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Resident Alien (Collected Editions) #3
Resident Alien Volume 3: The Sam Hain Mystery
The series that inspired the SYFY original television series, starring Alan Tudyk!
Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle is actually a stranded alien explorer hiding out in a sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest. His short time as a doctor in Patience, Washington, has kept him busy solving mysteries though! With a few successes under his belt, Harry tackles another one after the contents of an old briefcase hint that a murderer could be hiding in town in plain sight--using an alias. Sound familiar? Acclaimed creators Peter Hogan ( 2000 AD, Tom Strong ) and Steve Parkhouse ( Milkman Murders, Doctor Who ) return to their unique science-fiction/murder-mystery series!
Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle is actually a stranded alien explorer hiding out in a sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest. His short time as a doctor in Patience, Washington, has kept him busy solving mysteries though! With a few successes under his belt, Harry tackles another one after the contents of an old briefcase hint that a murderer could be hiding in town in plain sight--using an alias. Sound familiar? Acclaimed creators Peter Hogan ( 2000 AD, Tom Strong ) and Steve Parkhouse ( Milkman Murders, Doctor Who ) return to their unique science-fiction/murder-mystery series!
104 pages, Paperback
First published November 24, 2015
12 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Peter Hogan
237 books50 followersPeter 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
May 4, 2021
Finally got a chance to read this one!
In this one, Harry solves an old murder mystery that no one ever knew about and finds a famous author living in the midst of his adopted community to boot.
As with all of the Resident Alien comics, there's nothing particularly special or mind-blowing about the cozy mystery or its resolution. It's just the comfortable enjoyment you get out of the way Peter Hogan seamlessly tells the tale about a space alien pretending to be a doctor and solving some small time crime.
Recommended for those who like a splash of sci-fi to go with their mystery.
In this one, Harry solves an old murder mystery that no one ever knew about and finds a famous author living in the midst of his adopted community to boot.
As with all of the Resident Alien comics, there's nothing particularly special or mind-blowing about the cozy mystery or its resolution. It's just the comfortable enjoyment you get out of the way Peter Hogan seamlessly tells the tale about a space alien pretending to be a doctor and solving some small time crime.
Recommended for those who like a splash of sci-fi to go with their mystery.
September 6, 2020
A small town doctor / alien in hiding solves mysteries. Harry has shipwrecked on Earth waiting to be rescued for the last 3 years. At the beginning of this series, he becomes the town doctor when the previous doctor is murdered. In this story, he searches for a writer he likes, who through the rumor mill found lived in this town 40 years ago.
I don't know what it is, but this alien living in a small town solving mysteries like Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote with a dash of Twin Peaks really does it for me. It's a fun little series.
I don't know what it is, but this alien living in a small town solving mysteries like Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote with a dash of Twin Peaks really does it for me. It's a fun little series.
December 30, 2024
Another fun entry.
Here, we see alien in hiding, town Doctor Harry, searching for his favorite author, who he found out lives in his town.
Highly recommended, for fans of mystery. They're quick reads too.
Here, we see alien in hiding, town Doctor Harry, searching for his favorite author, who he found out lives in his town.
Highly recommended, for fans of mystery. They're quick reads too.
June 12, 2017
The series featuring an alien doctor/detective continues to be fun. The format for the volumes is great, it is basically a classic murder mystery but if features an alien on earth as the protagonist. There is a slower bigger story going on with Harry our alien about his backstory and goal to stay in hiding. I have to say the backstory arch is pretty slow, i wish they would infuse a bit more. The thing about this series is there isn't anything really like it and to incorporate a classic murder mystery element is really fresh and interesting. The art is also super crisp and colorful, i like it a lot.
This volume was the mystery of the local author Sam Hain that Harry so happens to like reading. It gave us just a little bit more on his backstory showing us that he was supposed to find a probe and his girlfriend he left behind. We also meet Honey a sweet girl he treats but she can also see who he really is.
