Review: Aliens/Vampirella HC
Aliens/Vampirella, another epic crossover between two great comic book companies. This issue starts with an alien chasing vampires down a dark street. The Vampire foolishly tries to bite the alien only to have the alien blood/acid eat him alive. A gruesome opening scene that sets the pace for what is to come. Then we cut to Vampirella on a spaceship to Mars. She’s a consultant to the Marstronauts because they’ve found some kind of alien base below the surface and want her to investigate. A great mash-up which could have delved into an almost parody of the two genres is handled very well by Corinna Bechko.
The Creative Team
Corinna Bechko amps up the horror element right away with this tale of vampires and aliens. Her love for both franchises shows forth proving that she was the right one to handle this cross-over. We do see some of the same elements that we come to expect in an alien story. It’s difficult to find a different way to bring the aliens in to the story so some of the tropes are going to be the same and I’ve come to expect that. But Bechko makes good use of these tropes to give us an original meeting between the two. The story unfolds smoothly and Bechko definitely comes through with the chills. A great read overall.
Javier Garcia-Miranda has a powerful interpretation of the Xenomorphs, These creatures can’t be easy to draw and yet he makes it look simple. The splash on page 25 delivers the chills as we see Vampires caught up in the Alien’s web. His Vampirella is a good take on the character as well. Hopefully we’ll see more of Miranda on Vampirella titles. The final battle was incredibly rendered. I only wish there was more to it. It could have lasted several more panels and would have been all the better. But over all the art is some of the best I’ve seen for both franchises.
The Cover
Beautifully drawn and straightforward. We see Vampirella treading softly among Alien eggs on Mars. She doesn’t want to disturb one alien or accidently hatch any new ones. There’s an alien directly behind her. Behind the alien is the planet Mars itself. This draws the reader into the issue with the promise of some excellent suspense from the Xenomorphs. And this title delivers the suspense. This cover should draw fans of Alien that have never read comics before because of the art alone.
In Conclusion
Our creative team definitely knows how to build suspense. Our heroes overcome obstacle after obstacle and near the end Vampirella needs to feed again. Lars once again offers his blood but Vampi doesn’t want to take anymore from him because she’s afraid that she’s taken too much already, excellent dramatic moment that only brings a sense of foreboding to the final battle. Before that battle happens we learn something new about Vampirella and her relationship to the nosferatu of earth. A solid , satisfying read. Hopefully there will be more.
Aliens/Vampirella HC collection
Writer: Corinna Bechko
Art: Javier Garcia-Miranda
Letters: Simon Bowland
Colors: Inlight Studios, Jordan Boyd
Cover: Gabriel Hardman
Publishers: Dynamite Entertainment and Dark Horse Publishing
Publication date: July 6, 2016
Price: $24.99
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
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