Marvel Comics have debuted their Xenomorph saga with Alien #1 from the creative team of writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Salvador Larocca, selling over 300,000 copies, forcing them to go back to the printer for a reprint already. The premiere issue has only been out for a day and has already sold out. The reprint will be sporting a brand new cover as well.
The tie-in comics for the Alien franchise were previously published by Dark Horse Comics. Some of their past work on the series is being re-released by Marvel in the Aliens: The Original Years Omnibus, with the first volume available in April 2021 and the second volume available in August 2021. But Marvel has promised to introduce a lot of new elements into the franchise with their first Alien series that premiered with issue #1 on March 24, 2021.
Prior to the release of the first issue, Johnson shared with SYFY Wire, "Anyone who looks for it in my earlier horror work will see the influence of the first two Alien films, but I don't know if Marvel quite understood my love for the franchise when they gave me that call," showing just how connected he is with the original franchise. "I can definitively promise readers that they're getting stories written by the biggest Alien fan imaginable, and that I'll always have more stories to tell as long as they want me on the book." The Marvel series focuses on Gabriel Cruz, who has retired and is now attempting to fix his relationship with his son alongside the help of a Bishop model android. But his acclimation to post-Alien life is not easy and the threat of the Xenomorphs is far from over. It will be interesting to see how this spin-off from the beloved Alien franchise will be received by fans and if it will fall into the same pitfalls or have the same triumphs as the game spinoff Alien Isolation.
Thanks to Alien #1's sold-out status, Marvel is issuing a reprint of the first issue, which will be released on April 28, 2021, in comic book stores. This reprint will have a new "Second Printing Variant Cover" by series artist Larocca as well as a version of the variant with new colors by Patrick Gleason. The Xenomorphs certainly have plenty of variant potential, considering Marvel also released variants featuring the creatures on their superhero books to further promote the series back in January 2021.
The preview of the new Alien series also promises to give the Xenomorphs their own "King in Black" by introducing a seemingly new and even more dangerous variation of their species. The potential for the series seems extremely promising, and with the numbers it's bringing in, Marvel will likely be putting even more attention onto the book to further capitalize it. So, take part in the sci-fi horror if you already missed the first printing when the new Larocca cover for Alien #1 releases on April 28, 2021.
Source: SYFY Wire