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Aliens / Predator / Prometheus Universe
Aliens: Harvest
Stanislaw Mayakovsky once wrote a book about the cybernetic ant he designed to infiltrate an Alien hive in order to gain precious knowledge about the species. Now, a beautiful young thief has approached Mayakovsky to use his experience and expertise -- not in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, but in the pursuit of the Alien Queen's precious jelly. The mission is a perilous one, but the motives are compelling . . . Formerly collected as Hive, this newest "remastered" Aliens Library Edition features an introduction and gallery by Kelley Jones!
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
1 person is currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Prosser
98 books4 followersJerry Prosser is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for his work with Dark Horse Comics where he helped create the Comics' Greatest World line and worked on licenced properties such as Aliens and Predator.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 1, 2021
A scientist and his girlfriend try to steal royal jelly from a xenomorph queen. There are some really cool concepts here. They build a synthetic xenomorph to enter the hive and take the jelly. I thought that was pretty badass. Kelley Jones was a perfect artistic choice. He excels at horror and what's scarier than Aliens? The story does suffer some in its clarity. It's hard to distinguish between the synthetic alien, Norbert, and the rest, same goes with the humans as they are all dressed the same. This was originally titled Aliens: Hive and changed to Aliens: Harvest in later releases.
September 4, 2024
Nice story in the Dark Horse Aliens universe. Good writing and art. Recommended
July 13, 2016
Originally published as a 4-issue miniseries titled Aliens: Hive, this was the last Dark Horse Comics series before ALIEN³ was released (and Dark Horse's adaptation of the movie.) It was then collected in Feb. 1993. Then in Sep.1995, a horrible novelization titled
Aliens: Alien Harvest
(retitled to avoid confusion with the first novel Aliens: Earth Hive) written by Robert Sheckley was published by Bantam Books.
This is a 2nd edition of the original collection, part of the 8 volume "Aliens Library Edition" or re-releases. Strangely, this is Volume 5 of the series but it was published last in Feb. 1998 after all the others.
There is not much difference from the original TPB from 1993 in this supposed "updated" edition, but it does include a new intro by the artist Kelley Jones and a gallery of his pinups and covers. The title was also changed, and it sports a new cover by John Bolton (the wrap-around Dave Dorman cover for the original collection was much better.)
The story of cyberneticist Stanislaw Mayakovski, his thief girlfriend Julian Lish and their cybernetic alien XL1 or "Norbert" on a quest to an alien hive to retrieve some royal jelly is greatly enhanced if one reads Prosser's accompanying book Cyberantics which is presented as an in-universe work of fiction by Mayakovski based on his study of ants via his cybernetic ant Ari (which served as the model for XL1) and which is referred to throughout Aliens: Hive/Harvest.
NOTE: There is an appearance by a ship from Grant Corporation's Neo-Pharm division, a nice reference to the previous series Aliens: Genocide. Also, I like this quote from Stan "I would hate to encounter the predator that acid defense was evolved to thwart." Perhaps it's a nod to Dark Horse Aliens vs. Predator series that was published earlier...
This is a 2nd edition of the original collection, part of the 8 volume "Aliens Library Edition" or re-releases. Strangely, this is Volume 5 of the series but it was published last in Feb. 1998 after all the others.
There is not much difference from the original TPB from 1993 in this supposed "updated" edition, but it does include a new intro by the artist Kelley Jones and a gallery of his pinups and covers. The title was also changed, and it sports a new cover by John Bolton (the wrap-around Dave Dorman cover for the original collection was much better.)
The story of cyberneticist Stanislaw Mayakovski, his thief girlfriend Julian Lish and their cybernetic alien XL1 or "Norbert" on a quest to an alien hive to retrieve some royal jelly is greatly enhanced if one reads Prosser's accompanying book Cyberantics which is presented as an in-universe work of fiction by Mayakovski based on his study of ants via his cybernetic ant Ari (which served as the model for XL1) and which is referred to throughout Aliens: Hive/Harvest.
NOTE: There is an appearance by a ship from Grant Corporation's Neo-Pharm division, a nice reference to the previous series Aliens: Genocide. Also, I like this quote from Stan "I would hate to encounter the predator that acid defense was evolved to thwart." Perhaps it's a nod to Dark Horse Aliens vs. Predator series that was published earlier...
