Alien: Black, White & Blood

Alien: Black, White & Blood #1-4

by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing

The ALIENS universe as only Marvel could imagine it — in thrilling black, white, red…and green!

Marvel Comics and 20th Century Studios present a kill-fest of an anthology in chest-rending artistic detail! Superstar writers and fan-favorite artists combine to spin fresh tales of Alien terror — including a generations-spanning epic from Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Michael Dowling! The hunt begins in a story of guts, glory and the most exhilarating of games… and much more horror!

Plus: Legendary writer Paul Jenkins (WOLVERINE: ORIGIN, INHUMANS) explores the chemistry of fear in a story that will leave you with a whole new and terrifying understanding of the Xenomorph species!

COLLECTING: Alien: Black, White & Blood (2024) 1-4.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Aliens, Fiction

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2025

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is with some degree of embarrassment that I have to hold my hands up and admit that I’m an idiot.

Why? Well, for the first three issues of this better-than-average anthology book I was thinking ‘there’s a lot of green in this for something called ‘Black, White & Blood’…

It wasn’t until issue four I realised THE ALIENS HAVE GREEN BLOOD!’

As I said: I am an idiot.

The highlight of this book for me was the four-part ‘Utopia’ story that united the book. Truly excellent SF.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stars for Collin Kelly's story and art - it actually does something interesting with the communist UPP and a synth.

One star for the two stories narrated by an instance of MU/TH/UR. It just sounds like a human character narrating, and ship's AI in Alien have never been more than an interface, not actual AI with a personality. It feels out of place.

Generally the art is from excellent to good.

Point of contention: xenomorph blood is yellow, not green?

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the recent Alien: Romulus movie and that made me think I should try this new graphic anthology when it turned up in my local library's catalog.

Bad call.

This is a collection of dreary and gory tales of aliens killing barely-fleshed-out human characters in the same old ways. None of the action, drama, or humor hit home in any way with me. The art is fine, though the spots of red and green (Xenomorph blood! That's why the book isn't "Black, White & Red") don't add much visual excitement.


FOR REFERENCE:

Issue #1
• Utopia, Part 1 / Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, writers; Michael Dowling, illustrator
• The hunt / Stephanie Phillips, writer; Marcelo Ferreira, illustrator
• Maternal instinct / Ryan Cady, writer; Devmalya Pramanik, illustrator

Issue #2
• Utopia, Part 2 / Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, writers; Michael Dowling, illustrator
• Morsel / Paul Jenkins, writer; Luigi Teruel, illustrator
• First day / Stephanie Williams, writer; Jethro Morales, illustrator

Issue #3
• Utopia, Part 3 / Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, writers; Michael Dowling, illustrator
• Gear in the machine / Cody Ziglar, writer; Claire Roe, illustrator
• Lucky / Steve Foxe, writer; Tommaso Bianchi, illustrator

Issue #4
• Utopia, Part 4 / Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, writers; Michael Dowling, illustrator
• Hide & seek / Bryan Hill, writer; Chriscross, illustrator
• Mother / Pornsak Pichetshote, writer; Partha Pratim, illustrator

Covers and Variant Covers / Ryan Stegman and JP Mayer and Edgar Delgado; Nick Bradshaw and Rachelle Rosenberg; Patrick Gleason; Dustin Nguyen; David Aja; Elena Casagrande and Tríona Farrell; Francesco Mobili and Rachelle Rosenberg; Alan Quah; Doaly; Jonas Scharf and Alex Guimarães; Khary Randolph, illustrators

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're going to read just one of the current Marvel Alien books, this would be my pick. While some of the shorter stories collected here are a bit too straightforward, the main story is excellent work. Aliens encounter a Communist Dyson Ring colony, and we view the story through the lens of the colony's android caretaker. I was concerned at first that the ideologies at play here would be used cheaply, but I think the story does a decent job of reflecting on the concepts of cooperation and selfishness, freedom and curiosity as they relate the the Xenomorph both in a literal in-story way and in a metaphorical sense.

Good stuff, worth a read.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

These stories were all so... depressing. Humans lost in every single one of them. Usually these volumes have at least one story with *some* semblance of hope.

Also isn't Alien blood... yellow? Not green?

Great art, but 2.5/5 for storylines

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really sick couple of stories in here. Arts wonderful on top of it all. Loved!

