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Caliban #1-7
Caliban
The crew of the mining ship Caliban is on a routine mission deep in the universe and confident that nothing outside the normal humdrum monotony of space travel will occur. But when they encounter an alien vessel their dreams of a simple mission turn into a nightmare unfolding along the lonely corridors of the cold steel ship. Something is stalking them and systematically eliminating the few remaining personnel one by one. How can you fight something you can't even understand? Claustrophobic terror grips the crew now as they attempt to escape the thing that has waited patiently for them to eventually arrive in the vast lonely darkness. No one is safe in deep space. Revolutionary comics writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, Crossed) takes you down a desolate corridor with the type of high tension paranoid storytelling that will leave a lasting mark on you. Beautifully illustrated by Facundo Pericio (Fashion Beast), Caliban is a must read for horror and sci-fi fans alike. This volume collects the Caliban #1 - 7 comic book series.
Unknown Binding
First published March 10, 2015
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484 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,625 books3,172 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
February 28, 2023
Ennis doing a solely sci-fi tale of a deep space mission's first (non-human) contact, and it being deadly. This main sub-plot is a lesbian love story. Nice work, with the typically bloody and gory Ennis fight scenes as well. 7 out of 12, Three Stars read.
2015 read
2015 read
February 1, 2016
Creepy. Entertaining. Didn't knock my socks off (metaphorically speaking--the book did fall off of a table and, in a Rube Golbergian sequence of events, actually physically knock my socks off the other day, but that has no bearing on this review).
Good if you're in the mood for something that mixes Alien with graphic horror and occasional Irish slang.
Good if you're in the mood for something that mixes Alien with graphic horror and occasional Irish slang.
October 28, 2025
Space horror.
Pretty much interchangeable with undersea horror, in my book.
They're both spooky in that underexplored way because we don't know what actually lives out there in the dark, and humans aren't environmentally suited to either place.
Also, you know, there's the ship angle.
So the crew of the ship is going along, minding their own business, then something happens that lets them know they aren't alone. Usually, there's something creepy stalking them from within the up until now assumed safety of the ship, the tension ratchets up to ten because it's not like they can just open the door and leave, and despite the best efforts of the brave crew members, the dead bodies start to pile up in new and interesting ways.
In other words, the humans have disturbed something bigger and badder than they are, and now they're fucked.
Now, that's not exactly the plot of Caliban.
But it's close enough.
If you like this kind of story, especially if you're a fan of Garth Ennis, I think you'll get a kick out of this one.
This was another gift in my Halloween goodie bag this year, and I doubt I would have found it without the gentle prodding of my friend. So. Thank you.
This one kind of had an Alien + Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe to it, and it wasn't bad at all. I was kind of impressed that I managed to sort of care about the characters a little, as well.
Not a lot, mind you. You don't want to get too attached to the meat bags because you know where this shit is going.
Recommended.
Pretty much interchangeable with undersea horror, in my book.
They're both spooky in that underexplored way because we don't know what actually lives out there in the dark, and humans aren't environmentally suited to either place.
Also, you know, there's the ship angle.
So the crew of the ship is going along, minding their own business, then something happens that lets them know they aren't alone. Usually, there's something creepy stalking them from within the up until now assumed safety of the ship, the tension ratchets up to ten because it's not like they can just open the door and leave, and despite the best efforts of the brave crew members, the dead bodies start to pile up in new and interesting ways.
In other words, the humans have disturbed something bigger and badder than they are, and now they're fucked.
Now, that's not exactly the plot of Caliban.
But it's close enough.
If you like this kind of story, especially if you're a fan of Garth Ennis, I think you'll get a kick out of this one.
This was another gift in my Halloween goodie bag this year, and I doubt I would have found it without the gentle prodding of my friend. So. Thank you.
This one kind of had an Alien + Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe to it, and it wasn't bad at all. I was kind of impressed that I managed to sort of care about the characters a little, as well.
Not a lot, mind you. You don't want to get too attached to the meat bags because you know where this shit is going.
Recommended.
April 2, 2020
Caliban: Solid Space-Horror from Ennis... Also: The Occasional Highs and Many Lows of Avatar Publishling
3.5 Stars/5.0 Stars
[SPOILERS AHEAD! You have been warned.]
Garth Ennis always gets the first class treatment when he pens a series for Avatar, and rightfully so. The jaw-dropping fictional brutality that Avatar have made their raison d’etre comes as naturally to Garth Ennis as breathing. For anyone who doesn't give a fuck about this weird little label, skip down a ways, and I'll eventually segue back to a stricter notion of relevancy. For anyone unfamiliar with how Avatar became a haven for British writers who possess a very dark sense of humor and over-clocked imaginations, it was actually Warren Ellis who gave Avatar their first break. I know... writers giving publishers a break isn't exactly the natural order of things, but this publisher badly needed one. After some editorial meddling and straight-up censorship prompted Ellis to give DC, Vertigo and 'Hellblazer' a cheery 'fuck you', he decided to find an indie label that was big enough to promote and distribute his work effectively, but willing to let him do whatever the hell he wanted. Avatar, who originally specialized in publishing laughably awful, exploitative tits-and-gore comic trash, were ecstatic at the notion of becoming the scrap-idea receptacle for a writer of his stature. So Ellis introduced 'William Gravel' in the series ‘Strange Kiss’ and it’s sequels, a ‘combat magician’ with more than a passing resemblance to John Constantine, and found his narrative recycling bin for the ideas created for his aborted ‘Hellblazer’ run. The first Gravel stories were tentative and underwhelming, with artwork by Mike Wolfer that flat-out sucked. He found a better collaborator in Jacen Burrows for 'Deep Blue' and 'Scars', but it took awhile for things to coalesce. Garth Ennis, who wrote the definitive ‘Hellblazer’ tales of the 1990’s, had plenty of ideas that Vertigo, Dynamite and Marvel never gave the green-light. After some less-than-stellar genre outings like ‘303’ and the tepid Western ‘Streets of Glory’, he fared better with apocalyptic subject matter: 'Chronicles of Wormwood', a satirical take on the more ridiculous aspects of the Armageddon Christians are lusting for, and the '28 Days Later'-style zombie apocalypse in 'Crossed', both with art by Jacen Burrows. ‘Caliban’ is a return to form of sorts, entertaining SF-horror with some pleasantly sickening violence and an exciting pace.