This volume was the mystery of the local author Sam Hain that Harry so happens to like reading. It gave us just a little bit more on his backstory showing us that he was supposed to find a probe and his girlfriend he left behind. We also meet Honey a sweet girl he treats but she can also see who he really is.
February 22, 2021
Well, I'm not sure how to begin with this one. This is the 3rd collected volume of this series and I doubt anyone would be looking at it unless you've read the other two. In which case you'd already know how good this series is. It takes a real quality of storytelling skill to maintain a readers interest for only four issues a year, but that's what these three volumes amount to. On the other hand Resident Alien would make a perfect TV series. Kind of Twin Peaks meets House, M.D. meets My Favorite Martian. I enjoy every issue, but after each story arc ends I completely forget exactly how much I enjoy each story - at least until the next story arc begins. Dark Horse Comics has a knack for finding off-beat properties that really get under your skin and Resident Alien is no exception. An alien crashes on earth, gets stranded, and hides in plain sight among us (Poe's The Purloined Letter any one?) as a good-natured, easy-going, everybody-in-town-loves-him small-town Doctor. The stories are totally character driven and very immersive as we get to know both our resident alien and the local townsfolk. Every page is beautifully drawn and every word is thoughtfully generated. A delight to read and I'm never disappointed. I love this series.
March 25, 2022
Decisamente il migliore dei tre letti finora.
Bellissima storia e nuovi aspetti dei personaggi presenti e assenti.
Un fumetto che nei primi volumi era semplicemente simpatico si sta rivelando molto ma molto profondo e bello da leggere.
I disegni rimangono estremamente semplici, ma efficaci.
Bellissima storia e nuovi aspetti dei personaggi presenti e assenti.
Un fumetto che nei primi volumi era semplicemente simpatico si sta rivelando molto ma molto profondo e bello da leggere.
I disegni rimangono estremamente semplici, ma efficaci.
September 22, 2016
I love the "Resident Alien" series more with each volume. The government is starting to close in on our favorite alien doctor but aren't found him just yet. I appreciate the author taking the time to let the net slowly get smaller and smaller.
The good doctor loves mystery/spy novels and finds out that one of his favorite authors may live/have lived in his town. Little does he know his efforts to find this long, lost author will uncover...wait for it...MURDER! Bum bum bummmmmmmm!
I love all of the characters and think this really captures small town life (all be it rather idealized) quite well. This series is what would happen if Stephen King wrote about aliens. (I'm completely ignoring "Dreamcatcher" when I say that, by the way.)
I certainly hope they keep this series going. It's awesome!
The good doctor loves mystery/spy novels and finds out that one of his favorite authors may live/have lived in his town. Little does he know his efforts to find this long, lost author will uncover...wait for it...MURDER! Bum bum bummmmmmmm!
I love all of the characters and think this really captures small town life (all be it rather idealized) quite well. This series is what would happen if Stephen King wrote about aliens. (I'm completely ignoring "Dreamcatcher" when I say that, by the way.)
I certainly hope they keep this series going. It's awesome!
April 16, 2021
A mystery inside a story, inside a mystery about a book.
This was another interesting but quick read. Good Stuff!
This was another interesting but quick read. Good Stuff!
January 4, 2021
***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.
Read
August 5, 2015I love the way that, though it's a sequence of miniseries which usually centre on a suspicious death, this comic ticks along with such a gentle, small-town feel - cosy crime meets Area 51.
January 26, 2024
At this point I feel safe assuming the slim mysteries are intentional, which is fine because now the little town of Patience is really growing into itself, with many character beats expanded on and connected to small moments from previous volumes. It really feels like a few more volumes would be all but sufficient for me to draw a map of this place in my mind and pinpoint how everyone knows each other. Really cozy read.
September 6, 2020
What if you found that one of your favourite books authors lives in your very town?
And what if you were to find out that he committed a crime long, long ago?
