At Flashbak: Alien - The Illustrated Story

Also at Flashbak this week, I recalled the Alien (1979) graphic novel from Heavy Metal.

Here’s a snippet and the url: (http://flashbak.com/remembering-heavy-metals-alien-illustrated-story-59183/)

“Thirty years ago -- in 1986 -- I was on a family vacation to Boston, and I discovered the goriest, most horrific comic book -- er, graphic novel -- I had ever seen.

I had come upon Heavy Metal’s Alien: The Illustrated Story in a clearance bin at a small book store. It was located in that bin with a stack of about a hundred other copies, each selling for just a dollar. I picked one up, but honestly, was terrified to read it. I had to work up to it.

Heavy Metal's Alien: The Illustrated Story by Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson was distributed by Simon and Schuster, and it's a graphic -- really graphic -- adaptation of the 1979 Ridley Scott horror film right down to the chest-bursting, face-hugging action.

As you can see from the representative illustrations accompanying this post, character likenesses are good; and even the "tech" of the Nostromo, Narcissus and the Derelict exhibit commendable fidelity to the movie's production design.

The comic-book adaptation opens with a quote from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, "We live as we dream - alone," and then launches into the story of the Nostromo's encounter with a malevolent (and perfect?) life-form. The comic follows the details of the theatrical release closely. For instance, it doesn't feature the famous deleted scene with Dallas's transformation into egg…”

Continue reading at Flashbak.