Resident Alien Volume 1: Welcome to Earth!

Resident Alien (Collected Editions) #1

by Peter Hogan, Various (Illustrator)

A stranded alien seeks refuge in the small town of Patience, USA, where he hides undercover as a retired doctor. All the alien wants is to be left alone until he’s rescued. However, when the town’s real doctor dies, “Dr. Harry” is pulled into medical service—and finds himself smack dab in the middle of a murder mystery! Collects issues #0-#3 of the miniseries.

* From the writer of Tom Strong and the artist for Alan Moore’s The Bojeffries Saga!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Aliens

104 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2013

About the author

Peter Kenneth Hogan is an English writer and comics creator who started out as editor of cult political British comic Revolver in 1990–1991, before working for 2000 AD and American comic book publishers Vertigo and America's Best Comics.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never heard of these comics until some friends showed me the trailer for the new tv show.
So.


Having seen a short clip for the show I can see a few things right off the bat that were changed, so it's not quite a faithful representation of what you get in the comic.
And that's fine, really.

Welcome to Earth! was great. I loved the way Hogan mixed up this plain gumshoe detective tale with a stranded alien sci-fi story.
It shouldn't work as well as it does, but there you go.



Harry gets reluctantly pulled into becoming the temporary doctor in the small town of Patience, and also gets pulled into solving the mystery of his predecessor's murder. All the while, he's being secretly watched over by the one in a million woman who can see through the mental disguise he's projected.



There's not some giant wow factor to this one, but if you enjoy cozy mysteries, comics, and aliens...?
Yeah, it's pretty great!
Recommended.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder She Wrote with an alien. Harry Vanderspeigle crashlanded here 3 years ago with no way to reach home. Using his mental powers to look normal he's been living a reclusive life outside a small town as a retired doctor. One day the police need his help when the town's doctor is murdered. He steps into the role of town doctor and realizes he enjoys it. As an alien, he also has amazing observational powers that help him notice things on a Sherlock Holmes level.

This is a small, simple story with charm. What drew me to the book were Harry's interactions with people as he realizes he enjoys being around them. Steve Parkhouse's Norman Rockwell like panels are fantastic with scenes on an alien living an otherwise idyllic, small town life. It's quite striking.

Note: This is now airing as a TV show on SyFy starring Alan Tudyk. It keeps the same basic premise but changes out the cosy mystery angle for some dark, biting humor instead. It is very good so far but it is its own thing.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friendly alien crash-lands on Earth. Using his psychic powers to make everyone see him as human, he establishes himself as a semi-retired doctor called Harry in a small American town. One day a serial killer begins a murder spree and Harry decides to crack the case.

Everything about Resident Alien is inoffensively ordinary. It’s neither a great or bad comic - it’s just ok. Peter Hogan’s script and Steve Parkhouse’s art are both fine. Not bad but definitely nothing extraordinary either. Making their alien a decent chap instead of some psychotic killer like Predator is hardly going to blow anyone’s mind! The story itself is the most average murder mystery in a lil town story. It’s like an episode of Murder, She Wrote!

Hogan continues down the least challenging path for readers by throwing in some flashback scenes where we see men in black recovering Harry’s wrecked spaceship and ominously talk about a search. There’s a scene or two from Harry’s home planet. And then most of the time we’re in comfortably generic murder mystery territory.

There is basically nothing original about the comic and the simplicity of the concept was definitely underwhelming. The resolution itself is barely worth mentioning but, like so much of the book, I was mentally shrugging once the killer was revealed.

There’s really nothing else to mention! If all you’re looking for is a simple murder mystery story whose only curveball is that the protagonist is an alien (which in no way affects the story), Resident Alien is for you. It's a pleasant read but I wouldn’t go out of my way to look for it.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better bring a flashlight along.

This is a recommendation from Peter Hogan, creator of the original comic series, warning the readers that the content is darker than you might expect, that it explores some of the less laudable traits of human behaviour.
Which is kind of a good selling point for a spooky October read, especially to a fan of crime stories.



