ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT - A Lost Horror Masterpiece 

Read the complete essay on Comic Book Herald! www.comicbookherald.com/aliens-dead-orbit-a-lost-horror-masterpiece/

Well, this is how I find out Dead Orbit is out of print and rare now. I picked it up in a clearance sale, it was a pretty great surprise, if a bit short.

IMO, the beat way to keep the xenomorph unsettling is to use it to explore different horrors. Touching on the lovecraftian horror in the first I remember reading a Comic years ago, set in a colony, where the suggestion of xenomorph presence leads to a cult worhipping the Queen. It uses religious horror, combined with the idea that none of the cultists beliefs are factually wrong. It used an awesomely unique style, with mostly sharply edged black and white with mostly silhouetted figure. Think of sin city drawn with a marker, or paper cutouts. Damn. I wish I could remember the title....

I feel like a really interesting Alien story they could do would be to have some veteran, who survived an encounter with a Xenomorph, lead a group mission to kill one on a remote research facility. He/she goes in cocky, thinking that they know every trick in the book to exterminate it, and then said Xenomorph ends up being nye-indestructible, and the veteran is picked off. Then the remaining crew members have to figure out why they can't kill this particular Xenomorph specimen while surviving, and we get our fun plot twist: The Xenomorph that they are trying to kill is actually a Synthetic created by a disgraced Weyland-Yutani scientist, who has lured the mercenaries to the facility in order to test its combat capabilities. It would be a fun spin on the usual Alien survival horror plots. Now lore-wise, I'm not sure how you would explain the creation of a Synthetic-Xenomorph, but I'm sure there's a creative way around that hurdle

Ahh Matt! Not even a business week after you posted this, marvel announced the release of a new Aliens omnibus which collects Dead Orbit among others! Won’t be out until next year but the book won’t be out of print much longer.

Please never stop with these horror videos. Oh man, i can't get enough of them!

I’m so happy to see you got around to making this video! Been looking forward to this one for a while. I really like that Dead Orbit has a very simple story and focuses on translating scary ass moments that’d be easy to pull off in a movie to its pages. I recall the moment in the book where the main character mistakes pipes for a xenomorph. That was really well done! Great video, Matt! This spooky series of vids has been killer!

ME AT 6:10 - _Oh, a page insert from a random book. I love those! My favorite book ever is House of Leaves. I would probably use a page from that if it was me. I wonder what page they used. I should pause the video and find out._ ME A FEW MOMENTS LATER - *existential dread face, locks deadbolt, destroys cellphone*

As soon as you mentioned this was out of print I checked online and discovered one of my local comic stores still had the oversized hardcover edition in stock for the recommended retail price. Ordered it on the spot. Edit: it's arrived and it's bigger than I expected. I anticipated an oversized hardcover like what DC and Marvel put out but it's got the same dimensions as a DC absolute edition which is even larger again.

James Stokoe is on another level, he's easily up there with Mike Mignola as my favorite comic book artist

Stokoe's graphic style strongly reminds me of Katsuhiro Otomo's

I read this comic. It is CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED!

I think I picked up my digital copy after a Patreon-exclusive review, and I tracked down an oversized hardcover after this video. Thanks Matt!

I believe that Dead Orbit, of all the comic stories about xenomorphs that I have read, is the only one that contains what I would like to find in a similar product: few characters, a rusty, decadent, industrial and isolated setting from which it is difficult escape, few xenomorphs (even better, only one, but in Dead Orbit, Stokoe juggled the twins quite well) and only one survivor, condemned to die anyway due to lack of oxygen. I have always loved Alien over the sequels, although I recognize that they are all excellent films... but there is something in the first film (and in the products that recall its atmosphere) that continues to intrigue me more than the stories with the marines, or at least more action-oriented.

Xenomorph + Necromorph + Flood + Warhammer xenos = literally the worst sci fi universe to live in

Seeing the Avengers fight the Xenomorphs is wild, imagine if a powerful telepath like Emma Frost, Jean Grey, or Psylocke was able to mind control the Xenomorphs, it would be terrifying

Yessss talking about the best aliens comic.