Our resident alien sets up on a personal quest to solve a mystery that almost literally fell on him.
Will he bring the unknown Rex Monday to justice?
And what if you were to find out that he committed a crime long, long ago?
Our resident alien sets up on a personal quest to solve a mystery that almost literally fell on him.
Will he bring the unknown Rex Monday to justice?
August 31, 2021
Resident Alien se mi libí čím dál tím více, ta příjemná relaxující atmosféra, lidské vztahy mezi hrdiny a do toho i trochu napínavější zápletka.
Jako do téhle série se člověk musí více dostat a přistoupit na její hru. Což já udělal a nemohu si Residenta vynachválit, trojka je navíc opět milonká a nabízí docela fajn záhadu s hezkým vyústěním :D
Jako do téhle série se člověk musí více dostat a přistoupit na její hru. Což já udělal a nemohu si Residenta vynachválit, trojka je navíc opět milonká a nabízí docela fajn záhadu s hezkým vyústěním :D
April 27, 2023
Great drawings. Straightforward plot. Beautiful characters. Breezy narrative.
Enjoyed it.
Recommended.
Enjoyed it.
Recommended.
March 26, 2024
obsessed w harry solving a decades old mystery mainly because he’s a huge nerd! that’s my kind of (alien) guy fr
April 20, 2021
Our resident alien has a favorite mystery author and tries to find the author of a manuscript, who might be a murderer.
September 8, 2016
What becomes more noticeable as Resident Alien develops is the larger narrative threads bring all of arcs together. In this volume we learn more about the authorities searching for Harry, as well as his possible life back on his home planet. These facets, nestled on top of the overt mystery to be solved in each volume, makes for narrative depth you may not find in other crime ongoing series.
August 10, 2021
I really really love this series. I love the doctor more and more and I love Asta more and more. I've said it before, but it has a lot of depth and I love that.
October 25, 2021
Obvious bias is obvious, I adore this series so much.
”Sadly, that’s one of the things you learn in life… Homes don’t last.”
We’re getting more glimpses of Harry’s backstory which just keeps getting somehow even more tragic. I’m at my wits end, please just let this man be happy!! Leave him alone! He’s built himself an entirely new life with a community who seems to adore him.
Yet the feds are inching closer and closer and I’m so tense just waiting for the shoe to drop where Harry’s currently joy-filled bubble is popped. Really hoping the people he’s been caring for help shield him even a little bit. If just one person is like “lol nah never seen anyone like this” I will be so happy.
The mystery that’s unraveled in this volume is really good, if not also sad. A lot of these seem to hinge on Harry finding out different ways humans struggle in their lives, which are things he unexpectedly finds himself relating to. Unexpected, because his own people held pre-conceived notions of how we act. I like seeing Harry’s growth in understanding not every situation is black and white in terms of who is right or wrong. I appreciate these themes of growth and mutual understanding a lot!
Anyway, loved this as always and will be excitedly grabbing the next volume sometime soon!
”Sadly, that’s one of the things you learn in life… Homes don’t last.”
We’re getting more glimpses of Harry’s backstory which just keeps getting somehow even more tragic. I’m at my wits end, please just let this man be happy!! Leave him alone! He’s built himself an entirely new life with a community who seems to adore him.
Yet the feds are inching closer and closer and I’m so tense just waiting for the shoe to drop where Harry’s currently joy-filled bubble is popped. Really hoping the people he’s been caring for help shield him even a little bit. If just one person is like “lol nah never seen anyone like this” I will be so happy.
The mystery that’s unraveled in this volume is really good, if not also sad. A lot of these seem to hinge on Harry finding out different ways humans struggle in their lives, which are things he unexpectedly finds himself relating to. Unexpected, because his own people held pre-conceived notions of how we act. I like seeing Harry’s growth in understanding not every situation is black and white in terms of who is right or wrong. I appreciate these themes of growth and mutual understanding a lot!