January 5, 2021
I've decided to go back through and collect the Aliens comics produced by Dark Horse in the 90s -- a few years ago I discovered a forgotten chapter of myself, which is that I was really into these books as a teen, and for some reason I completely erased the years in which I collected them. Somewhere between ALF and Sandman, my mental tapereel just tapped out, and I don't know why.
I started by going hard on collecting the old Aliens action figures from back in the day, but now that that's winding down, I'm working on the comics. Hive just happened to be the first one that came in the mail, and it's not actually one I read as a kid, which is shocking -- it's drawn by Kelley Jones, one of my favorite artists of all time. While I wouldn't say that it's his best work (I'd still argue his Batman run from the same time period was when he was at the peak of his powers), Hive might have, page-for-page, his most impressive gallery of spooky, off-the-wall shadowed faces (a Jones trademark). But otherwise the storytelling is kind of disorienting, partially due to Jones' obvious disinterest in layouts here (something that's usually his forte), and partially due to Prosser's extremely minimalist script, which I'm not sure that anyone but the most wizened Aliens fans would be able to follow.
Plotwise (look, I know you don't care, but shut up), this book is heavily reliant on another storyline called Aliens: Genocide, which established that alien queens produce a quasi-magical substance called Royal Jelly that is valued for its unpredictable variety of life-enhancing powers. This adds a well-worn, but nonetheless narratively useful wrinkle to the Aliens mythos: now, instead of just killing aliens or capturing them for research, humankind is trying to exploit xenomorphs for resources. This maintains the thematic status quo of capitalism run amok, but adds some complications for the real-time, small-scale adventure stories that are the meat and potatoes of the franchise.
In Hive, a cybernetics scientist is dying from cancer, and decides to do what any of us would -- build a robot Alien to infiltrate an alien hive in order to extract enough royal jelly to make him immortal. Along for the ride is the usual array of angry mercenaries, one creepy android and a requisite femme fatale. There is also, for some reason, a dog, which impacts the story very little but does provide the excuse for having a dog on the cover, which is the main reason I bought the book, so there you go.
Anyway. Hive on its own feels somewhat undeveloped and slight, but as a part of the overall Dark Horse line it demonstrates just what kind of talent they were able to attract for these books, as well as the strange tributaries and liberties the franchise took for its shockingly long funnybook stint.
Also the binding glue on my copy was pretty terrible, and we used up all the Scotch tape on Christmas presents so right now the book is just sort of being held together by prayer.
Anyway.
I started by going hard on collecting the old Aliens action figures from back in the day, but now that that's winding down, I'm working on the comics. Hive just happened to be the first one that came in the mail, and it's not actually one I read as a kid, which is shocking -- it's drawn by Kelley Jones, one of my favorite artists of all time. While I wouldn't say that it's his best work (I'd still argue his Batman run from the same time period was when he was at the peak of his powers), Hive might have, page-for-page, his most impressive gallery of spooky, off-the-wall shadowed faces (a Jones trademark). But otherwise the storytelling is kind of disorienting, partially due to Jones' obvious disinterest in layouts here (something that's usually his forte), and partially due to Prosser's extremely minimalist script, which I'm not sure that anyone but the most wizened Aliens fans would be able to follow.
Plotwise (look, I know you don't care, but shut up), this book is heavily reliant on another storyline called Aliens: Genocide, which established that alien queens produce a quasi-magical substance called Royal Jelly that is valued for its unpredictable variety of life-enhancing powers. This adds a well-worn, but nonetheless narratively useful wrinkle to the Aliens mythos: now, instead of just killing aliens or capturing them for research, humankind is trying to exploit xenomorphs for resources. This maintains the thematic status quo of capitalism run amok, but adds some complications for the real-time, small-scale adventure stories that are the meat and potatoes of the franchise.
In Hive, a cybernetics scientist is dying from cancer, and decides to do what any of us would -- build a robot Alien to infiltrate an alien hive in order to extract enough royal jelly to make him immortal. Along for the ride is the usual array of angry mercenaries, one creepy android and a requisite femme fatale. There is also, for some reason, a dog, which impacts the story very little but does provide the excuse for having a dog on the cover, which is the main reason I bought the book, so there you go.