Harry Vanderspiegle lives a quiet life in an isolated cabin by a mountain lake, somewhere near the town of Patience, in the Pacific Northwest. What his neighbours don’t know is that Harry is an alien, stranded on our planet after his spaceship malfunctions, or is shot down.
When Harry is called to town by the local chief of police, to investigate the murder of the local doctor, he finds out he is glad of human contact and of the chance to become a sort of amateur detective, to make his exile in a strange place more bearable.



I confess I came to the comic only after I watched the TV series, and I was slightly disappointed by the more serious tone here, after the superb performance of Alan Tudyk in that other [funnier] adaptation. But I eventually got in the groove with the writing of Hogan and with the artwork of Steve Parkhouse, eventually reading all the 6+1 albums of the original comic [the last one was published after the launch of the TV series]

I believe its creator says it best about his goals and about the appeal of the story, so I would quote Hogan instead of writing my own synopsis:

If I had to point to one thing that makes people like this comic, I’d say it’s the fact that it’s about people – even if one of them does happen to come from another planet. Flawed people, lonely people, caring people ... people of every kind. It’s about how friendship can save your life and about how lack of it just might kill you; about fear and courage and secrets; about how love can break your heart, or give you enough hope to keep on keeping on.



Fine sentiments all around, and some dark and twisted plot lines in each episode to flesh out this program from the writer. As usual, I preferred to read the whole series instead of reviewing each album, not that they don’t deserve special attention for the characters and for the plot or for the creative use of clear line and stark colours in the graphic panels.



Harry’s interactions with the locals in the town of Patience are sometimes more interesting than the cases he investigates. His friendship with the local mayor and with the chief of police, his relationship with nurse Asta and with her Native American father are also developed from one album to the next, as are some story arcs for other secondary characters. As we progress in the story, we see how the alien starts to shed his agoraphobia and his paranoia [ which is justified by the team of secret government operatives actually hunting him] and starts to look at Earth as his new home instead of his prison.



Most of the cases Harry investigates deal with secrets and resentments from the past leading to deadly actions in the present. This theme is rather common to a lot of crime novels, but the alien perspective gives it a fresh twist in the comic. The alien wonders why can’t people say what they mean and be truthful about their feelings.
Harry’s generally peaceful and introspective nature is supposed, in the vision of his creators, to challenge some of the old-established trite stereotypes about dangerous aliens come to conquer Earth and make us all their slaves.

The albums so far that are covered by this review are:

01 – Welcome to Earth [***]
02 – The Suicide Blonde [****]
03 – The Sam Haim Mystery [*****]
04 – The Man With No Name [***]
05 – An Alien in New York [*****]
06 – Your Ride’s Here [***]
07 – The Book of Love [**1/2]



I’m not sure where the comic can go from here. I would probably prefer another season of the TV series. But I might do some research into what else Peter Hogan has written and what other comics feature artwork from Steve Parkhouse. I have already noticed The Dreaming mentioned on the back covers, and I would love to return to the Sandman universe.

[Benji's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the comic the show of the same name was inspired by. It's widely different from its television counterpart, though both are worth checking out. Where the show works as a great dramedy, this story works as a murder mystery.

Harry the Alien is not a town doctor with a child's brain in the book, but rather highly intelligent. In fact, the town police have discovered a murder and reach out to Harry to help solve the case, which he does, but rather swift, and wise in all the details of how the crime was committed. Harry was originally reluctant about helping the police as, being an alien, he wants to keep to himself, but he gets pulled into the case and even somewhat enjoys working on it.

It was a rather enjoyable read, though not one for everybody. I imagine fans of the show looking for more of the same feel may be disappointed to find the book to have little to no humor, though there's still a lot to enjoy here.

Recommended.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martian Manhunter meets "Murder She Wrote" in this small-town murder mystery starring a marooned alien whose vague mental powers allow him to appear to be human to most of the people around him. Aloof and posing as a doctor, he's recruited by the local police to help look over the victim's body in a murder and finds himself getting drawn deeper into the community.

Low-key and low-stakes, it's still a pleasant read if a smidge too cozy for me.

[Kadi P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing like the TV show yet still absolutely fantastic!

I was surprised by how likeable the alien was and I really appreciated the artist’s choice to portray the protagonist like that. It’s not often you get to see an alien be something other than scary, horrifying and awful.

I loved the murder mystery aspect. It was a little too short-lived but still a lot of fun! This vol in general was a pretty short introduction, I would’ve liked for it to be longer but it worked well with its limited pages anyway.

The differences between the TV show and the comic were extremely obvious. Firstly, there were lots of old white men in the comic whereas the TV show is much more inclusively diverse. The TV show also created entirely new characters and lengthened the murder mystery, obviously to fill up the run time. Secondly, the vibes were completely different in both mediums. The TV show is more weird and comedic whereas the comic was so easy and harmonious. I can’t say I like one more than the other because they’re not really comparable. I like them both separately for what they both do, especially because they do them very well.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, in a Northern Exposure meets The X-Files kind of way.

[Antonio Fanelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non male come idea e realizzazione. Disegni un po' troppo semplici,ma nel complesso gradevoli.
Siamo lontani da Gaiman Ennis Moore o altri sutori.
Visione leggerina della provincia USA.
Il lato poliziesco è ben sviluppato.
Avrei voluto guardare il telefilm che ne hanno tratto, ma non lo trovo su Raiplay, peccato.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing premise that manages to get a lot out of it while still being down-to-earth, bringing no more aliens or high technology or whatever into the rural setting. Just the little bit in the protagonist. That's all it needs.

Nice art, too.

[Auntie Terror · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apart from this being a great start for a comic series, I really like the drawing style and colour choice of this one. As I started with German edition now (which just came out), I'll have to stick to it and thus wait for November to continue...

[Glen Farrelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOOPLA's free borrows have been a huge boon to me. Not only because I always run out of my allotted borrows midmonth, but also for introducing me to titles that I would never have read and turned out to greatly enjoy. This title and concept is not something that would have ever inclined me to take a second glance at, let alone pick up and read. But as I had the free borrow, it was painless to give it a try.

For some unknown reason, I enjoyed this way more than I ever imagined possible. The art is nothing special and the mystery is resolved in an unsatisfying way. But for some reason, there is a charm to this that I can't pinpoint. In the end, it's one of the most enjoyable reads I've encountered in ages!

Looking forward to reading future volumes and the tv show!

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is extraordinarily well-written, with possibly one of the best examples of minimalist dialogue I’ve seen all year, but it lacks punch. It’s so good but doesn’t really seem to be *about* anything. The fact that Doc is a space alien is completely immaterial to this story, which feels like a huge missed opportunity. If you can replace your main character with anyone else and the story still works, you’ve kind of gone too far into the generic side of the equation.

Similarly, the art is fantastic. It’s not showy but rather cleanly and simply tells the story with no fuss. That’s a skill not many comic book artists have.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread this in preparation for my interview with Peter Hogan. I love this series. It's not deep, but it's definitely a pleasure to read, scratching my crime narrative itch. The Resident Alien series reminds me of old TV shows like Mannix, Quincy, or some Quinn Martin Production. Better yet: Quincy meets My Favorite Martian!

