Now that director Fede Alvarez’s “Alien: Romulus” has crawled under our skin and provided ample nightmare fuel while we sleep, it’s time to look forward to the spookiest season of the year and peer inside one of Marvel Comics’ creepier upcoming Halloween offerings.
As we first reported back in July, the House of Ideas is releasing a special “Alien: Romulus” one-shot comic book on Oct. 16, 2024 that was crafted with the full cooperation of, and input from, the filmmakers themselves. It addresses one of the hit sci-fi horror film’s biggest questions: What happened to Weyland-Yutani’s space station?
“Alien Romulus #1” is penned by horror aficionado Zac Thompson (Absolute Carnage: Avengers, I Breathed a Body) and illustrated by up-and-coming artist Daniel Picciotto (Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider, X-Force). We’ve got a petrifying peek at the killer covers and five full pages of interior artwork to share.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Marvel’s one-shot will take place prior to the events of the film, providing an illuminating backstory behind the film’s main threat. Made in close partnership with Director Fede Alvarez and frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues, both of whom wrote ‘Alien: Romulus,’ the one-shot adds a new layer to one of the biggest film releases of the year.
“Marvel Comics presents an all-new story revealing secrets of the film’s legendary antagonists. This issue shines light on the tragedy that occurred on the space station Renaissance before Rain, Andy, and their crew had their own terrifying encounter there!”
Related: ‘Alien: Romulus’ one-shot comic reveals dark secrets of deadly xenomorphs
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With the acidic alien blood settling and the eerie hybrid creature that was birthed in the film’s final scene freaking out audiences worldwide, it’s time to delve into an event that took place prior to the 20th Century Studios reboot that rolled back the clock to recapture the flair and feeling of “Alien,” director Riley Scott’s original 1979 masterpiece.
“Romulus” is a retro trip back to old-fashioned storytelling and atmospheric scares using mostly practical VFX monsters by Legacy Effects and its award-winning former Stan Winston Studios crew that worked on James Cameron’s “Aliens” back in the mid-eighties.
“The ‘Alien’ franchise is responsible for my lifelong love of body horror, so needless to say, I’m ecstatic to be contributing a small piece to the canon,” Thompson shared. “Working with Fede Alvarez to craft a prequel to ‘Alien: Romulus’ was a genuine dream come true and a responsibility I don’t take lightly. The result is a thrilling, terrifying story that slowly gestates into something wholly unpredictable.”
Sporting a ferocious main cover from Leinil Francis Yu, and variant covers by Bjorn Barends and Marco Checchetto, Marvel Comics’ “Alien: Romulus #1 arrives Oct. 16.