Aliens: Genocide is a 1991 science fiction horror action comic series written by Mike Richardson and John Arcudi, art by Damon Willis, and published by Dark Horse Comics. A pharmaceutical industrialist named Daniel Grant sets out on a military expedition to the alien homeworld to acquire “Royal Jelly”, a fluid derived from the aliens’ body chemistry that evolves them into queens. Things become more difficult due to corporate sabotage and a civil war between to alien factions.

The story picks up after the events of the Female War, where Ripley and her allies have captured the Queen of Queens, leaving a power vacuum on the alien homeworld. Now, two factions of xenomorphs are vying for the number one spot and it’s all out war. The main story follows a group of scientists, businessmen, and soldiers who travel to the homeworld to get a source of Royal Jelly. The story’s actually pretty interesting and has a stronger focus on the military compared to other Alien stories. It has action, it has suspense, there’s corporate sabotage and intrigue. There’s also a lot character development and interesting twists in the story. Admittedly, there’s a lot of problems with the story. Up until the last act of the story, the characters aren’t even on the alien planet. And when they get there, there’s a certain sequence in which all the suspense and action is killed off with come questionable choices in writing. (3 out of 5)

Let’s talk about the characters. The characters are a bit of a mixed bag. Like a good majority of Alien stories the majority of characters are canon fodder. However, there are a couple of gems that stick out. The main guy is Daniel Grant, multi-billionaire industrialist who’s traveling of a team of marines to the alien homeworld to acquire Royal Jelly, the secretions of Xenomorph Queens. Grant’s actually a really good character. At the beginning of our story Grant’s a businessman trying to bring profit to his company. But with all the adversity he and his colleagues face, all the deaths involved, it’s evident that his character changes, his self serving ideas become moot in the face of the lives of others. This is probably one of the most significant changes I’ve seen in an alien story.

I have to also talk about Alexandra Kozlowski who’s one of my favorite characters in the franchise. She’s tough, honorable, has grit but has a lot of character. She doesn’t feel like a Ripley or Vasquez knockoff (although in most stories there’s always a female lead, LOL). I really liked seeing the dynamic between her and Grant. There are some other good characters such as Lars Henrikson who kind of reminds me of a mix between the Terminator and Duke Nukem. Still, I didn’t mind the characters and thought they were cool, even the those being canon fodder. (4 out of 5)

The art isn’t bad but it’s a little rough around the edges in some instances. For the most part, Damon Willis’ approach to the character designs are pretty good. There’s a good focus that works well when conveying emotion and facial depth though there are some goofy expressions here and there. I didn’t mind the settings, on the planet, in the ship. The action is captured brilliantly. Perhaps the most impressive moments are the scenes with the massive alien battles are happening. The detail is good, it’s brutal, it’s violent; there’s a lot of blood and gore. The presentation is further emphasized by the great coloring. I did not like the mech suit designs. (4 out of 5)

The writing is actually decent and I liked Mike Richardson and John Arcudi’s direction, but it has its share of problems. I have to say that I didn’t like the approach that was taken in the Female War to capture the Queen of Queens. But this story actually does it in a more believable way. The technology used was pretty cool and I hadn’t really see it in the franchise before, especially the shield generator tech. I really liked the introduction of the Xeno-Zip stuff, it’s corporate value, and its addictive effects on humans. It’s a good way to have believable human interest in the xenomorph species.

The pacing isn’t bad but the story would’ve benefited had there been more emphasis on the alien civil war. I have some issues with the dialogue which did come off a little cheesy. This is particularly focused around Grant during more of the intense sequences. Also, in terms of the aliens, the story could’ve benefited had there been more exploration into the red alien type. A lot of these stories have certain formulas that they follow and sadly Richardson and Arcudi due little to deviate from this. Colonial marines: check. Strong female character: check. Corporate sabotage: check.

There is a lot of inconsistencies and retconning that conflicts with the past stories. The introduction of royal jelly that’s not mentioned in previous stories, the lack of mention when it comes to the Engineer that was terraforming Earth, the casual things the marines do while on the planet. There’s a marine with a saxophone. Why is there a marine with a saxophone? (2 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Aliens: Genocide is one of those stories that works but doesn’t work. There are some questionable decisions in the writing, some goof ups on the art, and lacking exposition on the alien factions. However, the story’s interesting, main characters good, action well done, and great artwork. Aliens: Genocide gets 3 out of 5.