Excellent video! Thank you for highlighting this story.

I'm really glad that I picked up my copy of Dead Orbit a few years ago.

Curious, do you happen to have read Aliens: Mondo Pest and its sequel Mondo Heat? Some of the artwork is very Bruce Timm-esque, and while these are primarily action-oriented, they carry the Alien theme quite well albeit with a slight dark comedy slant.

OMG I have this book somewhere, I loved it when I read it years ago hell yeah!

Hope they never mix the marvel universe with Alien. I think that would really destroy the whole Alien atmosphere. Thanks for the video, it was interesting to hear about dead orbit, as I had never heard about it before.

I'm jumping the gun here to comment before I've seen the video, but as much as I wanted to love this comic it didn't really affect me. I love James Stokoe as an artist - he's phenomenal. But I'm not the biggest Aliens fan and the tension just wasn't there for me. At least the artwork is undeniably gorgeous.

I won a copy of the JP oversized hardcover of Dead Orbit. Love the artwork and the story is decent. Makes me want more Aliens graphic novels

I remember you recommending this comic when I commented on the Unmade Alien Sequels video. Gave it read because I loved James Stokoe’s work on Godzilla: Half-Century War. Really loved it and I hope Marvel reprints it for new audiences to rediscover it (as long as they pay Stokoe of course). I’ve been behind on your videos due to school work and adjusting to campus life but great video Matt and here’s for another Halloween video. Also, is the next video about the Pumpkin the rises from the Pumpkin Patch?! 👀

Rutger Haur fought something inspired by a Xenomorph alien in a movie titled Split Second (1992).

I recently discovered your channel and have been working through your catalog. Wonderful stuff. I read a digital copy of Dead Orbit because of this video. I think following up Alien can go in one of two directions. Either a creator tries something totally new like Prometheus and the fans hate it (and then eventually like it after about a decade) or a creator can remix the tropes and archetypes into new media and structures and the fans call it boring. Dead Orbit is definitely in the latter category. Dead Orbit doesn’t say anything new, but it feels like listening to your favorite ghost story told by someone who loves it even more than you do. Despite that simplicity I thought the "twist" ending was perfection and maybe even more like an "Alien ending" than the original Alien? Incidentally Prometheus is one of my all time favorite movies. It's not perfect, but I'll never miss an opportunity to defend what it does well or watch it again. Keep up the good work!

It was better than most of the Dark Horse movie franchise books but honestly the only truly worthy entry into the Alien universe since Aliens is Alien Isolation. That game is scary AF.

Guardians of the Galaxy number-3XX: *Ben Grimm:* "Do you guys hear something in the vents???" [a *Xenomorph* drops through the ceiling] *Venom:* "Who the fuck is this guy!?"

Never heard of this one but I’m looking it up now

Man I’m happy to see some love for this comic! I only recently read it a year or two ago, digitally on comixology unlimited. Been searching my book store for it occasionally only to now find out it’s out of print! Hopefully Marvel will re-release it. I absolutely love the detail and care put into every panel. Just looking at meticulous drawings of huge space ships was a treat. You could tell the artist put a lot of care and love into his work. Then you mention the artist did EVERYTHING ELSE TOO. Bravo man, Definitely a labor of love.

Was lucky enough to buy the comics. This is so good and the artwork is amazing!

a main reason i dont bother getting into the graphic novel/comics is because they're incredibly expensive. i cant justify spending 25+ dollars on something ill read once and just have sitting on a shelf for the foreseeable future.

- How many intros do you want? - YES!

Glad I bought this when they all dropped!

Hey it's House of Leaves so Dead Orbit is now part of House of Leaves as it continues to grow and consume the vase emptiness. Seriously though Dead Orbit is amazing and I love that it is getting love even if Marvel probably has it planned to be in the their 4th or 5th omnibus.

Great news for this mini! Next year’s Aliens Classic Years Omnibus Vol. 4 will contain this series in oversized hardcover glory!

"In the vast cold of space lurks a terrifying evil that knows no mercy. And soon, that evil will be inside you." Read that as Peter Cushing and then as Peter Griffin and you'll have 2 very different stories.

Fast Track to Heaven by Liam Sharp is my all-time fave Aliens art. Great story too.

Some of the Aliens and Predator novels are surprisingly good...Predator Eyes of the Dragon has some good stories, so does AVP Ultimate Prey..some of those short stories would make great comics actually. Alot of stuff from the Predators point of view which is cool when done well

Excellent video many thanks

Fantastic video. I picked up Dead Orbit when it was still available on Amazon a few years back. Just picked up Bloodlines last week, and was also a good read. For the Alien franchise, it feels like comics are their best output.

Can you take a look at Silver Surfer Black?

Im so glad I got the Dead Orbit trade paperback when the Dark Horse stuff was in its last months on shelves. There were alot next to it that I gotta pay alot for now online...but James Stokoe is one of the best artists and I had to get it over Defiance, AVP omnibus, other things I can't get..but Stokoe was born to draw a classic Alien story like this. I usually prefer things that add to the lore like Fire and Stone but this is one of the best and a highlight in Aliens Original Years Vol 4.

I have his comic series Orc Stain and I absolutely love his way of creating comics. I just hope that I can eventually find this comic book series.

I think I have all of dead orbit which is nice. I think I got it for a birthday present. I also bought the first issue at a pop store for $4.

Hey Matt, could you maybe talk about Batman: The Cult? It's a FANTASTIC book, but for some reason it's out of print. This kind of thing doesn't change until we raise hell.

Speaking of space body horror in the comic medium, I'm eternally hoping that someone does solid dive into Morrison's Nameless.

Great issue. I think I read it once on Comixology. Alien and Predator comics are some of the best, feeling of their time but apart from them. Another comic you should read and cover is Halloween: Nightdance, which is the best Halloween sequel never made into film, and it too is out of print.

what comic story is being shown at 6:23??

This was my favorite Alien story.

Wow! I actually bought this the same time they were releasing the Predator and Alien omnibus's. Oh, how I miss Dark Horse's runs on the franchise. Things will never be the same.

James Stokoe is the best person in comics.

Great review. When I was a kid I read the Beano, Dandy, and 2000AD like Judge Dredd. I would have loved to read the Aliens comics.

YES! IM INSPIRED!!!

Would you ever do a video on O'Neil & Adams batman run?

With it being the 55th anniversary of the original night of the living dead, and my appreciation on your channel’s video’s discussing both comic books and horror, could you do a future video on Gorge A Romero’s empire of the dead comic book series he created with marvel in 2014?

I have this book on my phone. Loved the detailed art, story was a bit lacking but effective. Most memorable was when the Capt. fucked up the cryo-freezers and burned the flesh off that sleeping crew 👍

God, i would absolutely LOVE to see you do a review on Alien: Isolation.

I have this... its gorgeous!

I wanna make an alien content where the scientist and WYC have won. They "own" the aliens and unleash them on a colony (good or enemy) while an android that believes is human must survive what's happening

Just to let folks know, Dead Orbit is available in TP form via amazon etc. Yes have my copy, hardback, and worth the price.

Absolutely tragic that this is out of print. I had the opportunity to buy it once upon a time, and I'm kicking myself for not buying it when I had the chance.

great video as always matt, keep it up

Keep up the great work man, I'm loving this channel 😎

I have this one on my shelf, I went to the bookstore to kill some time before I had to take the bus and just randomly decided to get something and since there was no new Yotsuba volume yet, I got this one instead

There were people saying that this comic was manga inspired but i just don't see it. I do like its subtle take and inspiration from the first movie.

Anybody else see some similarities between this and alien Romulus?

Here's hoping for a look at From Hell for the finale this month. Just finished reading that one recently.

I have all of the individual issues and the giant version. So dope.

