Alien #11 Review

Written by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Art by: Salvador Larroca
Colors by: GURU-eFX
Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Marc Aspinall
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 27, 2022

Alien #11 follows the last survivors of the Alpha Station as they head to Gamma Station with a dwindling hope that the Xenomorph infestation hasn’t spread that far. Can they make it to Gamma Station and escape Euridice before it’s too late?

Was It Good?

Alien #11 is the penultimate issue in the current arc, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson is pulling out all the stops to build as much momentum and fear leading into the finale as possible. This is possibly the most riveting issue yet.

This issue pulls in all the pieces to underscore exactly why the Alien franchise has endured for so long. The Xenomorphs may be mortal but they pose a substantial threat, no matter how many allies or guns you have on hand. When the Alpha Station survivors make it to Gamma Station, they learn why the machinations of corporations (Weyland-Yutani) and the military (the U.A.) are no less deadly and definitely more devious.

Jane, our main character, feels her faith tested (possibly broken) at every turn when she learns the Xenomorph invasion was a setup. Their colony, all the hopes and dreams for a bright future surrounding their faith, was nothing more than a pipe dream allowed by Weyland-Yutani until it became more valuable as a bioweapons testing ground. This issue is successful as a lead-in to the finale because Johnson expertly sets up the “all hope is lost” scenario. The Alpha survivors are thrown into the proverbial lion’s den and the lions are closing in. It’s a perfect cliffhanger, and if Johnson can stick the landing, the way the arc ends is far better than how it started.

The art is fine. Larroca uses a heavily referenced style (looks like traced photographs) that’s an acquired taste for some. Here, that referenced style shows its weakness during the road trip scene where the characters are only lit by a red cabin light. It doesn’t look great. If you don’t mind highly referenced character art, and you enjoy the visuals in this arc, the art is fine.

Bits and Pieces

Johnson sets up a white-knuckle humdinger of a cliffhanger in Alien #11 heading into the next issue finale. The feeling of encroaching horror and hopeless dread is palpable, and the art is consistently okay.