Anyway, loved this as always and will be excitedly grabbing the next volume sometime soon!
October 28, 2025
The pinnacle of fiction. Couldn’t put it down! I was immersed all the way.
Resident Alien Volume 3: The Sam Hein Mystery follow Harry as he tries to find out who exactly if the author of said Sam Hein books.
The storyline was interesting. The world building just as much. I really liked Harry’s final decision regarding the mystery. He was trying to resolve. The flow is the flow of events within the story was very smooth. You could clearly see the connections between every event. The writing was very well written as well as the artwork. I also really like that as we see from the bad guys were ““bad guys they’re not catching up as easily as I see in other media of the same genre like the bad guys are noticing some things that will point to Harry and get him in trouble, but some side characters are also the deflecting it by helping them out unknowingly I really like that because it feels to me as if the story will last forever and that’s the best feeling when you find a story you really like and it’s as if it’ll last forever.
Resident Alien Volume 3: The Sam Hein Mystery follow Harry as he tries to find out who exactly if the author of said Sam Hein books.
The storyline was interesting. The world building just as much. I really liked Harry’s final decision regarding the mystery. He was trying to resolve. The flow is the flow of events within the story was very smooth. You could clearly see the connections between every event. The writing was very well written as well as the artwork. I also really like that as we see from the bad guys were ““bad guys they’re not catching up as easily as I see in other media of the same genre like the bad guys are noticing some things that will point to Harry and get him in trouble, but some side characters are also the deflecting it by helping them out unknowingly I really like that because it feels to me as if the story will last forever and that’s the best feeling when you find a story you really like and it’s as if it’ll last forever.
August 10, 2018
A different kind of mystery, mostly about books and identity rather than a known crime, at least at first. I thought there would be more about the government agency tracking Harry, but I like that they're pacing it out like this instead of rushing through. All these volumes have a low-stress, small-town feel to them and that's party of why I love it.
CN: Domestic abuse.
CN: Domestic abuse.
May 24, 2020
This is another good Resident Alien story. The main story, again, is a (kind of) murder mystery. And again, we get a bit more backstory on Harry, and some advancing of the subplot, as the government agents looking for Harry get a little closer.
I'll admit to a little frustration with the slow pace of the subplot. Other than that, this is a really enjoyable series.
I'll admit to a little frustration with the slow pace of the subplot. Other than that, this is a really enjoyable series.
March 6, 2024
Great story again, with the mixing of truth vs fiction and which is stranger. Everybody with their secrets and a love letter to the 70's detectives as well.
Now we get the drawings of Harry as an alien doctor as well by the child that can see him clearly. An idea used to very good effect in the Netflix series.
Now we get the drawings of Harry as an alien doctor as well by the child that can see him clearly. An idea used to very good effect in the Netflix series.
April 29, 2020
Talk about "Alien!" These books are so unusual in that they avoid the typical gratuitous violence and sex that permeates nearly all entertainment media.
And yet, they are great down-to-earth stories with likable characters.
So rare.
And yet, they are great down-to-earth stories with likable characters.
So rare.
March 20, 2021
Harry finds a briefcase and does some really good detective work.
He realizes that the crime may have been perpetrated by someone in the town, hiding in plain sight.
It's a really cool read, and serves to push the story forward.
He realizes that the crime may have been perpetrated by someone in the town, hiding in plain sight.
It's a really cool read, and serves to push the story forward.
December 25, 2021
This time out, Harry discovers a once-famous 1960s spy-thriller author may be a resident of Patience under their real name. Only it appears they may also be tangled up in a murder ... Enjoyable though I have nothing much to say about it.
July 16, 2017
Still great...onto volume IV!
April 5, 2019
This series just keeps getting better and better. No stopping this!
Read
February 26, 2021Another great story of Dr. Harry the alien solving a local mystery.
I recommend.
I recommend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews