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Heavy Metal Presents Alien: The Illustrated Story cover.
Alien: The Illustrated Story reissue cover.
Heavy Metal Presents Alien: The Illustrated Story is a graphic novel adaptation of film of the same name, commissioned by Heavy Metal in 1979. Based on the original screenplay by Dan O'Bannon, the adaptation was scripted by Archie Goodwin, illustrated by Walt Simonson and edited by Charles Lippincott. Originally rendered in black and white, it was reprinted in color and reissued as simply Alien: The Illustrated Story in 2012.
The next Alien-franchise-related comic book to be published would be 1988's Aliens, based on James Cameron's sequel, by the then recently formed Dark Horse Comics. It would go on to spawn an entire line of Aliens comics by Dark Horse that continues until the present.
Overview
The adaptation was released prior to Dark Horse Comics acquiring the license to produce Aliens comics following the release of Aliens in 1986. Indeed, Alien: The Illustrated Story pre-dates the existence of Dark Horse Comics itself. The film adaptation was created by comics legends Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson] for the equally acclaimed Heavy Metal magazine, which had been started in 1974 as an American version of the French science fiction/fantasy/erotica magazine Metal Hurlant. Prior to being published, the comic was partially serialized in Heavy Metal — two eight-page segments from the start of the graphic novel were run to serve as a teaser for the full release.[1] Due to an editing error, the title used at the start of the second of these segments was erroneously retained in the trade paperback release, although this was removed for the 2012 re-release.[1]
Goodwin is also well known for being a former editor at Marvel Comics and long-time Star Wars comics writer/editor in comic book, daily strip, and movie adaptation forms. Simonson also worked on Marvel's Star Wars Comics, but would become renowned for his work on Marvel's Thor. His future wife, Louise Jones, also served as an editor on Marvel's Star Wars, on which the two worked together for a time.
The Original Art Edition
Following the comic's reissue in 2012, an expanded Original Art Edition was also released with additional content, including samples from the comic's script (by Goodwin) and an interview with the creators revealing more on how the comic came to be, the writing process and Simonson's trip to England to see the film being made. The Original Art Edition was released in the hardcover format with black and white artwork that recreated the original graphic novel's front cover.
Plot
The graphic novel artistically follows exactly the plot and visuals of the feature film, including graphic representations of a few deleted scenes, as well.
Reception
Unusually for a comic book adaptation of a feature film, Alien: The Illustrated Story was critically acclaimed, with some even going as far as to label it superior to the movie.[1] Simonson later commented that 20th Century Fox themselves expressed a reservation for the distinctive cover artwork, as they considered it to be superior to the posters that had been created for the film itself.[1]
Editions
- ISBN 0930368428; [1979], Simon & Schuster, paperback, 64 pages
- ISBN 978-1781161296; [September] [2012], Titan Books, paperback, 64 pages
- ISBN 978-1781161302; [October] [2012], Titan Books, hardcover, 72 pages
Gallery
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Comic Book Resources - WALT SIMONSON REFLECTS ON "ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY"". Retrieved on 2014-11-12.