The ‘Caliban’, before and after the unfortunate move that resulted in occupying the same sub-space coordinates as the alien vessel:
Jeebus. The thought of entering 'cryo-sleep' and waking up to find your pod has been ejected -- the claustrophobic terror of being trapped in a floating coffin, combined with the agoraphobic/nihilophobic horror of finding yourself alone in the endless black nothing of space:
Garth Ennis has a gift for writing stories about characters in extremely fucked-up situations, and he’s quietly replaced Ellis as the top Avatar writer, with 'Crossed' becoming Avatar's flagship title. They haven’t completely abandoned their slimy, braindead past, back when their ‘star’ was Tim Vigil*, pandering to his inner 15-year old with anatomically incorrect Neanderthals and topless warrior-women doing acrobatic combat in stiletto heels and G-strings. The new Avatar is still a reliable source for gratuitous sex and violence; you’ll find tits and guts and gut-spattered tits, but it usually makes some kind of narrative sense. Other writers have followed the Ennis-Ellis lead, with mixed results...
*[2020 Kayfabe-Kvetch:]
Alan Moore: 'Neonomicon' is a disturbing Lovecraftian horror comic that everyone seems divided on, but I liked it, rape & all; and he recently completed 'Crossed + 100', a 12-issue series that takes Ennis' nightmare a century into the future. It's divisive, but I'd give it 73/100.
Jonathan Hickman: 'God is Dead', Hickman's Avatar title, is complete shit. 15/100... all for the fucking FONTS. Without the hieroglyphics, 5/100
David Lapham: My love for 'Stray Bullets' runs far too deep to be sullied; but his Avatar 'jobber' work - on books like ‘Ferals’ and ‘Caligula’ - was disappointing. The lame artwork by Avatar B-&-C-Listers were a part of it, but the crappy scripts are all on him. His contributions to ‘Crossed’ have been some of the most irredeemably sleazy, which is really saying something. I was glad to see him return to ‘Stray Bullets’ and pick up his pen and pencil, because as a writer-artist, he's produced some of the best comics ever made. We'll see how it shapes up. As for his Avatar work: 'Ferals', I'd say 67/100. 'Caligula', 58/100.
Keiron Gillen: 'Uber' re-envisions WWII with an arms race involving superhuman juggernauts… interesting, suspenseful and shocking, but both the story and art are inconsistent. Nevertheless, It gets better as it goes... for the most part. 73/100
Warren Ellis: 'Freakangels' remains the best Avatar series, I think, and a high point for Ellis. Duffield's odd mix of European and Manga art is excellent, even if the colors and CG texturing are rough at times. 86/100
Garth Ennis: 'Crossed: Volume 1' set new standards for 'survival horror', with the most absolutely terrifying Apocalypse scenario yet conceived, and a refusal to mitigate the horror in any way; when the situation looks hopeless, it is. No help is forthcoming, no miracles. [Explicit Description] It's truly disturbing shit, but Ennis somehow makes this sickening recon mission into the darkest of narrative territories work as fucked-up entertainment. I'm a long-time horror fan, but even I found most of the later books not penned by Ennis to be too much. Crossed: Volume 1 is the book to read. 84/100
Getting back to the actual subject of the review, and the treatment Ennis receives from Avatar... I'm not talking about 5-star hotels, fine wine, & better cocaine. That might have been a thing in the eighties or early nineties, but I doubt it... especially in the modern-day fiscal limitations of a quietly expiring medium. The ‘first-class treatment’, in this context, means that Ennis stories always get one of their 'A-List' artists. There's only so many talented artists out there, and while Avatar obviously pay generously to keep Jacen Burrows, Paul Duffield, and Gianluca Pagliarani from being poached by publishers with deeper pockets, it’s hard to keep an artist like Oscar Jimenez from moving on to higher profile gigs. For 'Caliban', Ennis was matched with Fercundo Percio, one of Avatar's star scribblers, who is perfect for the futuristic, hardware-heavy backgrounds that the story requires. Wally Wood-type banks of rectangular grids, representing buttons or indicators, show up here and there, as well as the loops of insulated wire that artists love to add, but Percio does an excellent job, giving everything a nostalgic EC feel that recalls Al Feldstein’s ‘Weird Science’ art. Anyone who's tried to draw realistic machinery from a near-future space-ship knows how hard it is to make them look convincing. There's a reason why other artists are so in awe of the 50's/60's SF-work of Wally Wood. Somewhere between Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan, Percio makes a nice use of contrast, balancing bold outlines with heavy spot blacks and clean texturing. Since the first time I discovered his art on the Ellis-scripted Avatar title 'Anna Mercury - Volume 1: The Cutter', his work has improved dramatically. I should also say that 'Caliban' escaped the thoroughly fucking hideous coloring jobs that afflict most Avatar titles. Caliban relies on darker panels with ominously glowing banks of switches and gauges, slightly more subtle and less offensive to the eye, but still a far cry from Dave Stewart.
The cold efficiency of the possessed crewman, testing human bodies for pain thresholds and vulnerabilities that he can use to take humans apart and break their skeletal structure down, but still keep them alive for minutes or even hours, in excruciating agony...