Anyway. Hive on its own feels somewhat undeveloped and slight, but as a part of the overall Dark Horse line it demonstrates just what kind of talent they were able to attract for these books, as well as the strange tributaries and liberties the franchise took for its shockingly long funnybook stint.
Also the binding glue on my copy was pretty terrible, and we used up all the Scotch tape on Christmas presents so right now the book is just sort of being held together by prayer.
Anyway.
May 14, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 3.25/5
A flawed story, yet one full of promise and potential that unfortunately went under realised. This must have been some very early Kelley Jones art. I'm a big fan of his later work, and the mark of an artist destined for bigger things is marked upon these pages, but ultimately, like the story, mostly falls short. There is just too much inconsistency within the character models. A fact that wasn't aided by the occasionally ambiguous script. Much like Jones, writer, Prosser certainly seems capable enough. His prose on display here, although occasionally a little earnest and ham fisted, was good. The characters, plotting and pacing were all solid, with its lower word count aiding it, making it a quicker read. I really dug the ending, too. I just can't see any reason why I would ever return and re-read it again. 3.25/5
OmniBen.
A flawed story, yet one full of promise and potential that unfortunately went under realised. This must have been some very early Kelley Jones art. I'm a big fan of his later work, and the mark of an artist destined for bigger things is marked upon these pages, but ultimately, like the story, mostly falls short. There is just too much inconsistency within the character models. A fact that wasn't aided by the occasionally ambiguous script. Much like Jones, writer, Prosser certainly seems capable enough. His prose on display here, although occasionally a little earnest and ham fisted, was good. The characters, plotting and pacing were all solid, with its lower word count aiding it, making it a quicker read. I really dug the ending, too. I just can't see any reason why I would ever return and re-read it again. 3.25/5
OmniBen.
July 6, 2021
I think I might lean towards the 3.5 on this one, because I do like the overall concept.
The Hive series essentially picks up sometime after the world of Aliens: Genocide left off and after reading Jerry Prosser's Cyberantics: A Little Adventure as a bit of a setup to meet the characters in Hive I was pretty excited to dive in. I remember, as a kid, having a hard time tracking down all the issues in this series. I remember I held off on reading it for quite a while because I could never find issue four or something at the store. It was frustrating because I wasn't buying these too long after they original comics were released.
If you've dived into Cyberantics already then you've met our main character Stanislaw Mayakovsky. He's a very famous scientist in the Aliens universe attributed with advancing the technology of Androids to the "modern day" level in the Aliens setting. In Cyberantics we got to experience an early adventure of Ari and her infiltration of an ant nest. Well, in Hive they extend that concept a bit further and in this comic series we find out the "what if Mayakovsky made an android Alien?" I know this is question no one was probably asking... but Prosser sets down to teach us a thing or two. Overall, I really did love this general concept and I wish it had been used a bit more effectively, but Hive is not on a mission of science. Maybe they were trying to avoid the "mad scientist" narrative that has been showing up in prior issues.
From the setup in Genocide it seems that Grant's deal with the military is running smoothly and they are actively mining the Alien homeworld for the royal jelly they need to keep producing Xeno Zip. The weird part is there was an allusion to the fact that the drug is illegal? There was no real explanation for this and stated as a rather matter of fact that would just be obvious to us. If you delve into the book Aliens: Tribes you'll see first hand what the military has been doing with Xeno Zip. The strange part about Hive is that it is not a research mission, instead it is a mission to steal royal jelly. And this is where the books potential kind of falls apart a bit in my opinion.
It turns out, in the very first issue, we find out Mayakovsky is pretty down on his luck. He's been somewhat discredited and he's been losing money fast. One day this thief, Julie, shows up on his doorstep promising riches if they pull a major heist. They're going after the royal jelly and all she needs is for him to build an android Alien, just like he built Ari. There are some pretty amusing scenes with the Alien playing fetch with Mayakovsky's dog. I was with them thus far, but then it starts to make no sense and I found issue two pretty confusing for a little while... but basically they're going to steal the ship the military has filled with jelly? But... then why do you need the android Alien. It would have made a bit more sense if they needed the Alien for harvesting the jelly etc... but they really don't use him for that at all.
