Written by: Brian Wood
Art by: Stephen Thomson & Dan Jackson
Publisher: Dark Horse
So I said I wasn’t going to review issue #10 of Aliens: Defiance unless it did something truly amazing or truly awful. It did neither; however, I’m sure we can all appreciate another review that ends with the word, “great.”
I mean, great things should be appreciated, even if this is redundant as hell now.
One of the keys to a good Aliens story is atmosphere. A:D #10 says oorah to that and opens with three pages of chilling silence. It’s a writing style I’ve associated with Brian Wood since the first arc of Black Road, where vistas, faces, and colors told just as much of Magnus’s story as his own words. In this instance, it’s lights reflecting off fog and blood; it’s limbs and frozen chunks of red floating through the air; and it’s a lone ship getting closer and closer to Earth.
Zara and Davis are now out of choices, and that means facing Weyland Yutani and the Earth military.
What this means is an issue of high tension and wonderful character moments. It’s heavy stuff, especially in regards to Davis and his constructed humanity, and like the previous nine issues before, it all works exceptionally well.
I adore this cast of characters so much. They’re so flawed and broken, and it makes everything they’ve done—and everything they still have to do—very impactful.
It does, perhaps, get a little too heavy handed near the end. Zara’s internal monologue winds up saying more than it honestly needs to, and she ruins some of the quiet contemplation the book takes great care in making; however, it’s nothing truly jarring or story breaking. It’s mostly just stating the obvious.
Artistically, the book’s as good as ever. It takes a strong team to make pages devoid of text speak, but Thomas and Jackman do just that. I like the leftover gore, and I like the leftover sorrow.
Basically, Aliens: Defiance is great. There are only two issues left now, and I’m hitting that strange spot where I’m sad it’s almost over, yet eager to see how it ends.