(...) is pretty fucking grisly:
Starting with an 'Event Horizon', 'Sunshine' or 'Prometheus'-like setting (I’m convinced Garth Ennis watched the mediocre late-90’s SF flick ‘Supernova’, starring James Spader and Angela Bassett, immediately forgot about it, even though the plot lodged itself like a chicken bone in his subconscious… to be coughed up years later as an idea he assumed was his own). 'Caliban' begins on an interstellar spaceship with a crew that is obviously jaded to the wonders of FTL, but discussion alerts the reader that intelligent life is still an exclusively Earth-bound phenomenon. A mysterious 'collision' occurs in the no-man's-land of ‘sub-space’/’under-space’/’The Bleed’, the theoretical region that shows up frequently in SF, allowing ships to traverse the light years between solar systems. After surveying the damage to the 'Caliban', the shaken survivors of the incident discover that their vessel has fused with another ship. They did not collide, but instead occupied the same area of 'subspace' simultaneously. Metal and flesh alike were instantly incorporated, fusing with the alien alloys of the intruding structure. As strange and dire as their situation is, the crew is completely unprepared for the things now inside the crippled, half-alien Siamese-twin that was 'The Caliban'. It might have been a floating cosmic zoo, or an alien scientific expedition returning with specimens, but not everything from the 'xeno-vessel' is dead.
As the crew scrambles to seal hatches and protect their remaining atmosphere, working to make contact with the other ship's operating system via their own computer, one member of their crew is seemingly possessed by something inhuman. When the killing starts, it's the gut-wrenching sort that Ennis excels at. He decides to focus on two female characters, one of them brilliant but unassuming, the other confident and physical; the romantic bond that develops between them makes the climax a bit more dramatic and emotionally engaging, but the extended flashback that interrupts the action doesn’t help; it feels tacked-on, and it’s distracting. But Ennis always wants violence and bloodshed to be as horrible as possible, something I consider the opposite of gratuitous. Violence, even the fictional sort, should always leave a scar, and death should always make an impact… even on the other side of the galaxy. 75/100
3.5 Stars/5.0 Stars
[SPOILERS AHEAD! You have been warned.]
Garth Ennis always gets the first class treatment when he pens a series for Avatar, and rightfully so. The jaw-dropping fictional brutality that Avatar have made their raison d’etre comes as naturally to Garth Ennis as breathing. For anyone who doesn't give a fuck about this weird little label, skip down a ways, and I'll eventually segue back to a stricter notion of relevancy. For anyone unfamiliar with how Avatar became a haven for British writers who possess a very dark sense of humor and over-clocked imaginations, it was actually Warren Ellis who gave Avatar their first break. I know... writers giving publishers a break isn't exactly the natural order of things, but this publisher badly needed one. After some editorial meddling and straight-up censorship prompted Ellis to give DC, Vertigo and 'Hellblazer' a cheery 'fuck you', he decided to find an indie label that was big enough to promote and distribute his work effectively, but willing to let him do whatever the hell he wanted. Avatar, who originally specialized in publishing laughably awful, exploitative tits-and-gore comic trash, were ecstatic at the notion of becoming the scrap-idea receptacle for a writer of his stature. So Ellis introduced 'William Gravel' in the series ‘Strange Kiss’ and it’s sequels, a ‘combat magician’ with more than a passing resemblance to John Constantine, and found his narrative recycling bin for the ideas created for his aborted ‘Hellblazer’ run. The first Gravel stories were tentative and underwhelming, with artwork by Mike Wolfer that flat-out sucked. He found a better collaborator in Jacen Burrows for 'Deep Blue' and 'Scars', but it took awhile for things to coalesce. Garth Ennis, who wrote the definitive ‘Hellblazer’ tales of the 1990’s, had plenty of ideas that Vertigo, Dynamite and Marvel never gave the green-light. After some less-than-stellar genre outings like ‘303’ and the tepid Western ‘Streets of Glory’, he fared better with apocalyptic subject matter: 'Chronicles of Wormwood', a satirical take on the more ridiculous aspects of the Armageddon Christians are lusting for, and the '28 Days Later'-style zombie apocalypse in 'Crossed', both with art by Jacen Burrows. ‘Caliban’ is a return to form of sorts, entertaining SF-horror with some pleasantly sickening violence and an exciting pace.
The ‘Caliban’, before and after the unfortunate move that resulted in occupying the same sub-space coordinates as the alien vessel:
Jeebus. The thought of entering 'cryo-sleep' and waking up to find your pod has been ejected -- the claustrophobic terror of being trapped in a floating coffin, combined with the agoraphobic/nihilophobic horror of finding yourself alone in the endless black nothing of space:
Garth Ennis has a gift for writing stories about characters in extremely fucked-up situations, and he’s quietly replaced Ellis as the top Avatar writer, with 'Crossed' becoming Avatar's flagship title. They haven’t completely abandoned their slimy, braindead past, back when their ‘star’ was Tim Vigil*, pandering to his inner 15-year old with anatomically incorrect Neanderthals and topless warrior-women doing acrobatic combat in stiletto heels and G-strings. The new Avatar is still a reliable source for gratuitous sex and violence; you’ll find tits and guts and gut-spattered tits, but it usually makes some kind of narrative sense. Other writers have followed the Ennis-Ellis lead, with mixed results...
*[2020 Kayfabe-Kvetch:]
Alan Moore: 'Neonomicon' is a disturbing Lovecraftian horror comic that everyone seems divided on, but I liked it, rape & all; and he recently completed 'Crossed + 100', a 12-issue series that takes Ennis' nightmare a century into the future. It's divisive, but I'd give it 73/100.
Jonathan Hickman: 'God is Dead', Hickman's Avatar title, is complete shit. 15/100... all for the fucking FONTS. Without the hieroglyphics, 5/100
David Lapham: My love for 'Stray Bullets' runs far too deep to be sullied; but his Avatar 'jobber' work - on books like ‘Ferals’ and ‘Caligula’ - was disappointing. The lame artwork by Avatar B-&-C-Listers were a part of it, but the crappy scripts are all on him. His contributions to ‘Crossed’ have been some of the most irredeemably sleazy, which is really saying something. I was glad to see him return to ‘Stray Bullets’ and pick up his pen and pencil, because as a writer-artist, he's produced some of the best comics ever made. We'll see how it shapes up. As for his Avatar work: 'Ferals', I'd say 67/100. 'Caligula', 58/100.