[Josh Jablonski · Rating 5 out of 5]

One book, different stories. All of the stories are interesting with their own unique artwork. This is a perfect read for any fan of the Alien franchise.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more from this. It wasn't bad, just wasn't as good as I expected. As with most anthologies, some stories were better than others. A few I just found a little confusing.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

unusual for this series of books....was a 4 part story...as well as the usual single takes.
a little overdone...but the recent TV series Alien : Earth...did raise the bar for me.

[Keef Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not bad. I'm not a big fan of these black white and red series. The addition of green makes for some great pictures. The art is cool and there are some pretty good stories in here. They're just one off stories that don't add to anything and I'm not sure if they fit into the alien continuity or mess it up. It's a pretty fun read regardless.

[Maciej · Rating 2 out of 5]

„Alien: Black, White & Blood” to czteroczęściowa antologia, zbierająca dziewięć opowieści z uniwersum Xenomorphów – opowiedzianych przy pomocy ograniczonej, acz intensywnej palety barw: czerni, bieli, czerwieni i zaskakująco często… zieleni. Nie jest to wybór przypadkowy – jak zorientują się bardziej spostrzegawczy (albo ci, którzy dotrwają do czwartego zeszytu), to przecież kolor krwi Obcych. Ta stylistyczna decyzja, choć na pierwszy rzut oka sprzeczna z nazwą serii, dodaje komiksowi charakteru i poszerza wizualną ekspresję grozy.

Najmocniejszym punktem zbioru – i prawdziwym powodem, dla którego warto po ten tytuł sięgnąć – jest czteroczęściowa historia „Utopia”. To opowieść o pokoleniach kolonistów z komunistycznej UPP (Union of Progressive Peoples), podróżujących przez tysiąclecie na pokładzie statku Forward w poszukiwaniu idealnego świata. Narrację prowadzi android–opiekun, Siostra, a każda część historii osadzona jest kilkadziesiąt lat po poprzedniej, co daje przestrzeń do pokazania stopniowej erozji pierwotnych idei wspólnoty. Gdy do głosu dochodzi panika, a wrogie istoty pojawiają się na pokładzie, utopijna wizja przekształca się w totalitaryzm. To nie tylko dramat sci-fi, ale też filozoficzna refleksja nad ideologią, władzą i naturą strachu.

Scenariusz Kelly’ego i Lanzinga celnie zestawia mechanikę społecznych utopii z bezkompromisową biologią „idealnego organizmu” – Xenomorpha. Android Siostra jako postać narracyjna ma w sobie zaskakująco dużo melancholii i humanizmu, kontrastując z zimnym, proceduralnym obrazem AI znanym z oryginalnych filmów. Choć nie każdemu może spodobać się ten bardziej „osobowy” wizerunek syntetyka, nie można mu odmówić narracyjnej głębi.

Pozostałe, krótsze historie to w większości wizualnie atrakcyjne, acz fabularnie wtórne wariacje na temat „Obcy atakuje – ludzie giną”. Wyróżniają się jednak przynajmniej dwie z nich:
„Maternal Instinct” – opowieść o macierzyństwie, instynkcie i przetrwaniu, która dobrze wykorzystuje kontrast między emocjami a chłodem przemocy.
„Morsel” – ironiczna, niemal groteskowa miniatura z twistem, która ożywia formułę poprzez zmianę perspektywy i tonu.
Najsłabsze z kolei wypadają historie narracyjne z punktu widzenia MU/TH/UR – systemu AI, który tutaj zostaje „ucieleśniony” do roli zbyt ludzkiego narratora. Pomysł ambitny, ale niepasujący do kanonicznego chłodu tej technologii znanej z „Alien” Ridleya Scotta.

Warstwa graficzna zasługuje na uznanie – Michael Dowling, Julius Ohta, Javier Fernández i pozostali artyści tworzą niezwykle spójny, choć różnorodny album. Komiks czerpie z ekspresji noir, kontrastów filmowej grozy i groteski body horroru. Oszczędna paleta kolorów działa tu nie jako ograniczenie, lecz jako narzędzie narracyjne – szczególnie w momentach kulminacyjnych, gdy zieleń i czerwień przecinają biel.

Komiks jest jedynie ciekawostką dla fanów „Obcego”. Dla wielbicieli artystycznych antologii Marvela typu „Wolverine: Black, White & Blood” – jest również swego rodzaju odskocznią. Niestety dla osób szukających głębokiej narracji – strzał w stopę.
„Alien: Black, White & Blood” to nierówna antologia. Ma momenty znakomite i takie, które nikną w cieniu klisz. Jednak historia „Utopia” wynosi całość ponad przeciętność, serwując jedną z ciekawszych i bardziej inteligentnych opowieści w uniwersum „Obcego” ostatnich lat.