As with all Aliens stories things go awry and bad stuff happens. I was expecting this since in Cyberantics they tell us that Mayakovsky has gone missing and only Ari the ant has been found. This is the record of that lost journey that scientists aren't able to access from Ari's memory core. The whole general concept is very cool though... so I found it entertaining to a certain degree. Another interesting note is that the android Julie and Mayakovsky bring with them has a very different feel than any other androids in the Aliens series, this is explained in Cyberantics with Mayakovsky really abandoning the line of ideas to make Androids more human feeling and he started getting rid of that programming.
As a comic book this was worth reading, but Prosser's story is only so so as far as the whole thing is concerned. The art was pretty decent, but it's weird how out there a lot of the space ship art is. I've noticed this problem with other Aliens issues. It's not like we've never seen what space ships look like in the Alien universe, but in a lot of the comics they remind me of space ship art from covers of pulp sci-fi books from the 60's/70's and it just makes the whole thing look totally unrealistic and weird. I really wish they would draw ships to be more normal looking... but maybe that's hard to do? I don't think the technology they were using to hide themselves from the Aliens while they ran through the hive made much sense either... I'm glad that's something that was wholly forgotten after this series.
In some cases I found the art somewhat inconsistent, I remember quite a few panels where Julie looked normal and then a couple that stood out as really bizarre, because she looked almost inhuman, but that wasn't even what the goal was in that scene... So, the art was only okay as far as my non-technical mind viewed it.
After this the major event that is Alien 3 would take place and thus shatter the Dark Horse story line forever. To the point where they try to back pedal their series quite a bit and make changes so that it lines up with the canon timeline. From hereon out the comics will largely stay away from telling stories about Ripley, which I kind of preferred anyway and I do remember the stories getting more of the Aliens feel right. At times some of these comics feel very campy in the way the stuff works, but things eventually turn to a more gritty and realistic sci-fi feel, which was what I preferred about the Aliens series more than anything. Okay... next comic series up is going to be Colonial Marines which is quite different from what I thought it would be...
The Hive series essentially picks up sometime after the world of Aliens: Genocide left off and after reading Jerry Prosser's Cyberantics: A Little Adventure as a bit of a setup to meet the characters in Hive I was pretty excited to dive in. I remember, as a kid, having a hard time tracking down all the issues in this series. I remember I held off on reading it for quite a while because I could never find issue four or something at the store. It was frustrating because I wasn't buying these too long after they original comics were released.
If you've dived into Cyberantics already then you've met our main character Stanislaw Mayakovsky. He's a very famous scientist in the Aliens universe attributed with advancing the technology of Androids to the "modern day" level in the Aliens setting. In Cyberantics we got to experience an early adventure of Ari and her infiltration of an ant nest. Well, in Hive they extend that concept a bit further and in this comic series we find out the "what if Mayakovsky made an android Alien?" I know this is question no one was probably asking... but Prosser sets down to teach us a thing or two. Overall, I really did love this general concept and I wish it had been used a bit more effectively, but Hive is not on a mission of science. Maybe they were trying to avoid the "mad scientist" narrative that has been showing up in prior issues.
From the setup in Genocide it seems that Grant's deal with the military is running smoothly and they are actively mining the Alien homeworld for the royal jelly they need to keep producing Xeno Zip. The weird part is there was an allusion to the fact that the drug is illegal? There was no real explanation for this and stated as a rather matter of fact that would just be obvious to us. If you delve into the book Aliens: Tribes you'll see first hand what the military has been doing with Xeno Zip. The strange part about Hive is that it is not a research mission, instead it is a mission to steal royal jelly. And this is where the books potential kind of falls apart a bit in my opinion.
It turns out, in the very first issue, we find out Mayakovsky is pretty down on his luck. He's been somewhat discredited and he's been losing money fast. One day this thief, Julie, shows up on his doorstep promising riches if they pull a major heist. They're going after the royal jelly and all she needs is for him to build an android Alien, just like he built Ari. There are some pretty amusing scenes with the Alien playing fetch with Mayakovsky's dog. I was with them thus far, but then it starts to make no sense and I found issue two pretty confusing for a little while... but basically they're going to steal the ship the military has filled with jelly? But... then why do you need the android Alien. It would have made a bit more sense if they needed the Alien for harvesting the jelly etc... but they really don't use him for that at all.
