Review: Unknown Horror Unleashed In ‘Alien- The Original Screenplay’ #3

The crew of the Snark, having located a pyramid structure on the surface of the planetoid, sends a team to explore it. Meanwhile, the ship’s computer interpreted the alien transmission: not a distress call, but a warning!

But the warning is too late for Broussard, who descended into a tomb-like chamber where an organism attached itself to his face. Aboard the ship, the crew attempted to remove the parasite- with unexpected results!

In Alien: The Original Screenplay #3, we’re at the part of the story where the Snark’s crew is scrambling through the ship, trying to keep the facehugger’s acidic alien blood from destroying any major systems or breaching the hull. Meanwhile, the facehugger has disengaged from Broussard’s face and appears to be dead.
This has been a different kind of series for me to review. It’s like seeing Manhunter after having already seen Red Dragon. It feels so foreign and strange to see a different interpretation, even though Manhunter is actually the original. That being said, these actually are different characters, that just happen to be going through the EXACT same thing that the crew of the Nostromo did back in ‘79.

I stated in my last review that I’m still waiting to see who these characters are, what sets them apart from each other, and from their silver screen counterparts. Cristiano Seixas does up the script a little in this installment, showing us a little more of who these crewmembers are, and what makes them tick, but not as much as I would have liked.
It kind of feels like chapter three is a filler, not to reveal the Xenomorphs too quickly in this five piece mini. I respect that, but there’s nothing really new here. Business does promise to pick up in the next chapter. There are only two installments remaining, and I have a pretty good idea where this sucker is headed next.

On the art side, Guilherme Balbi does an excellent job with the interiors of the Snark. The rooms and corridors do seem a little spacious, but when he shows the exterior of the ship, the thing is pretty massive, so I guess they could fit. It just doesn’t seem like a scrap hauler would give up that real estate for walkways and quarters, when it could be used for cargo.
The novelty of this series is wearing off a little for me. I’m starting to think this one will work better as a collected graphic novel instead of monthly floppies. The pacing is throwing me, and I’m still waiting for my Xenomorphs. Good news on that front. We should be seeing the original visual concept for the Xenos in chapter four.

Alien: The Original Screenplay #3, Dark Horse Comics, 07 October 2020. Story by Dan O’Bannon, adaptation script by Cristiano Seixas, art by Guilherme Balbi, color by Candice Han, letters by Michael Heisler.