Keiron Gillen: 'Uber' re-envisions WWII with an arms race involving superhuman juggernauts… interesting, suspenseful and shocking, but both the story and art are inconsistent. Nevertheless, It gets better as it goes... for the most part. 73/100
Warren Ellis: 'Freakangels' remains the best Avatar series, I think, and a high point for Ellis. Duffield's odd mix of European and Manga art is excellent, even if the colors and CG texturing are rough at times. 86/100
Garth Ennis: 'Crossed: Volume 1' set new standards for 'survival horror', with the most absolutely terrifying Apocalypse scenario yet conceived, and a refusal to mitigate the horror in any way; when the situation looks hopeless, it is. No help is forthcoming, no miracles. [Explicit Description] It's truly disturbing shit, but Ennis somehow makes this sickening recon mission into the darkest of narrative territories work as fucked-up entertainment. I'm a long-time horror fan, but even I found most of the later books not penned by Ennis to be too much. Crossed: Volume 1 is the book to read. 84/100
Getting back to the actual subject of the review, and the treatment Ennis receives from Avatar... I'm not talking about 5-star hotels, fine wine, & better cocaine. That might have been a thing in the eighties or early nineties, but I doubt it... especially in the modern-day fiscal limitations of a quietly expiring medium. The ‘first-class treatment’, in this context, means that Ennis stories always get one of their 'A-List' artists. There's only so many talented artists out there, and while Avatar obviously pay generously to keep Jacen Burrows, Paul Duffield, and Gianluca Pagliarani from being poached by publishers with deeper pockets, it’s hard to keep an artist like Oscar Jimenez from moving on to higher profile gigs. For 'Caliban', Ennis was matched with Fercundo Percio, one of Avatar's star scribblers, who is perfect for the futuristic, hardware-heavy backgrounds that the story requires. Wally Wood-type banks of rectangular grids, representing buttons or indicators, show up here and there, as well as the loops of insulated wire that artists love to add, but Percio does an excellent job, giving everything a nostalgic EC feel that recalls Al Feldstein’s ‘Weird Science’ art. Anyone who's tried to draw realistic machinery from a near-future space-ship knows how hard it is to make them look convincing. There's a reason why other artists are so in awe of the 50's/60's SF-work of Wally Wood. Somewhere between Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan, Percio makes a nice use of contrast, balancing bold outlines with heavy spot blacks and clean texturing. Since the first time I discovered his art on the Ellis-scripted Avatar title 'Anna Mercury - Volume 1: The Cutter', his work has improved dramatically. I should also say that 'Caliban' escaped the thoroughly fucking hideous coloring jobs that afflict most Avatar titles. Caliban relies on darker panels with ominously glowing banks of switches and gauges, slightly more subtle and less offensive to the eye, but still a far cry from Dave Stewart.
The cold efficiency of the possessed crewman, testing human bodies for pain thresholds and vulnerabilities that he can use to take humans apart and break their skeletal structure down, but still keep them alive for minutes or even hours, in excruciating agony...
(...) is pretty fucking grisly:
Starting with an 'Event Horizon', 'Sunshine' or 'Prometheus'-like setting (I’m convinced Garth Ennis watched the mediocre late-90’s SF flick ‘Supernova’, starring James Spader and Angela Bassett, immediately forgot about it, even though the plot lodged itself like a chicken bone in his subconscious… to be coughed up years later as an idea he assumed was his own). 'Caliban' begins on an interstellar spaceship with a crew that is obviously jaded to the wonders of FTL, but discussion alerts the reader that intelligent life is still an exclusively Earth-bound phenomenon. A mysterious 'collision' occurs in the no-man's-land of ‘sub-space’/’under-space’/’The Bleed’, the theoretical region that shows up frequently in SF, allowing ships to traverse the light years between solar systems. After surveying the damage to the 'Caliban', the shaken survivors of the incident discover that their vessel has fused with another ship. They did not collide, but instead occupied the same area of 'subspace' simultaneously. Metal and flesh alike were instantly incorporated, fusing with the alien alloys of the intruding structure. As strange and dire as their situation is, the crew is completely unprepared for the things now inside the crippled, half-alien Siamese-twin that was 'The Caliban'. It might have been a floating cosmic zoo, or an alien scientific expedition returning with specimens, but not everything from the 'xeno-vessel' is dead.
As the crew scrambles to seal hatches and protect their remaining atmosphere, working to make contact with the other ship's operating system via their own computer, one member of their crew is seemingly possessed by something inhuman. When the killing starts, it's the gut-wrenching sort that Ennis excels at. He decides to focus on two female characters, one of them brilliant but unassuming, the other confident and physical; the romantic bond that develops between them makes the climax a bit more dramatic and emotionally engaging, but the extended flashback that interrupts the action doesn’t help; it feels tacked-on, and it’s distracting. But Ennis always wants violence and bloodshed to be as horrible as possible, something I consider the opposite of gratuitous. Violence, even the fictional sort, should always leave a scar, and death should always make an impact… even on the other side of the galaxy. 75/100
July 27, 2015
Seen Alien? You’ve already read Caliban then!
The mining exploration vessel, Caliban, becomes fused with an alien ship while in warp space. The surviving crew begin exploring the alien ship’s dark, empty corridors and discover something on board is picking them off one by one...
From the HR Giger dedication at the start, I was hoping Garth Ennis would only be emulating the tone of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, which Giger designed the original Alien creature for, but instead he basically outright copies it.
The sleepers aboard Caliban, the monster stalking the corridors, picking off crew members, even the female hero - it’s all an Alien rip-off. There isn’t much else to say about the comic, it’s that tossed off.
Facundo Percio draws the book like a lesser Steve Dillon. The alien designs, the tech, the interiors, it’s all stuff you’ve seen before if you’re a sci-fi fan. Nothing special or original to see here!
Couple the uninspired story with Ennis’ surprisingly plodding script and Caliban is a very disappointing, overlong and quite boring story that never really grabs you. Though for an Ennis/Avatar comic, it is less gory than you’d expect.
Maybe if you want to read an Alien-esque comic or are a fan of the space horror sub-genre, you’ll enjoy this. For me though, I felt Caliban to be a poor quality, forgettable and derivative book - a lesser effort from one of the best comics writers ever.
The mining exploration vessel, Caliban, becomes fused with an alien ship while in warp space. The surviving crew begin exploring the alien ship’s dark, empty corridors and discover something on board is picking them off one by one...
From the HR Giger dedication at the start, I was hoping Garth Ennis would only be emulating the tone of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, which Giger designed the original Alien creature for, but instead he basically outright copies it.
The sleepers aboard Caliban, the monster stalking the corridors, picking off crew members, even the female hero - it’s all an Alien rip-off. There isn’t much else to say about the comic, it’s that tossed off.
Facundo Percio draws the book like a lesser Steve Dillon. The alien designs, the tech, the interiors, it’s all stuff you’ve seen before if you’re a sci-fi fan. Nothing special or original to see here!
Couple the uninspired story with Ennis’ surprisingly plodding script and Caliban is a very disappointing, overlong and quite boring story that never really grabs you. Though for an Ennis/Avatar comic, it is less gory than you’d expect.
Maybe if you want to read an Alien-esque comic or are a fan of the space horror sub-genre, you’ll enjoy this. For me though, I felt Caliban to be a poor quality, forgettable and derivative book - a lesser effort from one of the best comics writers ever.
December 27, 2018
So when I heard about this I figured I was gonna love it. I’m into sci-fi/horror stuff in space and Ennis is a great author known for action packed horror. That being said... I was right, I love it!
What’s it about?
The Caliban is a space ship and after doing something very dangerous some stuff gets all messed up in the ship. That’s all I can say without spoilers.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting. I don’t agree with some reviews I’ve seen saying it’s an Alien rip off, they are similar yet different.
The art is pretty awesome. Very high quality.
The characters are interesting. One thing I notice about these certain kinds of stories is that at times the characters seem flat but there are some exceptions such as this. Also gotta say, Ennis is great at writing diverse characters that are actually good, in this book for example 2 of the main characters are lesbians but they’re actually interesting and have personalities. More diverse characters written that way would be nice.
The action scenes are frequent, bloody (as most Ennis fans like it) and bad-ass! I would show an example but I don’t think GR would allow it unfortunately. Let’s just say if you’re a fan of gory action in space (most people interested in this book probably are) you’ll like the action in this.
This book is very suspenseful.
The horror elements are very well done.
There are a few brief comic relief moments that work very well.
This book is very well written when talking about narrative (despite one minor typo) and the dialogue is good in that way where it sounds authentic.
The ending’s twisted but great.
Overall:
This is a fantastic comic. If you want a bad-ass Aliens-esque space horror done Ennis style this is the book for you. This is a well written, action packed story with great characters, fantastic art and some sweet horror!
5/5
What’s it about?
The Caliban is a space ship and after doing something very dangerous some stuff gets all messed up in the ship. That’s all I can say without spoilers.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting. I don’t agree with some reviews I’ve seen saying it’s an Alien rip off, they are similar yet different.
The art is pretty awesome. Very high quality.
The characters are interesting. One thing I notice about these certain kinds of stories is that at times the characters seem flat but there are some exceptions such as this. Also gotta say, Ennis is great at writing diverse characters that are actually good, in this book for example 2 of the main characters are lesbians but they’re actually interesting and have personalities. More diverse characters written that way would be nice.
The action scenes are frequent, bloody (as most Ennis fans like it) and bad-ass! I would show an example but I don’t think GR would allow it unfortunately. Let’s just say if you’re a fan of gory action in space (most people interested in this book probably are) you’ll like the action in this.
This book is very suspenseful.
The horror elements are very well done.
There are a few brief comic relief moments that work very well.
This book is very well written when talking about narrative (despite one minor typo) and the dialogue is good in that way where it sounds authentic.
The ending’s twisted but great.
Overall:
This is a fantastic comic. If you want a bad-ass Aliens-esque space horror done Ennis style this is the book for you. This is a well written, action packed story with great characters, fantastic art and some sweet horror!
5/5
December 5, 2015
I maaaaaay have had a good deal of Nyquil in my system before I read this, and that may have affected my enjoyment.
I have this problem with Nyquil.
It turns out that a couple years ago, I was taking Nyquil, and I lost the stupid cap, which also serves as the measuring cup. I had these little metal sauce cups in my cabinet, and I was like, “Oh, I’m totally a good judge of volume, and these seem to be the volume of that Nyquil cap, for sure.”
In case you’re wondering, I knew then and know now that I am a pitiful judge of volume, space, all that stuff. I created an entire bed in Google Sketchup last week that looked great, and then I realized it could fit inside a large-ish television.
The sauce cup ended up being about 2.5 times the normal Nyquil dose. Which is a pretty good amount of Nyquil. If you want to sleep, and if you want to have a wonderful dream where you live in a minimalist beach house and just kind of walk around, and if you want this dream to last 18 hours, then my friend, have I got a sauce cup for you.
And once you’ve gone sauce cup, it’s hard to go back to the regular, mortal dosage. It seems so stingy. Sad. I miss my fucking beach house. It was so happy. I was so happy.
Anyway, Caliban is one of these Event Horizon things. Some bad shit happens in space. Evil shit. Which seems to be the norm for space. I’ve yet to pick up a space comic or a space movie where the idea isn’t that space is horrible. Hell, flip through Netflix. There are like 50 movies you’ve never heard of, they all have 1.5 stars, the covers all show astronauts from behind looking into some deep void, and I’m sure those astronauts are all totally fucked. Except Cosmos. That show is legit and doesn’t involve dying astronauts. Although it kills a part of you inside by making you feel so insignificant that why even go on.
