Alien #5

Alien #5

Marvel Comics 2021

Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson

Illustrated by Salvador Larroca

Coloured by GURU-eFX

Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles

ENTER THE ALPHA!

The creature that almost killed Cruz is back to finish the job. Everything Cruz has dedicated his life to hangs in the balance.And with his son’s life on the line, terrible decisions must be made.

I am totally digging this story and that Cruz found his son but with a facehugger on him would have crushed a lesser man. This franchise finally kind of flips the script on what we are used to seeing and that it does this in such a dramatic fashion is utterly sensational. That this is now told in two parts, Cruz and Bishop each having their own arc running simultaneously, allows us to see everything that is currently happening on the station. I adore seeing how the different types of xenomorphs are created, well as least as recanted by Cruz, and knowing that the variations are literally endless limited only to the species that are available to the facehuggers. Also to learn the connection between the Alpha and Cruz was something I hadn’t been expecting to see either and I have to say that you cannot snooze or read this on autopilot because what Phillip does with the writing here is something you need to pay close attention to.

I am in love with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is exquisitely rendered. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter continue to portray them as people we can identify with, know or simply understand. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we find ourselves completely captivated and enthralled by the story.

I greatly appreciate the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve and strengthen not to mention emerge as well. The layers contain the plot twists, the characterisation as well as other important bits and whether they work with the main arc or swirl around it they add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

The interiors here are mindbogglingly brilliant to see. The linework is phenomenal and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level & quality of the detail work is astonishingly well rendered. That we see backgrounds utilised to enhance the moments is beautifully done and to see them work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is perfectly done. Also that we get that feeling of being in space, in a station that has cramped quarters heightens the abject terror of the story itself. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination we see is off the charts. The colour work is equally as brilliant to see. The various hues and tones within the colours and how we see them being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a master colourist in action. The light sources, the hues that they cast and the different shades you don’t always expect to see is simply stunning.

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This really is everything we could possibly want in an Alien story and then some. The tension, the near misses and the abject terror we see the characters experience are all thanks to the high quality of the writing, characterisation and the brilliant way the interiors are rendered.