Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There will be those who remember sitting and waiting with varying degrees of patience for their favourite comic book title, as they seemed to be called once upon a time, to come out and then devoured greedily with relish as their favourite hero or collection of champions led the way through 40 or so pages of agonising self-worth and the inevitable fight, perhaps to the death.

Chiefly amongst the publication dealers for decades was Marvel and D.C. comics. American, wholesome as mum’s apple pie and containing characters such as Captain America, The Human Torch, Ben Grimm, Tony Stark, The Hulk, Batman, The Invisible Woman, Superman, Wonder Woman. All super heroes, all familiar to generations of fans of the stories and later on the successful films. What was missing perhaps was the edge, the film tie in before the film had even been made. The look away from the wholesome image in which super heroes existed and to a darker, meaner and in many ways more terrifying place in which two of the greatest monster creations of film could take on an extra salivating prospect.

Dark Horse, again an American owned company and who had notable key people at its heart in the astounding Frank Miller, Mike Allred and Joss Whedon, tied together the imagery and horror of the Predator and perhaps the single highest cause of young children and adults in the late 1970s and 80s, The Alien.

This new comic/graphic novel publisher for a while added another vehicle for collectors and fans to get their kicks, a world away from the usual pent up frustrations of Spiderman, the family intrigue of The Fantastic Four or the brooding menace that lurked in the heart of The Dark Knight, Aliens Vs. Predator was creative action, no self-indulgence that started creeping into Marvel and D.C. during the 80s, this was good story telling backed up by some very impressive and imaginative art-work. Aliens Vs Predator was the story the film makers should have put together on film before the horror show that was the inevitable release at the cinema.

Randy Stradley’s, Ian Edginton’s and Alex Maleev’s scripts are handled with extreme due diligence by both the artist and the company. In Randy Stradley’s case, the script pulsates with just enough humour and agonising terror to be arguably the finest in amongst a top rated set of stories that included the initial Aliens Vs Predator and War.

It seemed to take an interminable age to get these two giants on screen together, to finally tie in the mythology that had grown up around them and when it did the result was far from convincing with a story line that was poorly handled and in places dull. Both the original three Alien films, the two Predator films and now the latest tie-in Prometheus deserved something epic to bring these two nightmarish creatures together in what can be described as every fan’s dream. In cinema it didn’t happen but thanks to Dark Horse there was a set of stories that was ripe for adapting. Clean, bristling with vitality thanks to some exceptional art work and powerful, the films may have shone as brightly as the sun during a total eclipse but the graphic novel that is available to read and immerse yourself in is at least disturbingly good.

Aliens Vs Predator Volume 1 Omnibus is available to buy from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall