Comic Review // Alien: The Illustrated Story by Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson

I'm on a real Alien kick now, and I'm rereading a few comics and books now. So, whilst returning to Alien: Salvation, I was happy to stumble across this classic piece of graphic novel history: Alien: The Illustrated Story—believed by many to be the best movie-to-comic adaptation ever made. So, guess what? I picked it up and read it like a madman. So, let us jump in!

Publisher: Titan Books (2012) Original Published 1979

Title: Alien: The Illustrated Story

Writer: Archie Goodwin

Artist: Walter Simonson

Pages: 64

Fluff: Vacant. Two space helmets rest on chairs. Electronic hum. The lights on the helmets begin to signal one another. Moments of silence. A yellow light goes on. Electronic hum. A green light goes on in front of one helmet. Electronic pulsing sounds. A red light goes on in front of the other helmet. An electronic conversation ensues. It reaches a crescendo. Then silence.

And when the silence is broken, the crew of the Nostromo must grapple with a terrifying life force they cannot leash or comprehend—the Alien!

The stunning colour graphic novel of Ridley Scott's legendary sci-fi thriller!

Review

Wow, what a great read! It does live up to the hype. If the film had not been made and instead just existed as this graphic novel, I would be raving about how great this is. As it stands, it helps boost your knowledge of what you saw in the film. It even helps improve roles like Ripley as the warrant officer and allows time to absorb some of the technical jargon that would otherwise get skipped in a film.

Since I was old enough, I have maybe watched Alien a hundred-plus times, and I never get sick of watching it. It is a film that you know what will happen but can't turn away. You build a bond with each character, and then you are forced to watch the xenomorph kill them and take them into the darkness. It is a film about humans surviving in the harshness of space, friendships built within a confined space, strong female leads and the need to overcome the fear of the dark. All this is beautifully portrayed within this comic by Goodwin's writing.

Though dated by today's standards, Simonson's artwork is beautiful (try to find the uncoloured edition for a real treat). Everything has a purpose, be it movement, from the smoke and wind effects used on the planet's surface to the way the chestbuster escapes Kane's torso on the kitchen table. No detail is poorly used. Then add in great ink work, and the story comes to life again, and we are forced to relive poor Dallas' demise in the air duct, scene by scene.

Seriously, go buy/borrow this book. You will not be disappointed, and it will reinvigorate your love of the franchise.