As with all Aliens stories things go awry and bad stuff happens. I was expecting this since in Cyberantics they tell us that Mayakovsky has gone missing and only Ari the ant has been found. This is the record of that lost journey that scientists aren't able to access from Ari's memory core. The whole general concept is very cool though... so I found it entertaining to a certain degree. Another interesting note is that the android Julie and Mayakovsky bring with them has a very different feel than any other androids in the Aliens series, this is explained in Cyberantics with Mayakovsky really abandoning the line of ideas to make Androids more human feeling and he started getting rid of that programming.
As a comic book this was worth reading, but Prosser's story is only so so as far as the whole thing is concerned. The art was pretty decent, but it's weird how out there a lot of the space ship art is. I've noticed this problem with other Aliens issues. It's not like we've never seen what space ships look like in the Alien universe, but in a lot of the comics they remind me of space ship art from covers of pulp sci-fi books from the 60's/70's and it just makes the whole thing look totally unrealistic and weird. I really wish they would draw ships to be more normal looking... but maybe that's hard to do? I don't think the technology they were using to hide themselves from the Aliens while they ran through the hive made much sense either... I'm glad that's something that was wholly forgotten after this series.
In some cases I found the art somewhat inconsistent, I remember quite a few panels where Julie looked normal and then a couple that stood out as really bizarre, because she looked almost inhuman, but that wasn't even what the goal was in that scene... So, the art was only okay as far as my non-technical mind viewed it.
After this the major event that is Alien 3 would take place and thus shatter the Dark Horse story line forever. To the point where they try to back pedal their series quite a bit and make changes so that it lines up with the canon timeline. From hereon out the comics will largely stay away from telling stories about Ripley, which I kind of preferred anyway and I do remember the stories getting more of the Aliens feel right. At times some of these comics feel very campy in the way the stuff works, but things eventually turn to a more gritty and realistic sci-fi feel, which was what I preferred about the Aliens series more than anything. Okay... next comic series up is going to be Colonial Marines which is quite different from what I thought it would be...
August 30, 2014
There are two reasons to recommend Aliens: Hive to readers and fans of this franchise.
The first is that writer Jerry Prosser adds some interesting kinks to the already established Alien universe, some brand new to the comics (the idea that Xenomorph "royal" jelly is highly prized by humans) and some just a logical progression of what was already established in the films (an android Alien built to infiltrate hives). These are clever ideas that move the story along and offer new ways of looking at the property.
The other reason to recommend this comic series is the art of Kelley Jones. Jones' gothic style is a perfect match to the visual aesthetic established in the movies by H.R. Giger.
While Hive is something of a side story in these stories, it's a fairly strong one.
The first is that writer Jerry Prosser adds some interesting kinks to the already established Alien universe, some brand new to the comics (the idea that Xenomorph "royal" jelly is highly prized by humans) and some just a logical progression of what was already established in the films (an android Alien built to infiltrate hives). These are clever ideas that move the story along and offer new ways of looking at the property.
The other reason to recommend this comic series is the art of Kelley Jones. Jones' gothic style is a perfect match to the visual aesthetic established in the movies by H.R. Giger.
While Hive is something of a side story in these stories, it's a fairly strong one.
March 15, 2022
(Reread for a podcast)
What if they made an android Xenomorph to infiltrate a hive? An interesting concept though I'm not sure it ever really hits thematically, more or less turning into what every Aliens movie is regardless of premise and apparent literary ambitions. The star here is clearly artist Kelley Jones, who even gets credited first, against tradition, in the interior credits. Imagining this as a movie, his moody body horror suggests Cronenberg as director.
What if they made an android Xenomorph to infiltrate a hive? An interesting concept though I'm not sure it ever really hits thematically, more or less turning into what every Aliens movie is regardless of premise and apparent literary ambitions. The star here is clearly artist Kelley Jones, who even gets credited first, against tradition, in the interior credits. Imagining this as a movie, his moody body horror suggests Cronenberg as director.