Through my some-Nyquil haze, Caliban was satisfying, but I don’t think it’s something that’s going to stick with me all that long. Nothing about it really lit up my brain or anything like that. Nothing as exciting as my long lost beach house, that’s for sure.
Jesus. I don’t even like the beach.
I have this problem with Nyquil.
It turns out that a couple years ago, I was taking Nyquil, and I lost the stupid cap, which also serves as the measuring cup. I had these little metal sauce cups in my cabinet, and I was like, “Oh, I’m totally a good judge of volume, and these seem to be the volume of that Nyquil cap, for sure.”
In case you’re wondering, I knew then and know now that I am a pitiful judge of volume, space, all that stuff. I created an entire bed in Google Sketchup last week that looked great, and then I realized it could fit inside a large-ish television.
The sauce cup ended up being about 2.5 times the normal Nyquil dose. Which is a pretty good amount of Nyquil. If you want to sleep, and if you want to have a wonderful dream where you live in a minimalist beach house and just kind of walk around, and if you want this dream to last 18 hours, then my friend, have I got a sauce cup for you.
And once you’ve gone sauce cup, it’s hard to go back to the regular, mortal dosage. It seems so stingy. Sad. I miss my fucking beach house. It was so happy. I was so happy.
Anyway, Caliban is one of these Event Horizon things. Some bad shit happens in space. Evil shit. Which seems to be the norm for space. I’ve yet to pick up a space comic or a space movie where the idea isn’t that space is horrible. Hell, flip through Netflix. There are like 50 movies you’ve never heard of, they all have 1.5 stars, the covers all show astronauts from behind looking into some deep void, and I’m sure those astronauts are all totally fucked. Except Cosmos. That show is legit and doesn’t involve dying astronauts. Although it kills a part of you inside by making you feel so insignificant that why even go on.
Through my some-Nyquil haze, Caliban was satisfying, but I don’t think it’s something that’s going to stick with me all that long. Nothing about it really lit up my brain or anything like that. Nothing as exciting as my long lost beach house, that’s for sure.
Jesus. I don’t even like the beach.
May 3, 2016
Burned through this book in one sitting. Pretty easy read, with touches of body horror, philosophy and hard sci-fi to keep most of us Ennis fans happy. (Except the ones who're looking for the laugh-out-loud ridiculousness of some of Ennis' most well-known works like Punisher or Preacher.)
Yes, as Sam points out this feels pretty derivative - or perhaps kleptomania is the key here - many moments and settings that feel like movies we've all seen if we're sci-fi/horror junkies (and if you're reading this, welcome to our club of guilty pleasure).
It's definitely unique enough that a movie based on this book would be worth watching. There's a few images that harken back to some of the stunners from Crossed, Preacher or The Boys - and not the big blood scenes. More like "how'd he arrive at that idea?"
Read it. Don't regret it. Want to spread the idea further. Go get it (from the library).
Yes, as Sam points out this feels pretty derivative - or perhaps kleptomania is the key here - many moments and settings that feel like movies we've all seen if we're sci-fi/horror junkies (and if you're reading this, welcome to our club of guilty pleasure).
It's definitely unique enough that a movie based on this book would be worth watching. There's a few images that harken back to some of the stunners from Crossed, Preacher or The Boys - and not the big blood scenes. More like "how'd he arrive at that idea?"
Read it. Don't regret it. Want to spread the idea further. Go get it (from the library).
March 13, 2015
There are not many space horror comic book series out, so when I heard of Caliban, I wanted to see what narrative structure and tropes writer Garth Ennis (Preacher) included in his story.
There was quite a bit of potential for a story about two ships that collide and seem to blend together rather than tear each other apart. Most of the individuals, who are in hibernation at the time of the collision, are lost (I thought about the similarity to Pitch Black), leaving a little over a dozen individuals to figure out how to get home. In the meantime, one of the crew is taken over by an alien form. The horror and blood flows thereafter. Ennis unfolds the story of the morphed human, the alien ship – the Caliban crew found no one on board – while revealing a love story between the two main female characters, San and Nomi.
I liked that Ennis took a different approach with regards to developing the love story between San and Nomi. However, I was disappointed with Nomi as a character. She is the communications specialist, but seems to lack technical expertise and the appropriate jargon to match with the others on the ship. Ennis used her character as a naïve dreamer, which works and rings true, but I thought he could have made her sound intelligent to her position on Caliban. San, on the other hand, who we find out was a reluctant leader and declined commanding her own ship, becomes the voice of reason and a pillar of strength. She was definitely the more interesting and stronger character of the two women.
As to the rest of the story, there were a couple of problems. First, I think that Ennis needed to get to a core number of characters more quickly. As mentioned above, he had over a dozen and asking the reader to try to keep names and locations straight in a story that is not necessary being told in linear fashion was a little bit of a struggle. (I found it especially so since I was trying to complete a close reading for the purpose of an upcoming presentation I’ll be giving on this series.) Other space horror stories I have read/watched limit the number of characters to about 7 or 8 characters maximum, and Ennis should have heeded that structure.
Second, the storytelling was disjointed. Lines of dialogue would abruptly cut off and may or may not be picked up a few pages later as though bouncing back and forth between scenes. It didn’t work in my opinion. Personally, I thought the flashback didn’t work either. I thought it was too late in the game (I think it was in issue six?) and did not provide any new information – by then, I think we all knew Nomi was a dreamer.
The art and lettering worked well and I found no issue with either one. I really thought Ennis’ conception was fascinating. He did push into new territory with the characters in some ways, but also relied on some tired tropes as well. I read the single issues and the trade paperback and sadly, neither included any additional notes providing Ennis’ insight into this series.
There was quite a bit of potential for a story about two ships that collide and seem to blend together rather than tear each other apart. Most of the individuals, who are in hibernation at the time of the collision, are lost (I thought about the similarity to Pitch Black), leaving a little over a dozen individuals to figure out how to get home. In the meantime, one of the crew is taken over by an alien form. The horror and blood flows thereafter. Ennis unfolds the story of the morphed human, the alien ship – the Caliban crew found no one on board – while revealing a love story between the two main female characters, San and Nomi.