+1 for use of music by The Midnight, excellent choice

i got this off amazon for 2 quid a yr ago and its a masterpeice really dead orbit

My idea for a third alien covenant/prometheus movie is as follows: The engineers are the main characters in the movie and comes to the planet that was in the Prometheus movie. There they find Weyland inside the crashed spaceship. They have a blue elixir which they empty all over him and bring him to life. But while doing this the Deacon from the Prometheus movie sneaks into their spaceship and hide it self in one of the ventilation chambers. In the next part they arrive at the planet from alien covenant and find the other robot(Walter) who is david's twin.The engineers use the blue elixir and repairs him. Once awaken the engineers and Weyland get to know all the horrible things that David has done, and weyland says "we have to stop David" . They set course for origae. When they arrive,they scans all the planet,and finds the planet is full of hostile organisms except on a high mountain where they discover that there are humans inside a cave. Inside the cave they meet a herd of children, who tell that when they had lived on the planet for over ten years, they began to be attacked by Xenomorphs and all the adults died or were turned into these creatures. There were also great giants developed by someone the children calls David. The engineers get ready to wipe out all the Xenomorphs that David has created, but the great giants manage to escape with one of the engineers' spaceships. The engineers and Weyland hunts the spaceship and manage to force the spaceship down on the planet lv426.Where it start sending a distress signal. The engineers return to Origae to find David, but discover that he has escaped. In the last part we see David arriving and meeting an unknown alien species on a tropical like planet. But when he and the unknown aliens have left the spaceship,the deacon slips out of the ship and is seen running toward the nearest settlement. And that makes the cliffhanger that ends the third movie. The ending movie could have a duration about five hours ?

Well, all the videos have been great. My assumption is that Shin Godzilla will be the Halloween finale

Just read the oversized copy from my library and thought it was amazing! I had to look it up on RU-vid to see what others thought. Shame it’s so expensive I would have loved to have a copy of my own!

Great analysis!

I have actual prints of each issue. Loved this series. Insanely depressing

Thanks for the info Matt your the best 👌. Much ❤ as always 😊

I used to collect the Alien and Predator DH comics. I recall my AVP #0 was one of my prize possessions. Stopped collecting the Alien comics after the HIVE series. I wish I kept collecting them, but I was like 17 and had other priorities (girls lol).

Marvel will write xenomorphs right eventually. They just got the rights so working out the kinks will take time but I know Marvel will do the creatures justice. It's not a matter of IF but WHEN.

I picked up the trade on a whim a couple of years ago. I'm glad i got it!

So, if I understood correctly, this has a big value doesn't it ? I'm asking the question as I got the physical comic so I would like to know if its value is important or smtg. Not planning on selling it, just a bit of curiosity that's all.

This was one I haven't read art is amazing

Great recommendation!!! There are ways of bringing some creative products back from the dead which might seem unnatural...

dead orbit is included in aliens marvel omnibus 4 coming summer 2022

Another banger, Matt.

Could anyone tell me the names of the comics that are seen from 6:16-6:42? I would appreciate it.

I love Aliens Inhuman Condition. Do you know this comic book?

Funny how Alein: Romulus is set on ... the same station

I was lucky enough to buy a copy at a comic book store.

Well now I wanna read it so I'm not gonna finish the video I don't wanna get spoiled

The lord has blessed us.

This comic deserves an animated feature. I don't know why they are not making Alien animated movies? Just look at shows like Castlevania or franchises like Dead Space. Alien would be perfect for the animated horror domain.

Not lost anymore, it’s been published in the 2023 Aliens the Original Years Omnibus 4!

Ooh awesome

Ahhh. Earth hive. Brings me back.

It is not a coincidence that the first moving pictures and the first comic section in newspapers appeared at the same time. If you think about it, there are a lot of similarities between some language and comic book art language. Let’s talk about that.

I’d love to hear what you make of Alan Moore’s From Hell

Stokoe is fantastic

I have it, its good. People overated it too much though, its nothing revolutionary tbh. But maybe its because i have read the Cold Forge/Charybdis and Phalanx novels, maybe that just made me want more? The art is beautiful and the paneling is amazing, but the story is the generic alien story that has been done a 100 times. The overhype legit made me wonder if my copy was missing pages, thats how exaggerated the hype for dead orbit is. Its good, but it does NOTHING new.