June 9, 2024
It's that Kelley Jones art, man.
December 4, 2013
Having been working my way through the Aliens back catalogue, I'm repeatedly struck by how far comics (or graphic novels to the purists) have come in the last 20 years. Aliens: Hive is the perfect example of this. A kernel of a quality idea sits at the heart of this 112 page collection, but the execution is excruciatingly disappointing. Strange POV shifts, confusing action scenes, poor artwork, and a lack of any likeable characters consigns Hive to the scrap heap of 90s action based comics.
1 Dog Chewed Ball for Aliens: Hive.
1 Dog Chewed Ball for Aliens: Hive.
August 25, 2013
Nice Kelley Jones art.
Not too large a cast of characters so you don't get mixed up as to who is who.
Basically... 1 scientist, 1 android, 1 sexy lady (obviously), 1 android alien, and a cute puppy (gotta have a dog to play fetch with the android Alien, right?). Oh, and a planet full of Aliens.
Despite its multiple faults, Prosser still manages to weave an interesting(ish) self-contained story.
Not too large a cast of characters so you don't get mixed up as to who is who.
Basically... 1 scientist, 1 android, 1 sexy lady (obviously), 1 android alien, and a cute puppy (gotta have a dog to play fetch with the android Alien, right?). Oh, and a planet full of Aliens.
Despite its multiple faults, Prosser still manages to weave an interesting(ish) self-contained story.
April 16, 2012
Aliens are bad. Aliens can eat you...they can eat your dog too...well if they do not eat you, they will introduce to the cute little darling aka meat cute Facehugger.
Seriously I got bunch of old Aliens comics and I am devouring them.
Seriously I got bunch of old Aliens comics and I am devouring them.
April 10, 2024
La mayoría de obras derivadas de la saga de películas (cómics, novelas, videojuegos, etc...) están demasiado influenciadas por el material original y se limitan a emular las mismas escenas con mayor o menor acierto. 'Aliens: Nido', sin embargo, es harina de otro costal porque rompe el molde y se sale de lo esperado. Es muy posible que estemos ante el argumento más inteligente y original que se ha aportado desde el noveno arte a la franquicia del xenomorfo. La premisa es brillante y los personajes no se limitan a vomitar diálogos de relleno, se sienten muy humanos, tienen sus adicciones, a algunos les mueve la avaricia, a otros la lealtad o la curiosidad científica y en general son todos bastante astutos, especialmente el protagonista que padece cáncer, Stanislaw Mayakovsky, un genio de la cibernética que ha desarrollado un alien artificial para una misión muy especial.
Los dibujos de Kelley Jones no muestran aliens muy espectaculares, pero sí cumplen con las ilustraciones de humanos, de perros, de insectos y de ambientes sci-fi. Es un artista que sabe moverse muy bien en lo gótico y en lo tenebroso, pero dibuja a las criaturas demasiado musculadas y sin muchos detalles, lo cual es una lástima, aunque el resto de elementos tienen tanta calidad que estoy dispuesto a pasarlo por alto. Si sois fans y os encontráis esta joya antigua en alguna tienda especializada o en alguna web, os recomiendo que os hagáis con ella sin dudarlo, porque forma parte de la colección imprescindible que debéis tener en vuestras estanterías.
Review in english:
Most works derived from the film saga (comics, novels, video games, etc...) are too influenced by the original material and limit themselves to emulating the same scenes with greater or lesser success. 'Aliens: Hive', however, is a different matter because it breaks the mold and goes beyond expectations. It is very possible that we are facing the most intelligent and original plot that has been contributed to the xenomorph franchise since the ninth art. The premise is brilliant and the characters don't just spit out filler dialogue, they feel very human, they have their addictions, some are driven by greed, others by loyalty or scientific curiosity and in general they are all quite clever, especially the protagonist who suffers from cancer, Stanislaw Mayakovsky, a cybernetics genius who has developed an artificial alien for a very special mission.
