The Aliens franchise has proved to be a rich fruit for comic-book spin-offs almost from the point that Jim Cameron’s film was released in 1986. Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights and started publishing new stories from 1988. After a sequel to the film which was rendered obsolete once Alien 3 was released in 1992, they took the decision to create standalone mini-series and one-shots instead of an ongoing, regularly published comic. Despite a ten-year hiatus, dozens of different narratives have been told in the Aliens universe.

Aliens: Colonial Marines was a 1993 limited series that focused on the military wing of Weland-Yutani, featuring Carmen Vasquez, younger sister of Jenette from the film. The story followed a group of marines as they investigated and battled Xenomorph infestations across numerous backwater planets – including one used solely for kelp farming – uncovering conspiracies, encountering Alien/Human hybrids as well as the mercenary bug-hunter Herk Mondo. Initially commissioned as a 12-issue series, the final two were cancelled, and the series was only collected into a collected edition in 2007 as part of the Aliens Ominbus series.

I loved the series as a ten-year-old nerd who, as a latch-key kid came home from school every day and watched the film obsessively on VHS. I don’t know how well it would hold up under the harsh, unforgiving light of 2019. Buy hey, the covers were cool.

Stay frosty and have a great day, everyone.