Przyjemność 2,5/5
Styl: 2,5/5
Historia: 2,6/5

Ocena: 2,53/5
goodreads - 2/5
thestorygraph - 2,5/5
lubimyczytac - 5/10

[Pedro Plasencia Martínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

En formato grande y algo aparatoso llega esta propuesta de terror espacial especializado en el gore. Hay viñetas impresionantes a una página y varias portadas que ya dejan claro la crudeza de las historias que componen este tomo. Está escrito por varios equipos creativos y la única trama que tiene una continuidad larga es 'Utopía', un auténtico jarro de agua fría que se mete con la hipocresía del socialismo y con sus premisas falsas, las cuales suelen llevar a la destrucción o a la traición. Si ya me encanta el universo Alien de por sí, que se hayan atrevido a alejarse de la malvada corporación Yutani para intercambiarla por una organización marxista me ha parecido excelente, es prácticamente una genialidad que renueva y que rompe la monotonía de encontrarte siempre con la misma conspiración.

Las otras historias del cómic aparecen intercaladas, quizá para generar más tensión y expectativa hacia la principal. Da un efecto de desorden o de aventuras paralelas, pero nunca se cruzan con 'Utopía', son capítulos diferentes y autoconclusivos, la mayoría con mucha acción militar, con mucha caza y con mucho desmadre. Algunas saben a poco y su extensión suele ser entre corta y cortísima, una no llega ni a las 3 páginas si mal no recuerdo. No son malas, no decepccionan, pero tienen finales muy abruptos, en el lenguaje audiovisual serían el equivalente a un corto o a un anuncio largo.

ENGLISH
This space horror offering, specializing in gore, arrives in a large and somewhat bulky format. There are impressive single-page panels and several covers that already make clear the rawness of the stories in this volume. It's written by several creative teams, and the only plot with a long continuity is "Utopia," a real cold shower that delves into the hypocrisy of socialism and its false premises, which often lead to destruction or betrayal. While I already love the Alien universe, the fact that they dared to distance themselves from the evil Yutani corporation and exchange it for a Marxist organization is excellent. It's practically a stroke of genius that refreshes and breaks the monotony of always encountering the same conspiracy.

The comic's other stories are interspersed, perhaps to build more tension and anticipation for the main one. It gives the impression of disarray or parallel adventures, but they never intersect with "Utopia." They're separate, self-contained chapters, most with plenty of military action, hunting, and a whole lot of chaos. Some are short and tend to be short to very short; one doesn't even reach three pages if I recall correctly. They're not bad, they don't disappoint, but they have very abrupt endings; in audiovisual language, they'd be the equivalent of a short film or a long advertisement.

[Ryan Matheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel's anthology series, Alien: Black, White and Blood, serves as a visceral testament to the enduring terror of the xenomorph, offering a diverse array of tales united by a stark, striking aesthetic. This book is a must-have for those, like myself, who will forever gravitate toward any and all literature concerning xenomorphology. Yet, its strength as a diverse testing ground for ideas also highlights the inherent unevenness of the anthology format.

The collection's power lies in its structure, presenting a series of short narratives that provide vast, varied explorations of the Alien universe. In these stories, the allegorical critique of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the broader political landscape is more potent than ever. We see the familiar exploitation of the working class and the audacious hubris of the wealthy, who seek to turn the universe's most dangerous predator into a theme park attraction. In one particularly compelling arc, the series tackles the failure of socialist ideals in the face of human fear and the indifferent brutality of the xenomorph - a sharp reminder that the monster is a classless killer.

The distinct black, white, and red (and sometimes green) art style is more than a gimmick; it is a crucial narrative element that elevates the horror. Stripping away the full-color spectrum forces the artists to rely on bold, hand-drawn lines, heavy use of shadow, and the shocking splash of crimson to evoke dread and depict gory, unrelenting scenes of "alien genocide". The result is a visceral, old-school horror comic that feels both classic and fresh. The illustrations effectively depict human terror, transforming the silent dread of the films into an immediate, graphic ordeal.