Kelley Jones's drawings do not show very spectacular aliens, but they do comply with the illustrations of humans, dogs, insects and science fiction environments. He is an artist who knows how to move very well in the gothic and the dark, but he draws creatures that are too muscular and without many details, which is a shame, although the rest of the elements have such quality that I am willing to overlook it. If you are fans and find this antique gem in a specialized store or on a website, I recommend that you get it without hesitation, because it is part of the essential collection that you should have on your shelves.
Los dibujos de Kelley Jones no muestran aliens muy espectaculares, pero sí cumplen con las ilustraciones de humanos, de perros, de insectos y de ambientes sci-fi. Es un artista que sabe moverse muy bien en lo gótico y en lo tenebroso, pero dibuja a las criaturas demasiado musculadas y sin muchos detalles, lo cual es una lástima, aunque el resto de elementos tienen tanta calidad que estoy dispuesto a pasarlo por alto. Si sois fans y os encontráis esta joya antigua en alguna tienda especializada o en alguna web, os recomiendo que os hagáis con ella sin dudarlo, porque forma parte de la colección imprescindible que debéis tener en vuestras estanterías.
Review in english:
Most works derived from the film saga (comics, novels, video games, etc...) are too influenced by the original material and limit themselves to emulating the same scenes with greater or lesser success. 'Aliens: Hive', however, is a different matter because it breaks the mold and goes beyond expectations. It is very possible that we are facing the most intelligent and original plot that has been contributed to the xenomorph franchise since the ninth art. The premise is brilliant and the characters don't just spit out filler dialogue, they feel very human, they have their addictions, some are driven by greed, others by loyalty or scientific curiosity and in general they are all quite clever, especially the protagonist who suffers from cancer, Stanislaw Mayakovsky, a cybernetics genius who has developed an artificial alien for a very special mission.
Kelley Jones's drawings do not show very spectacular aliens, but they do comply with the illustrations of humans, dogs, insects and science fiction environments. He is an artist who knows how to move very well in the gothic and the dark, but he draws creatures that are too muscular and without many details, which is a shame, although the rest of the elements have such quality that I am willing to overlook it. If you are fans and find this antique gem in a specialized store or on a website, I recommend that you get it without hesitation, because it is part of the essential collection that you should have on your shelves.
May 11, 2025
Hive is a very strange piece of Aliens media. Overall I don't think it's very good. the thing that throws me off is the artwork. I'm not sure what other comics Kelly Jones created art for and I'm sure in those comics his art is great, but here it just feels off. First off the aliens look like body builders and their biomechanoid appearance is traded for a fleshy, muscly look. I'm just not a fan of this look for the aliens, it comes across to me as visually inconsistent. They look like massive body builders with these dinky little heads. The artwork for the human ranges from really cool to odd. There's one panel where Julie has a man's face. It looks like Jones drew a man's face but was like damn that's supposed to be Julie and then drew long hair over it to hide that fact. I don't want to sound like the artwork is bad, there's really good artwork there too. Everything has this dreamy aesthetic that matches Mayakovsky being a jelly addict. The story itself is very bare bones. I like how the novel did the plot as pulpy as it got to add some meat to the story. If you like Hive I understand why but for me it's not a story I'm excited to reread.
Read
June 27, 2019Don't remember where I got my copy, might have been for free. The art is great and I like the premise but I couldn't tell if my battered, loose copy was missing pages - so the script's either sparse and a bit pretentious, or it's just a bit pretentious. Either way, thoughtful if depressing entertainment for my money.
This is the third media in a row I've watched/read where a pet dies horrifically so I'm all done with that cliche for now, thanks.
This is the third media in a row I've watched/read where a pet dies horrifically so I'm all done with that cliche for now, thanks.
January 23, 2022
I’m starting to realize that most comics just aren’t for me. Very few writers aside from Alan Moore and a few others are allowed the space to really craft three-dimensional characters and utilize the full potential of the medium. This is a prime example — a pretty standard plot made unnecessarily incoherent due to the rushed pace, plus no characters that really interest me.
August 31, 2025
Good for the overall mythos but definitely skippable. The cool stuff: cyber-xeno that can blend in with the real xeno’s and more classing out the different kinds of xeno’s. Outside of that, very standard Alien fare - a greedy scientist, a shifty android, and a requisite kickass female lead. Not enough here to set it apart anything other than average.
