An explosive conclusion.
Creative Staff:
Story: James Stokoe
Art: James Stokoe
Colors: James Stokoe
Letterer: James Stokoe
What They Say:
With one last gambit aboard the space station, Wascylewski finds himself ambushed by two more deadly xenomorphs that will stop at nothing until he’s dead.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The first three issues of Aliens: Dead Orbit definitely made an impression with what they did as James Stokoe put together a book that looked great, hit all the right notes that Alien fans were looking for, and built up the tension and pacing with some nice twists and creativity. There are areas where this property can expand and do new things but there’s also something to be said for having creators play in the sandbox to bring their own particular vision to the familiar template. They’re not looking to go crazy weird in building onto the mythology but rather to tell a tale full of tension and horror mixed with action. Stokoe delivered that in spades here.
With this being the final issue there aren’t exactly any surprises here. In terms of story, Stokoe keeps it simple as Wassy and the other three survivors continues to look for a way to escape and work through a couple of options, none of which seem good, as they’re picked off one by one. It’s a brutal series of events that unfolds as everyone is panicking, though Wassy panics just a bit less than the others, and he makes out a bit better simply because he has the spacesuit on while trying to get things together. It’s something that gives him an edge but also puts him in more danger, but it also keeps him separate from the others as they’re dragged away and torn apart by the Xenomorphs.
The final act is definitely something that works wonderfully, though coming out five months after the third installment minimizes it in reading it in this form. The final confrontation between Wassy and the Xenomorph shifts to the exterior of the ship and that lets Stoke run with the visuals in a great way, giving us this large but empty vista with great coloring that sets the stage incredibly way. That’s combined with a lot of detail through the Xenomorph itself as well as the space station as we get that being run across, torn up, and blown up. It’s a fantastic fight that’s essentially wordless which gives it its own weight. And it shifts into something even darker and more ominous in the final pages with the clock counting down, no words, and the knowledge of just how bad things are. It’s technically open-ended but it has a real sense of finality about it.
In Summary:
I thoroughly enjoyed this series from start to finish as James Stokoe delivered a strong work across the board. The gap between issues is a killer but for those that read it in the future they’ll have a single run to just absorb and enjoy. This is almost a theatrical experience in what he produces here, giving us enough character to set the stage but keeping the focus on the tension, panic, and chaos that comes from trying to survive. The details are incredible and I love the look of this from the layouts to the character designs. This issue goes a bit bigger on the exteriors and that made me want a lot more of that as well. Definitely a great book and a wonderful way to dig into the franchise a bit more without needing a huge amount of mythology to engage with.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: December 13th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