I liked that Ennis took a different approach with regards to developing the love story between San and Nomi. However, I was disappointed with Nomi as a character. She is the communications specialist, but seems to lack technical expertise and the appropriate jargon to match with the others on the ship. Ennis used her character as a naïve dreamer, which works and rings true, but I thought he could have made her sound intelligent to her position on Caliban. San, on the other hand, who we find out was a reluctant leader and declined commanding her own ship, becomes the voice of reason and a pillar of strength. She was definitely the more interesting and stronger character of the two women.
As to the rest of the story, there were a couple of problems. First, I think that Ennis needed to get to a core number of characters more quickly. As mentioned above, he had over a dozen and asking the reader to try to keep names and locations straight in a story that is not necessary being told in linear fashion was a little bit of a struggle. (I found it especially so since I was trying to complete a close reading for the purpose of an upcoming presentation I’ll be giving on this series.) Other space horror stories I have read/watched limit the number of characters to about 7 or 8 characters maximum, and Ennis should have heeded that structure.
Second, the storytelling was disjointed. Lines of dialogue would abruptly cut off and may or may not be picked up a few pages later as though bouncing back and forth between scenes. It didn’t work in my opinion. Personally, I thought the flashback didn’t work either. I thought it was too late in the game (I think it was in issue six?) and did not provide any new information – by then, I think we all knew Nomi was a dreamer.
The art and lettering worked well and I found no issue with either one. I really thought Ennis’ conception was fascinating. He did push into new territory with the characters in some ways, but also relied on some tired tropes as well. I read the single issues and the trade paperback and sadly, neither included any additional notes providing Ennis’ insight into this series.
October 5, 2022
Ever since I've read Punisher MAX, I'm a fan of Garth Ennis. That being said, knowing his grim stories from before I wanted to see how it's working seeing Ennis in SF/horror genre. Avatar Press, being Troma production for comics, was the perfect home for this story, giving Ennis freedom to do what he does best, however this is not the best Garth's work.
It's more like a love letter to all those '80's and '90's, even early '00's SF movies. There is a little bit of everything, but it can be described as a breed between Carpenter's "Thing" and Scott's "Alien", with a bit of Hill's "Supernova".
An accident during hyperspace travel causes two ships to fuse into each other, think of Philadelphia experiment, and troubles ensue.
Good thing is that Ennis made a plot twist where instead of one alpha male and a fragile lady that needs to be saved, he put alpha female and a fragile lady that needs to be saved as main characters. Facunda's drawing is a bit too like Jacen Burrows', which isn't a bad thing, just it seems like he tried to copy him yet gives it some his own touch. Creature design could've been better, but I have a feeling that both of them did it on purpose to remind people they're reading comic book clearly inspired by all those SciFi movies of old.
Not the best Ennis, but not the worst. Certainly different than others.
It's more like a love letter to all those '80's and '90's, even early '00's SF movies. There is a little bit of everything, but it can be described as a breed between Carpenter's "Thing" and Scott's "Alien", with a bit of Hill's "Supernova".
An accident during hyperspace travel causes two ships to fuse into each other, think of Philadelphia experiment, and troubles ensue.
Good thing is that Ennis made a plot twist where instead of one alpha male and a fragile lady that needs to be saved, he put alpha female and a fragile lady that needs to be saved as main characters. Facunda's drawing is a bit too like Jacen Burrows', which isn't a bad thing, just it seems like he tried to copy him yet gives it some his own touch. Creature design could've been better, but I have a feeling that both of them did it on purpose to remind people they're reading comic book clearly inspired by all those SciFi movies of old.
Not the best Ennis, but not the worst. Certainly different than others.
October 20, 2018
This was shockingly good. I'm a big Garth Ennis fan anyway, but really this was a different direction for him. This wasn't as over the top as usual, and also very serious and pretty smart. It's basically the movie "Alien" as envisioned by Ennis, but not so similar it's a rip off. A really good sci fi horror story with good art as well. Highly recommended.
October 17, 2014
Garth Ennis does 'Alien.' Pending on who you are, that could sound amazing or amazingly weak. It started off with promise, I really enjoyed the first 3 or 4 issues. However, it ended like a few of his limited series have lately, which is to say, a bit weak and unfulfilling. Great art though, and they did a solid job with the creepiness factor early on in the series. Seems like the idea got spent halfway through though. Plot is something like Event Horizon meets Alien meets The Thing. Not incredibly original, but it's interesting to see Ennis do a space-alien story.
October 17, 2020
দারুণ লাগলো। এনিসের গল্প কিংবা পের্সিওর আঁকার চেয়ে কাব্রেরার রঙের কাজ বেশি ভালো লেগেছে।
June 6, 2017
Man, when I heard Garth Ennis was doing a horror story in space, I was pumped. When I first started reading it though, I was a honestly a little disappointed. By the end, he had me onboard again, and I was left feeling happy with a smile on my face. That being said, I do think the story would have benefited from being longer and allowing more character development. It really did zip by at a breakneck speed, and as soon as you learned someone's name, they were dead in a very gory fashion not soon after. That left for a shocking tale where you never knew who was going to survive, but also made it hard to connect with characters. Also, sure, it's a setup/plot we've seen before a thousand times, but I personally love that particular setup/plot. I love Alien, but I love watching Leviathan too. So sue me.
October 27, 2016
Have you seen any mediocre Alien knockoff in the last 25 years? Then you've already read Caliban. Congratulations, you get your evening back.
This is literally as uninspired as it gets. They need to travel to the far reaches of space to find a better word for "derivative". This book has absolutely no new ideas. None of its characters are likable or relatable, its villain is bland, and they waste a tantalizing "alien zoologist" concept on slasher cliches.
