Comics: Dark Horse's "Fire and Stone" Event

- by Señor Editor, 5 December 2014

You may or may not know this, but Dark Horse has quite an interesting sci-fi crossover going on right now. Four miniseries, "Aliens: Fire and Stone", “Prometheus: Fire and Stone”, “Alien vs Predator: Fire and Stone”, “Predator: Fire and Stone” and one oneshot, are all telling one epic 17-part crossover. And, other than one big problem, the event is actually great.

While I love both the Predator franchise and the Alien franchise, I've always agreed with Sigourney Weaver in that these two movie monsters should never have met each other. Putting the xenomorphs and the Predators in the same universe somehow makes both of them less special. That said, they’ve been crossing over for more than 20 years now, and we might as well try and get the most out of it. The AvP movies were crap, most of the comics weren’t really doing much for me, but “Fire and Stone” delivers the goods.

The covers of Fire and Stone #1s. Click to enlarge. All images on this page are © Dark Horse.

The four series have 4 issues each and it’s hard to discuss the plot of the event without spoiling some of the comics, so keep that in mind. While the "Aliens" series is to be read as the first one, it actually takes place nearly a hundred years after the events of the other three. The whole event will be concluded next year with a "Prometheus Omega" oneshot. The story that comes chronologically before "Aliens", starts in “Prometheus”, which is a follow up to the movie by the same name. A fleet of three space ships, led by Captain Angela Foster, are going to the barren planet LV-223. They think they’re on a salvage mission, but Angela knows they’re actually there to find out what happened to the crew from the “Prometheus” movie, the dudes that went there to discover the Engineers, the race that may be responsible for starting all life in the galaxy. Other crew members of note are Francis, an astrobiologist with a secret and a goal of his own, his synthetic assistant Elden, and the loudmouth warrior Galgo, and his crew of badasses who are there for protection.

As you might expect, our heroes soon discover that the planet is entirely different than what they expected. There are all kinds of life forms around. HERE COME THE SPOILERS (although they all happen in the second part of the 17-part epic, so relatively early).

Francis and Elden discover the black goo we know from “Prometheus”. They call the goo an ‘accelerant’, responsible for evolving things and making them stronger. We soon learn that Francis’ secret is that he has cancer, and his idea is to inject the synthetic Elden with the goo, use his fake blood as a filter, so then he can then inject himself with a version of the accelerant that doesn’t melt him or turn him into something awful. This backfires awfully, and Elden changes into something more than robot, but less than human. The evolved Elden isn’t happy and chases after Francis, letting in xenomorphs onto one of the space ships while he’s at it.

From "Prometheus". Ferreyra is the best "new" artist in comics.

While this is happening, Angela’s crew is getting attacked by xenomorphs in all their different mutations, being killed off at an alarming rate. Galgo and his men find a rifle left by one of the Engineers (Galgo also spots one of the Engineers on the planet), and for a while they’re trying to help Angela. For a while. He and his crew of badasses soon decide that it’s better to just take the Engineer gun and go home in one of the ships, with Francis on board.

“Prometheus” continues the story of Angela and her crew, left on LV-223. “Alien vs Predator” takes place after “Prometheus”, on the ship stolen by Galgo. Elden’s weird evolution and Francis’ story also continue in “AvP”. Also, there are Predators there now, too. “Predator” takes place after “Prometheus” and “AvP”, and the "Omega" oneshot will conclude the whole event.

SPOILERS END HERE.

Olivetti getting freaky on "AvP".

Here’s the big problem I mentioned in the intro, though: THE PUBLISHING SCHEDULE FOR THIS EVENT IS AWFUL. As I write this, there are 3 (out of 4) issues of "Aliens" out, 3 (out of 4) issues of “Prometheus” out, 3 (out of 4…) issues of “AvP” out, and 2 (out of 4!) issues of Predator out. That doesn’t make any sense from a continuity point of view, since there’s a chronological order between the minis. So if you buy and read these comics now instead of waiting for trades or until all the comics are out, “AvP” may spoil the events of the unfinished “Prometheus”, and “Predator” spoils both. So it’s like you saw 75% of the first movie in a trilogy, then saw 75% of the sequel, and then 50% of the third part. It doesn’t make any sense for the three series to be coming out on the same time when there’s a chronological order to them. This is very annoying and we will have to wait a month until "Aliens", “Prometheus” and “AvP” conclude, so that we can start reading this whole thing the way it was planned.

Stupid illogical schedule aside, this event is great. It’s the first time mixing Aliens, Predators and the stuff from Prometheus actually feels right and makes for a good story. While the three miniseries fit perfectly well together, each of them also has a unique vibe.

"Aliens", by Chris Roberson and Patrick Reynolds, is the series that's first in reading order, even though it takes place decades after the other 3 books. It casts a lot of light on the way the life on LV-223 has been grown, and puts the other three series in a perspective, but I also consider it the weakest out of the event. Maybe it's because the other series are connected so tightly, or maybe it's because Reynolds' art, while good, isn't nearly as good on the other books, but it doesn't grip me as much as the other series do. Maybe it will change when #4 of "Aliens" comes out.

“Prometheus” is written by Paul Tobin and drawn by Juan Ferreyra. You know these guys from the fantastic “Colder” comics, and boy are they a good fit for the book. This series has a more science-fiction/horror vibe than “Aliens and Predators duking it out”. The book is written really well and perfectly sets the stage for the entire event. Tobin has a great grasp of the Alien/Prometheus universe and you can bet your ass Juan Ferreyra is making this thing look beautiful and creepy. His take on H. R. Giger’s designs is a joy to look at. I love the art in each of these series, but I like this one the most. It’s straight out of the movies.

Mooneyham knows how to draw a "Predator" comic. Click to enlarge.

“AvP” is written by Christopher Sebela, with art by Ariel Olivetti, and it’s all about Francis and the ever-mutating Elden, surrounded by both Aliens and Predators. This one is more centered on body horror than any of the other series, and Olivetti makes it look both hideous and amazing. This is an AvP story unlike any you’ve seen. It’s creepy, bloody and very weird.

“Predator” is written by Joshua Williamson (“Nailbiter”, “RoboCop”) and drawn by Chris Mooneyham (“Five Ghosts”) and it tells the story of Galgo and his two badasses, on their way to make big bucks from the Engineer weapon, when they find out they have an intruder on the ship. This is great because “a bunch of badass soldiers fighting a Predator” is going straight to the franchise’s movie roots. I’m a big fan of Mooneyham’s art, and the way he draws the “Predator vision” and the monster’s stealth mode is the closest thing you can get to the way it looked in the movies. 

That's how you end a first issue. (Tobin & Ferreyra)

So you have one big event (with a great plot) consisting of four different series (plus a oneshot), each capturing other aspects of Predator/Alien history. And the tone of “Fire and Stone” is just a remarkably good fit for the franchises involved. This is a fantastic event and the best material with these sci-fi icons that you could get. Even the publishing schedule sucks balls, I highly recommend picking these comics up. Best comicbook event I’ve read in ages. This is how it’s supposed to be done . Get it, but maybe wait with the reading until "Aliens" #4, “Prometheus: Fire and Stone” #4 and “AvP: Fire and Stone” #4 are out, so you can read without any gaps.


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