While the collection is largely successful, not every story or character lands with equal impact. The very nature of an anthology means that some short pieces feel rushed or less developed, serving primarily to move the plot toward its gruesome conclusion. Some of the character work, particularly with archetypal wealthy thrill-seekers, can feel somewhat shallow.

Despite these minor inconsistencies, Alien: Black, White and Blood is a solid entry for any xenomorph enthusiast. The book's strengths - its unflinching embrace of the anthology format, its sharp corporate and political commentary, and its visually stunning, gruesome art - make it a worthy addition to the franchise. For fans seeking fresh, concentrated doses of xenomorphic terror, this collection delivers a chilling and unforgettable experience.

[Roshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alien: Black, White & Blood (2024)
Series – Alien: Black, White & Blood (2024) #1-4
Genre – Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller, Gore, Drama, Anthology

Synopsis: 9 tales of horror as humans face the perfect organism

Alien: Black, White & Blood is the result of formulating Alien into their current run of the black and white violent series, and this very much suits the franchise. The stories are pretty brutal with little held back.
The main story arc is ‘Utopia’ which is split across the 4 issues. It is about a vessel with socialist ideologies making a one-thousand-year trip across space to a planet they deem, Utopia. On their way, they stop to answer a distress signal and unwittingly let in the Xenomorph. While in the beginning it was a bit hard to follow through, the story eventually captures your attention soon enough.
Some of the best short stories were, ‘Utopia’ (#1-4), ‘Maternal Instinct’ (#1), ‘Morsel’ (#2) and ‘Gear in Machine’ (#3).
The short stories that missed the mark were, ‘First Day’ (#2), ‘Mother’ (#4).
The artwork is brilliant, especially for the lead story, Utopia. And while the rest had unique styles of their own, it was consistently strong throughout.
Overall, Alien: Black, White & Blood shines with a well designed and executed style with a bunch of good stories.

RJG Rating – 3.75/5
Goodreads – 3.41/5

[Dane Erbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept behind this ALIEN graphic novel is super cool—several shorty shorts illustrated in black and white (with only red and green highlights). The stories were super fun, though I'm not sure such short stories work as well within the Alien universe. Many moved a little too fast, lost complex plot and characterization that I enjoy so much in Alien stories, however I could tell that the writers did the best they could in such a limited about of frames.

Some of the artwork is PHENOMINAL. The story "Gear in the Machine" had my favorite by far, with such a cool, simple, boxy, cartoony style. I also loved "Mother," whose style felt almost anime-ish (and why aren't there more anime-ish Alien stories?). The overarching story, "Utopia" was nice too—beautiful artwork and a more complete-feeling story.

If you love ALIENS, this is definitely worth picking up if only for the beautiful artwork.

[Zac · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main story was great and followed the developments onboard a spaceship of colonisers terrorised by a xenomorph, from the perspective of their android. The people are originally organised as socialists (they are the Union of Progressive Peoples from William Gibson's Alien 3 script) but the social structure rapidly devolves into a military dictatorship when they find that consensus decision making is not going to be effective in the rapidly changing situation. The art was also great, and worthy of this Treasury-sized format. This main text is broken up with shorter, unrelated stories that were all fine - mostly just slight variations on Aliens killing a bunch of people. That the main storyline was broken up like this didn't really bother me as each chapter/issue was set 50+ years apart.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the aesthetic of these collections (pretty sure I’ve only read the Darth Vader one prior to this), though I felt like all the stores were barley an amuse-bouche each save for the chapters of the story about Siostra and the people of the UPP aboard the colony generation ship Forward. That story along sort of carries the collection, as little else has time to simmer. I did like the connection between Cady and Hill’s pieces in here, though thematically I was at a loss for why those stores should overlap (generational strife/love, maybe?). Many of the stories also seem to have endings that hit on a theme without offering any real narrative closure — they’re all just so short! Dowling, Roe, and Teruel are the illustrator mvps in this, each with a fairly distinct style within the series.

[Matteo Calvano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alien: Black, White & Blood finds his best story in the four parts issue at the start of every publication. Wonderfully written and drawn, it shows the risks of an excessive faith in an ideology in an age of androids, orders, directives and gritty corporations. The realism of the scenes, made out thanks to the violent plot twist yoou will find going to the next page is what grants originality to a strong tale withe a "space opera" flavour.
It is a shame that this same sensations are not replicated in the other productions of these anthologies because they are superficial, brutal representation of the power of Xenomorphs in tge most simple way, so they are useless ways to increase the numbers of comics of this series, without which we would talk about a masterpiece.

