sets, with merchandise relegated to the usual t-shirts, posters and the like on one page. I did spot the Transformers Generation 2 box set that I owned, which confusingly didn’t contain part one of the G.I. Joe crossover. (Possibly because only four issues would fit inside the boxes used.) It’s basically an eight-page advert.

At the beginning of the comic, right opposite the dramatic Darkwing/Dreadwing page is an advertisement for some chewy sweets with an incredibly unfortunate name. I mean, how on Earth did this get past the initial idea stage, never mind into the shops? It’s funny to look back on, but can you imagine if these were advertised today in a kid’s comic? You’d be able to hear the keyboards of Daily Mail readers across the land.

With that rather strange look at 90s American candy we come to the end of this month’s real time review. If this is the quality this comic achieved by only its seventh issue, I can’t help but wonder where it could’ve gone and the heights it could’ve reached over another seven year run! Now more than ever the month between this and the next issue is going to be a long one. Transformers: Generation 2 returns on Sunday 27th April 2025 with #8.

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