Written by: Brain Wood
Art by: Tony Brescini
Publisher: Dark Horse
Remember how I complained about the publishing schedule of Aliens Defiance when the third issue came out? I should hope so, because that was all of two weeks ago. I really don’t get it, but if it means having more of this series sooner, then I’m game. I’m having a blast.
After all of the battles, trauma, and betrayal built into the last three issues, issue #4 gives us a bit of a break. We’re between the horror and the violence for once. Zula is checking messages from home and thinking on the past, and Davis is archiving what’s left of a big battle against a horde of Xenomorphs. Now and then they talk, but mostly they think.
As far as pacing goes, I like it. Action fatigue is real no matter the medium, and this hits exactly at the right time to avoid it. Plus, it’s more character work. I was already a fan of Zula and Davis, but damn does this issue go a long way in showing how far they’ve come since the beginning.
Character development can be hard to chart. You almost never notice it’s going on until someone is pointing it out, because good writers will make it seem natural. This is that. We get a very stark comparison between Zula as a gung-ho soldier to an AWOL pirate of sorts. I hardly noticed the change as it happened, but damn. A real long time has passed between issues 1 and 4, and I don’t mean that in terms of release schedule.
Issue 4 of Aliens: Defiance also spends a heavy amount of page space on Zula’s backstory and injury. None of it comes off as exposition heavy, and anyways, it’s all necessary and interesting. At this point I care about her as a character and want to know about her past. Waiting this long to give us this info was the right choice.
And the payoff is quite perfect.
On the art front, the comic looks as great as it always does. Tony Brescini is new to the series, but he fits right in. There’s something maybe a bit cleaner about his art style than the previous ones, but it all looks good from my end. I enjoyed his Xenomorphs immensely.
All in all, Aliens: Defiance continues to deliver. After such a short turnaround from issue 3, I’m really hoping this becomes the norm. I’ll gladly read this every other week.