March 18, 2021
I liked this story a bit more than "Genocide".
But I think Kelley Jones' style of art didn't suit the xenomorphs. Half of them looked absolutely ripped and jacked and that didn't suit them.
Love me some Kelley Jones' art though.
But I think Kelley Jones' style of art didn't suit the xenomorphs. Half of them looked absolutely ripped and jacked and that didn't suit them.
Love me some Kelley Jones' art though.
July 31, 2024
Art is good but completely uninteresting confusing and boring story and character's. I guess this was supposed to be some strange drama with heart breaking ending which was just bizarre...Big decline after great Genocide. So far Alien series been ups and downs for me from one to another.
October 8, 2024
An interesting follow-up to Genocide that has a team trying to steal alien royal jelly. Kelley Jones' art keeps you engaged, but the story and characters fell a little flat for me. The android xenomorph being used to infiltrate a hive is a great concept.
December 5, 2019
A better than average entry in Dark Horse's 1990s Aliens series, elevated by some unusual artwork by Kelley Jones.
January 10, 2022
Worthy addition to the alien mythos. Nothing too original but fits in nicely with the established canon. A particular Android comes across as hammy but not too bad
March 21, 2024
This has to be one of the strangest Aliens book of allllllllllllllllllllll time
June 19, 2025
I actually kinda like the book more
August 25, 2025
Really love the expressive Kelley Jones art, otherwise kinda feels like your standard “team encounters a Xenomorph hive” type of Alien story.
September 26, 2016
It's amazing what a little style can do. Harvest is basically the same story as Genocide: journey to a xeno planet (because there are multiple now?) and harvest royal jelly. Here, there a brilliant scientist needs it to live, and he's assisted by his thief girlfriend. Not a very good plot, but it's told well enough.
The twist here is that he has a cybernetic xeno helping him infiltrate the hive. The xeno's are treated very much like ants here, often referring to literal ant behavior to explain them. There are also wrist bands made with the royal jelly that make them invisible to the xeno's, because this jelly stuff is quickly becoming the ultimate deus ex plot device in the universe.
Like a lot of mini series, details get glossed over a lot. Why does he need the jelly to live? Is it like a drug addiction? Are there withdrawls? Why is his partner a thief? Is she a criminal? Also, why does the robot alien have a gun? Why does his personal android have a bomb?
Normally, I'd pass this over, but it was told pretty well. Scientist man talks a lot to a robot ant of his and slips into drug-induced flashbacks. That, along with the striking (and sometimes off) art style give it a unique feel. It hints at a lot more than it tells, which makes it seem deeper than it really is.
The twist here is that he has a cybernetic xeno helping him infiltrate the hive. The xeno's are treated very much like ants here, often referring to literal ant behavior to explain them. There are also wrist bands made with the royal jelly that make them invisible to the xeno's, because this jelly stuff is quickly becoming the ultimate deus ex plot device in the universe.
Like a lot of mini series, details get glossed over a lot. Why does he need the jelly to live? Is it like a drug addiction? Are there withdrawls? Why is his partner a thief? Is she a criminal? Also, why does the robot alien have a gun? Why does his personal android have a bomb?
Normally, I'd pass this over, but it was told pretty well. Scientist man talks a lot to a robot ant of his and slips into drug-induced flashbacks. That, along with the striking (and sometimes off) art style give it a unique feel. It hints at a lot more than it tells, which makes it seem deeper than it really is.
May 9, 2011
An unusal set up for the Dark Horse Aliens franchise, once again involving an expedition to an alien homeworld in search of precious biomatter. The story elements are a bit vague and the plotline a bit silly, but the overall dread and despair of the environment are managed well. The artwork is stylish but ultimately doesn't really feel like the realistic environment we've come to expect from the Aliens universe. A bit hit and miss but passable.
August 2, 2015
Not fond of the comic style in this one.
The story was a little confusing.
The characters did't really mean very much to me.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
The story was a little confusing.
The characters did't really mean very much to me.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
December 10, 2016
An alien synthetic, as if the real bastards weren't enough, mankind is now manufacturing 'em, and all in the name of profit.
Great artwork, plenty of red ink used, good story overall.
Great artwork, plenty of red ink used, good story overall.
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