[Mykhailo Gasyuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Збірка історії, в якій люди традиційно страждають від ксеноморфів, помираючи на різний лад при майже однакових обставинах - на борту космічного корабля чи посеред космічної колонії. Історія про Утопію взагалі розповідає про комуняцький корабель поколінь, якому багато років не щастило (так, космічні комуняки - це канон у всесвіті чужих). І це - одна з найцікавіших оповідок тут. Плюс ще історія про дитинку, яка разом із корабельним комп’ютером на власний розсуд втілює поняття краси.

Все чорне, біле, з червоною чи зеленою кров’якою (тобто кольорів тут більше, ніж три), нуарно, контрастно, атмосферно.

[Julia Cannistra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology of a few good but several misses too

There’s several stories here, most of which are short and unfortunately, just ok. Thankfully the longest story, Utopia, is the best. It’s interesting with good artwork and storytelling. All the stories are colored in black and white, with red and green used sparingly. It’s a good look when executed well. I would recommend this book to Alien fans, but mostly for “Utopia” alone. There may be a few other short stories to enjoy here, depending on your tastes.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of little vignette stories about aliens and Weyland-Yutani grunts, whether scientists or colonial marines. The real highlight here is the four part story about a generation ship of socialists seeking their perfect world and the synthetic responsible for shepherding them there across hundreds of years. When the ship experiences an infestation, well... There really seems to be only so much you can do with an alien story, so there's a lot of the same beats being hit here in these stories, over and over, but that's par for the course, I guess.

[Luca Ruocco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il gioco è quello di portare in fumetteria un volume antologico, con una storia lunga principale divisa in quattro parti, fra queste inserirci delle pause fatte di storie brevi e autoconclusive, raccolte due per volta. Il format Marvel “Black, White & Blood” gioca con il rosso del sangue che risulta ancora più vistoso all’occhio di chi guarda, proprio perché macchia, sgocciola o invade completamente le tavole b&w.

[La recensione completa su InGenereCinema.com: https://www.ingenerecinema.com/2025/0...]

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is black and white with red and green thrown in for the colors of blood, human and alien. The anthology itself is OK. I didn't think the main story that continued throughout all 4 books was all that great. It's about an alien queen who gets on a generational ship full of socialists. That last part doesn't really play into things other than how they speak as "comrades". Overall, it's your standard Alien stories with the humans being worse than the killer aliens for the most part.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on the Alien comic series. Artwork offers a solid representation of the story-lines, but the plot is fairly formulaic, with Weyland-Yutani still at its old game of obtaining the Xenomorph and willing to sacrifice people and material to get it, no matter the cost. The continuity of an android type being is also fairly formulaic. You know what you are getting with this work, so if you go in with that knowledge, you won’t be disappointed/surprised.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black, White & Red keeps moving along...

This time? It's the Alien Franchise (adding green acid blood to the color scheme)

The 'Utopia' story was the anchor through the 4 issues. Not the darkest Alien story ever, it kept things moving along in what could have been a super depressing anthology. Aliens always win. You've seen it before and you'll see it again.

[Luke John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology series has stealthily delivered one of the best Aliens comics ever in the form of 'Utopia' , a story that runs across all four issues collected here. The back up strips are of varying quality, but Utopia alone makes the purchase of this collection essential for any Aliens fans. It could actually be the best Aliens comic ever, it is that good. Buy it!

[The Smoog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent artwork and mostly really good stories. The real standout for me here was "Utopia," about space communists, a synthetic assistant, and their battle against both the Xenomorphs and internal dictatorship. It was much longer than the others, which are really not much more than interesting vignettes, although they do offer nice little peeks at the universe.

[alejandro galvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its was above average.

The art was nice. Wish some of these stories were longer or had their own series. But it was a nice sandbox of ideas to play with in the "Aliens" mythos. Always a good time reading these inconsequential stories.

[Nate Atcheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not every story in this anthology is amazing, but “Utopia,” which is spread over four parts, is maybe the best story in any Alien comic I’ve read (which is a lot of them). The artwork throughout this volume is really impressive and there’s a lot of originality here.

[Erik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the worst Alien comic I've read. Very few of the stories did anything original and the ones that did weren't interesting in any way. The main story was too long for how little happened and by issue 3 I was pretty much skimming it. None of the art stood out either.