Aliens: DeAD Orbit

The Xenomorph scuttled back into cinemas this year, greeted by mostly underwhelmed audiences. For any Alien fans who sent out a distress beacon after seeing Covenant, the cry has been answered with this comic, the best franchise property since James Cameron’s first sequel.

The story’s simple: an astronaut attempts to survive an Alien, while remembering how he first encountered it. But if the plot’s basic, the art is anything but. French art geeks will be reminded of Jean Giraud (aka Moebius); a perfect fit considering how much influence Moebius has had on Ridley Scott’s career (he created concept art for Alien and was an inspiration for Blade Runner). But the art goes beyond homage. The intensely intricate images allow James Stokoe to use minimal dialogue (we’re six pages in before someone speaks), because the surroundings do the world-building.

Stokoe, who writes, draws and colours, is in complete control of his environment, with every element increasing tension. This is a comic that uses sound effects as smartly as any Hollywood director, bringing you so deep into the book’s pages that you feel like sticking on a Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack as you explore it. Dead Orbit is the movie we were all craving, the only Alien experience you need in 2017. Sam Ashurst