[Adam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable, quick read. Small town murder mystery meets alien crash-landing story. It's just bizarre enough to work and there is a lot of familiar elements, even if they don't often get combined like this. I look forward to reading the next installment as this ends on just the right note to encourage you to see what the big reveal actually set up.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on a lark at the library, just based on the Dark Horse logo on it. It's nice; a low key story about an incognito alien on Earth that ends up being pulled into a murder mystery in a small town. The mystery hardly makes an impact; the story is really about a fish out of water acclimating to a small town. It's not particularly deep, but it's not trying to be. It's simple, and charming.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Review applicable to the first 5 volumes that I consumed it a single morning.*** A delightful and refreshing series about a stranded ET turned reluctant-detective. The stories are kept refreshingly small, and the two B-stories are dripped out steadily but slowly enough that they never overshadow or hinders the main tale in each volume.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resident Alien takes place in the past, although the story never alludes to or indicates when these events occurred. Based on the vehicles in the story, the building designs, the clothing styles -- I'd guess this takes place in the early 1970's.
It's a simpler time, in a small American town where every inhabitant knows something about the others, and people are still congenial and polite to one another, for the most part. However, there's some disturbing murders that remain unsolved and the local police force seems baffled to solve them.
Into this setting, three years prior, stepped an alien from another planet, whose ship crashed to Earth. Where he was going and why is never explained, perhaps a matter for the later volumes in this series to explore. He has the ability to disguise his true form from 99% of the population, and appears to them as just another townie. He has no ill feelings towards humans, no plan of action. He just wants to blend in and study humans until he can be rescued from confinement to Earth. He poses as a retired doctor, but is called back into service when the local doctor becomes one of the murder victims. He's got a penchant for detective work and helps the local police force solve the mystery and identify the murderer. There's a building subplot where government agents learn of the crashed ship and are trying to track him down.
It's the simplicity of Resident Alien that makes it so appealing. Story and art work together perfectly to paint a portrait of an engaging small town that would appeal to many of us, with interesting characters and a little trouble under the surface. For me, it was a very refreshing change of pace from the usual darker nature of current comic-book storytelling.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As read through Hoopla. A lot drier than the show, which is fine, still a good read. But still, Alan Tudyk RULES.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

RESIDENT ALIEN #1 klingt vielversprechend. Ein Alien wartet nach einer Bruchlandung in dem amerikanischen Kaff Patience darauf, wieder nach Hause geholt zu werden; dann wird der einzige Arzt in Patience das dritte Opfer einer Mordserie.
Und nun verbinden sich die beiden Elemente SF und Mystery: Das freundliche Alien hat sich als Arzt im Vorruhestand namens Harry Vanderspeigle getarnt und soll jetzt auf Bitte des Bürgermeisters vertretungsweise die vakante Stelle des Dorfarztes einnehmen. Herausgerissen aus seiner dreijährigen Isolation beginnt Harry Anteil am Gemeinwesen zu nehmen und schließlich auf eigene Faust nach dem Mörder zu forschen.
Aber die Story hat konzeptionelle Schwächen. Enttäuschend fand ich, dass sich die Handlung kaum verändert hätte, wenn Harry, der im Mittelpunkt der Handlung steht, kein Alien, sondern ein einheimischer Arzt gewesen wäre. Für die Aufklärung der Mordserie hat die extraterristrische Identität von Harry keine Bedeutung. Auch überrascht es, wie gut sich Harry, obwohl er sehr zurückgezogen gelebt hat, in Sitten und Gebräuche der Erdbewohner gefunden hat. Fast möchte man sagen, der bessere Mensch sei er sowieso. Was nun den Kriminalfall angeht, so ist dessen Auflösung nicht sehr spannend und mitgefiebert habe ich auch nicht, dazu gibt der Gang der Handlung kaum Gelegenheit.
Im Fazit ist zur Story also zu sagen, dass Peter Hogan das Potenzial der beiden Genres, die er verbunden hat, nicht ausgeschöpft hat und erst recht keine synergetischen Effekte eintreten. Schade!

Die Artwork von Steve Parkhouse ist OK, die Panels mit ihren klaren Linien und überwiegend hellen Farben schauen sich angenehm an. Die Darstellung von Harry ist allerdings extrem einfallslos und entspricht dem gängigen Klischee des Aliens. Und wer das Trade Paperback wegen des actiongeladen trashigen Covers kauft, wird sich bitter einttäuscht finden.

