Declan Shalvey continues his run at the xenomorphs in Marvel‘s Alien Annual #1, with art by Danny Earls. What did we think of the nearly silent issue?
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Alien Annual #1 (2023) Review:
Seemingly set before Declan Shalvey’s arc on the ongoing Alien book, we discover how the xenomorphs ended up trapped in ice in the previous story. And not only that, we’re getting new, more dangerous creatures fighting the xenomorphs in what is essentially a “silent” issue.
Host Alex Zalben lauded the “Eldritch horror” designs of the new creatures. He also thought that making the issue silent except for the growls and screams of the creatures was a “neat choice.”
Justin Tyler agreed and appreciated that this was a “visual story and a nonhuman story.” He also noted that he enjoyed how the xenomorphs took on the qualities of these new creatures once their spores infected them. Zalben clarified this is something that comes from the movies, where — for example — a dog was infected in Aliens 3, leading to a xenomorph that mostly walked on all fours.
However, they both liked how Marvel’s comics — and this issue in particular — are pushing that concept further. “I love expanding the world into other creatures,” Zalben added. “Very, very fun and you don’t have to have read the previous arc… to jump right into this.”
Alien Annual #1 (2023) Official Synopsis:
ALIEN VS. ALIEN: PITY THE XENO! A Xenomorph queen and her hive descend on a dark world. They’re hungry – they’re always hungry – and stand poised to overrun this planet like they have so many others. Until the native life fights back. Declan Shalvey and Danny Earls deliver an action-packed story and show-stopping visuals in this standalone entry in the Alien mythos!