Art's solid, so I'll give it that, but it's overwritten for how little happens, cramming a rather workmanlike art style with word bubbles filled with tough-guy horror movie tropes.
This is literally as uninspired as it gets. They need to travel to the far reaches of space to find a better word for "derivative". This book has absolutely no new ideas. None of its characters are likable or relatable, its villain is bland, and they waste a tantalizing "alien zoologist" concept on slasher cliches.
Art's solid, so I'll give it that, but it's overwritten for how little happens, cramming a rather workmanlike art style with word bubbles filled with tough-guy horror movie tropes.
May 8, 2015
This is pretty good. Intelligent, sci-fi/horror hybrid that reads a bit like Event Horizon. Basically, two ships suddenly find themselves occupying the same space via a warp accident and the human crew members of the Caliban must figure out how to extricate themselves from their dire circumstances. They're so far out there that they can't expect a rescue, so they're forced to do their best to come up with their own solution. The artwork throughout is very nice and this isn't the over-the-top horror/grossness that is found in many an Avatar title (see the Crossed series, for instance).
December 12, 2023
This was a pretty good sci-fi horror. It reminded me of other narrow-corridor spaceship horror stories like the movies Alien and Event Horizon.
The first issue was super awesome but after that the story slows down quite a bit.
Recommended for people that want a sci-fi horror comic and for fans of Ennis.
The first issue was super awesome but after that the story slows down quite a bit.
Recommended for people that want a sci-fi horror comic and for fans of Ennis.
January 2, 2015
Garth Ennis is probably one of the only authors that I know who can take a story about science, exploration, death, and destruction and then at the end sleekly throw a little love story in there and get away with it. incredible action throughout.
August 17, 2015
I expected a SciFi Horror similar to Aliens but this story is uniquely its own. I rather enjoyed it and think it ended exactly how it should end.
January 6, 2019
It's not like I've never seen violence and gore before, but here it's pushed to such an extreme and in such a cold, calculated way that I could only associate it with Mengele. There is little hope for the human crew as they quickly fall to the alien threat no matter what plans they cook up. We don't get a happy end, just a half-open door to a sequel - I hope, I hope.
The Caliban is an exploration vessel that is searching for other habitable planets and lifeforms. It's only been successful in finding mineral resources, until they encounter an alien ship while in warp space. It merges with their own, releasing the miners still in suspended animation into space, killing some crewmen and cutting off others from the rest of the crew. Their own propulsion is destroyed, so they must resort to interfacing with the alien ship to start its engines and get back home. Unfortunately, something is hunting them.
The Caliban is an exploration vessel that is searching for other habitable planets and lifeforms. It's only been successful in finding mineral resources, until they encounter an alien ship while in warp space. It merges with their own, releasing the miners still in suspended animation into space, killing some crewmen and cutting off others from the rest of the crew. Their own propulsion is destroyed, so they must resort to interfacing with the alien ship to start its engines and get back home. Unfortunately, something is hunting them.
April 1, 2020
A solid if not overly original SF tale that borrows/ takes inspiration from both Giger and Lovecraft.
This is a pro LGBTQ comic that tries hard to avoid certain tropes in the relationship depts.
The art is solid. The story fast paced and engaging.
If you've run out of John Carpenter movies and pilfered the limited supply of good space horror films, this is a must read.
This is a pro LGBTQ comic that tries hard to avoid certain tropes in the relationship depts.
The art is solid. The story fast paced and engaging.
If you've run out of John Carpenter movies and pilfered the limited supply of good space horror films, this is a must read.
July 17, 2022
trasunto aceptable de "Alien", me dio exactamente lo que vine a buscar
March 20, 2015
"Alien" meets "Event Horizon" Garth Ennis - style. Very nice.
November 29, 2016
A not very original sci-fi horror comic that reminds me of a cross between Alien and The Hidden, but nowhere as good as either.
June 10, 2017
A different take on the Alien setup, a doomed crew naturally, but the story plays out in an interesting new way. Not a huge fan of the artwork but liked this a lot.
June 21, 2025
Enjoyable for a quick read. Nice artwork and the villain was a good character design.
January 19, 2023
Bro wanted to be alien so bad. Most interesting part was the ships and how they fused together. Honestly a lot more could have been done with the concept but it was still interesting.
January 16, 2016
This is Garth Ennis' ode to Alien (complete with an acknowledgment to Giger); as a cargo vessel intersects with an alien ship, and everything turns into a haunted house in space. While it sounds a little derivative, the story had me enthralled; the main characters Nomi, and especially San, are interesting and the threat is an interesting take. The twists and turns are fairly predictable, but that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment. I think the art is what really makes it - Facundo Percio's art does a great job of capturing the feel of a working space vessel as well as the aspects that come from the alien ship, and he makes both distinct without being jarring. And there's one shot of a victim that is one of the more unsettling images I've seen in comics in a good long while.
The more I think about it, the more it seems like this book shouldn't work; there are some leaps of logic/tech that don't really make sense, and characters do some stupid things. But it really worked for me, and I recommend it to anyone that likes Alien-style horror in space stories. This is a good one, with characters you'll like (and hate) and some interesting twists on the tropes.
The more I think about it, the more it seems like this book shouldn't work; there are some leaps of logic/tech that don't really make sense, and characters do some stupid things. But it really worked for me, and I recommend it to anyone that likes Alien-style horror in space stories. This is a good one, with characters you'll like (and hate) and some interesting twists on the tropes.
May 15, 2015
If you're at all familiar with Garth Ennis, you'll know that the Avatar books he's done over the years are rarely fair representations of the man's able writing chops. Caliban, though certainly flawed, shows off much of what he does best. He builds sympathetic characters in some of the most unlikely of circumstances, and fits them with authentically witty dialog to drive the action. While that action is forgettable, for the most part, and the horror somewhat undercooked, the ride is enjoyable, one I'd recommend to any fan of Preacher, Hitman, or Ennis' Hellblazer run.
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