2,5 Sterne, aufgerundet auf drei, da sich der Band trotz aller Schwächen angenehm liest.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful and unexpected gem! "Dr. Harry" is an alien who crash landed on Earth three years ago and lives by himself out in the wilderness. Due to fancy pants alien technology when people look at him, they see a human, not an alien. But not everyone and that's why he hides out. He knows that one out of every million people can see his true form. He knows those odds are still in his favor but he isn't taking any chances. He plans on simply waiting for his rescue from this backwater planet.

That is, until, he is drawn into a murder mystery in a nearby small town. The local doctor his killed and now they need his help. He tries to keep his distance but he is clearly lonely and likes these people. I legitimately didn't see the ending coming and enjoyed it immensely. Another part of the story involves the government tracking Harry down so I'm sure that will come to a head sooner than later. There are two more books so far in this series and I'm going to read them now.

[Joe Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Hogan - writer
Steve Parkhouse - illustrator

Stranded on Earth, an alien hides in plain sight by posing as a semi-retired doctor living in a secluded, small town. But when the town's real doctor is murdered, local authorities turn to "Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle" to help them with the case. Despite years of cautiously protecting his identity through isolation, Dr. Harry finds himself inexorably drawn into the lives of his patients in Patience, USA. But while Dr. Harry is searching for the killer in his small town, powerful, dangerous men are searching for him.

Excellent, interesting and unique storytelling from Peter Hogan. Good, expressive artwork from Steve Parkhouse. Overall, this is a very enjoyable collection and after reading I very much look forward to the next volume.

Recommended.

4.5/5

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely done comic about an alien stranded on Earth and living as a human. He is trying to be a recluse to avoid the very low possibility of someone seeing through his human disguise. But after the murder of the nearby town's doctor, he's drafted to fill in. He finds that he likes the doctoring and the interactions with people, and is also into doing some sleuthing.

Meanwhile, the government noticed when he crash-landed three years before, and it looks like their search for him will be a theme in the next issues, which I will read soon.

The artwork is nice, the alien and some other characters are appealing, and the story is easy to follow. Three and a half stars, which I'm rounding down for now, but may want to round up after reading the next installments.

[Travis Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crisp art work and a well written story by peter hogan give this sci fi book a great start. A murder mystery wrapped up in a classic alien story was right up my alley. I will be waiting to read book 2 to see what's in store for the doctor.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool concept, done very well!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comic is drastically different than the TV show, but it's enjoyable in its own way. It's almost... mellow... despite the presence of government investigators and multiple murders. There's something reassuring about this world where nice alien doctors get free pie and things mostly work out okayish. The introduction gives the reader a head's up about some of the differences between the versions, such as the comic titular character's fairly immediate fondness for humans. In the T.V. show, he's tasked with killing all humans and is pretty cool with that. I prefer the zanier feel of the show, but also really liked this omnibus.

[Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good comic involving a stranded alien on planet earth, attempting to keep a low profile but too enthralled with human society to resist the call of a mysterious murder case.
And it's not the only trouble he'll end up into, during his guise as a doctor.
A story for who likes murder mysteries, a bit of humor and aliens.

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cozy little mystery, though the coziness aspect is definitely the main draw so far, because the mystery, or rather its resolution, feels quite undercooked. Perhaps a consequence of its original format as shorts in DHP, perhaps just growing pains.

[kaitlphere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a slice of life story about an alien being a doctor and solving murders. The cliffhangers are a great set up to volume 2.

[Terry Mcginnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of nowhere, I discovered this book after following a trail leading to the upcoming SyFy channel show of the same name. Am I glad I did! I read the entire first volume in nearly one sitting. The writing is spot-on and as real as it gets, with fitting art and a quick pace. There isn't an uninteresting panel in the book. Resident Alien may have a sci-fi premise, but the net result is a surprisingly down-to-earth, simple story that quickly unfolds as a murder mystery. I give this my highest possible recommendation, and eagerly await my reading of volume 2.