Alien vs Predator: Fire and Stone
Written by Christopher Sebela
Illustrated by Ariel Olivetti
Dark Horse Books
June 23, 2015
Reviewed by Jess Landry
The Alien vs Predator universe sure is one crowded house. There’s a whole bunch of awesome movies (and a couple not-so-awesome ones), some badass video games, there’s action figures and now, there are some brand-spanking new comic books.
There are currently four different comic series set in the Fire and Stone storyline: Prometheus: Fire and Stone, Aliens: Fire and Stone, Predator: Fire and Stone, and this one, AvP: Fire and Stone. Each series is four issues long and every series shares an interconnected story. The upcoming June 23rd release of AvP: Fire and Stone collects issues 1 through 4 of the same name comic, previously released throughout 2014 by Dark Horse Books.
AvP: Fire and Stone picks up after the events of Prometheus: Fire and Stone. Elden, a synthetic (think Bishop from Aliens or David from Prometheus) who has mutated and is currently self-evolving into some sort of alien-robot-human thing, is on the hunt for his creator, Francis. Elden finds Francis aboard the Geryon, a ship initially sent on a rescue mission to the planet LV-223, where the events of Prometheus transpired. The ship is now on the trip home to Earth, seemingly unaware that Elden is on his way to seek answers (and maybe get a little vengeance) on his creator.
The Predators show up…because…well, this is an AvP installment after all. I’m assuming it’s because the Preds love a good hunt, and hey, what better game than the ever-transforming, ever-unstoppable Elden? Either way, once Elden, the Predators and the Aliens are onboard the same ship, there’s a whole lot of blood, guts and metamorphosis going on.
The storyline is very Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Elden struggles with his identity and his raison d’etre as he becomes more and more self-aware. His quest to find Francis, his creator, isn’t so much to kill him, but simply to find out why Francis made him the way he is. Elden is a sympathetic character; he’s the robot-alien on the verge of self-discovery. The story, penned by Christopher Sebela, has enough action and keeps the pace of the story moving along well enough that boredom isn’t an option.
Artwork wise, there are a lot of gorgeous things happening here. First and foremost is the beautiful cover art by E.M. Gist. Also included is a variant cover by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. The interior art by Ariel Olivetti is amazing. Every decapitation, every instance of acidic green blood, every mutation and evolution, it’s all lovely. It’s the kind of stuff that you want to hang on your walls and stare at all day.
Based on the artwork alone, this compilation of the AvP: Fire and Stone series is worth getting your hands on. It’s the best way to get your fix of the Alien and Predator universes until the next adventure in the franchises comes out.
