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Aliens / Predator / Prometheus Universe
Aliens: Nightmare Asylum
Wilks, Billie, and Bueller were the last survivors of a devastating assault on the Aliens' home planet. But their return to the solar system made them refugees once more, fleeing Earth and its Alien infestation in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Now, in an otherwise unmanned military transport, they hurtle through space, destination unknown, while in the cargo hold they carry with them a legacy of death they thought they'd left behind! Written by screenwriter Mark Verheiden (_Smallville, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Falling Skies_) and featuring painted illustration by Den Beauvais.
98 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1990
5 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Mark Verheiden
273 books34 followersMark Verheiden is an American television, movie, and comic book writer. He was a co-executive producer for the television series Falling Skies for DreamWorks Television and the TNT Network.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 18, 2020
So much better than the first volume. Hicks and Newt (or Wilks and Billie, if you prefer) come across an insane general who thinks he can breed Xenomorphs to fight for him. Parts of this story are really messed up but fit in perfectly with the larger Aliens universe. Denis Beauvais's painted art is both gorgeous and horrific.
January 27, 2022
"Aliens: Nightmare Asylum" was written in the 80's. Considering the rather poor quality of random comics at that time, this was a surprise.
Apparently, the Xenomorphs have overrun Earth. Newt , Hicks, and an Android are in space when they run into a Vessel commanded by an insane Marine officer. This officer has decided that he can breed and control the Aliens into an army to take back the Earth.
This is the crazy scenario that they must deal with. The story is not bad, but what was most surprising was the art. It was surprisingly decent and likely ahead of its time. While nothing amazing, this "throw-back" story was good.
At some point, I shall look into more of the Alien comics, some of which are terrible and some of which are quite good.
Apparently, the Xenomorphs have overrun Earth. Newt , Hicks, and an Android are in space when they run into a Vessel commanded by an insane Marine officer. This officer has decided that he can breed and control the Aliens into an army to take back the Earth.
This is the crazy scenario that they must deal with. The story is not bad, but what was most surprising was the art. It was surprisingly decent and likely ahead of its time. While nothing amazing, this "throw-back" story was good.
At some point, I shall look into more of the Alien comics, some of which are terrible and some of which are quite good.
December 2, 2017
Nightmare Asylum (Aliens 2). This is a much smaller story than the first Aliens, but in many ways that's too its advantage. Verheiden puts Wilks (Hicks) and Billie (Newt) into a horrible environment and lets us see if they're able to survive. One of the joys of this particular story is that the idea of controlling the aliens to fight aliens is a very believable extension of the main premise of the line. We also get the story of an Earth overrun in the background and absolutely gorgeous painted art by Dennis Beauvais, making this all around an excellent volume [5/5].
June 10, 2021
This graphic novel is a sort of a repress of the original Aliens comics published in the 2nd series from 1989: Aliens Book Two. However, as with the first series it was somewhat re-imagined by Steve Perry and just like Aliens: Earth Hive, the novel Aliens: Nightmare Asylum seeks to take into account Alien 3 where the fate of Hicks and Newt are established within the film.
In order to keep in line with that attempt to fix the Aliens time line this repress of the original comics is supposed to account for Steve Perry's retelling of the original Mark Verheiden tale. With the Earth Hive repressing they brought Mark Nelson in to make some adjustments to the original art and really changed up a few things to make it different. I really pretty much enjoyed the effort they had put into that release, but I am much less impressed with Nightmare Asylum. Perry made a few rather drastic changes, but in this repressing all they did was change the names of Newt and Hicks to Billie and Wilks. Otherwise the story was exactly the same with all the exact same content. The interview with Steve Perry at the beginning was awesome though and truly the best part of buying this edition in my opinion.
I really loved the original story that Verheiden wrote along with Den Beauvais' phenomenal art, but maybe it's the way it was drawn that made it hard to make changes, I have no idea. I was sad to see Beauvais wasn't called in to do the art for the cover, it would have been a really wonderful thing to see him return to Aliens even if it was for just one picture. John Bolton is a great artist, don't get me wrong, but the Beauvais covers on the original story still stand out as some of the greatest Alien art to hit the franchise and seeing one more would have been wonderful. The art is still incredible, so if you don't own a version of the original Aliens, Vol. 2 series, then this is probably worth getting. If you were expecting some serious changes to align with Perry's story, then you'll probably be a little bit disappointed.
The original story and art is still phenomenal, even by today's standards, this just wasn't the effort I was sort of expecting based on their treatment of Earth Hive. So, forgive the lower rating, even though I highly praise the story and original art, but read my review of the original comics for that commentary.
In order to keep in line with that attempt to fix the Aliens time line this repress of the original comics is supposed to account for Steve Perry's retelling of the original Mark Verheiden tale. With the Earth Hive repressing they brought Mark Nelson in to make some adjustments to the original art and really changed up a few things to make it different. I really pretty much enjoyed the effort they had put into that release, but I am much less impressed with Nightmare Asylum. Perry made a few rather drastic changes, but in this repressing all they did was change the names of Newt and Hicks to Billie and Wilks. Otherwise the story was exactly the same with all the exact same content. The interview with Steve Perry at the beginning was awesome though and truly the best part of buying this edition in my opinion.
I really loved the original story that Verheiden wrote along with Den Beauvais' phenomenal art, but maybe it's the way it was drawn that made it hard to make changes, I have no idea. I was sad to see Beauvais wasn't called in to do the art for the cover, it would have been a really wonderful thing to see him return to Aliens even if it was for just one picture. John Bolton is a great artist, don't get me wrong, but the Beauvais covers on the original story still stand out as some of the greatest Alien art to hit the franchise and seeing one more would have been wonderful. The art is still incredible, so if you don't own a version of the original Aliens, Vol. 2 series, then this is probably worth getting. If you were expecting some serious changes to align with Perry's story, then you'll probably be a little bit disappointed.
The original story and art is still phenomenal, even by today's standards, this just wasn't the effort I was sort of expecting based on their treatment of Earth Hive. So, forgive the lower rating, even though I highly praise the story and original art, but read my review of the original comics for that commentary.
January 14, 2025
The track record of this series taking big swings continues as humanity abandons earth, and attempts to domesticate the Xenomorphs. This is a well-plotted Alien story that feels fresh even after another 30 years of Alien media and it has easily my favorite art from what I've seen of the Dark Horse Alien run.
October 13, 2012
This is actually a review of the original four issue comic series (simply named 'Aliens Volume 2 before), so it is the continuing story of Newt and Hicks from the Aliens movie. Following their escape from an Alien xenomorph infested Earth, Newt, Hicks and Newt's android lover, Butler, find themselves stranded on a cargo transport that is carrying Aliens. When they arrive at the programmed destination they find themselves stuck in the middle of the insane plans of a General who uses civilians in an attempt to create his own army of trained Aliens.
You, again, get gorgeous and brutal artwork, this time in color. The story is more rushed than the previous story, but this is due to the shorter issue count more than poor writing. While not as amazing as the first volume, this is a very satisfying continuation of the story started there. You get to see images of Earth as it is fully conquered by the Alien infestation and get further insight into the telepathic communication between the Aliens and how it effects humans.
You even get a quick glimpse of Ripley's return! Pretty much a lead-in for the next four issue series 'Earth War' (later re-released in collected and edited form as 'Female War').
You, again, get gorgeous and brutal artwork, this time in color. The story is more rushed than the previous story, but this is due to the shorter issue count more than poor writing. While not as amazing as the first volume, this is a very satisfying continuation of the story started there. You get to see images of Earth as it is fully conquered by the Alien infestation and get further insight into the telepathic communication between the Aliens and how it effects humans.
You even get a quick glimpse of Ripley's return! Pretty much a lead-in for the next four issue series 'Earth War' (later re-released in collected and edited form as 'Female War').
May 9, 2011
Second part of the Dark Horse master trilogy that expands upon the first two movies. Like its predecessor it suffered from 20th Century Fox's decision to kill off the survivors from the second film, and names and places had to be changed for this reissue.
The plot is a direct continuation from book one and is fairly straightforward. You basically follow the same people around from beginning to finish, as they struggle to survive in a new and hostile world. While the story threads little new ground, as a reader you will be too busy and captivated by the lush and amazingly lifelike airbrush paintings, some of the best to ever grace the medium. Every page is a work of art in itself and helps propel the story straight into your mind. This is a story that is told through images rather than text, images that will stay with you long after you finished reading it. Highly recommended.
The plot is a direct continuation from book one and is fairly straightforward. You basically follow the same people around from beginning to finish, as they struggle to survive in a new and hostile world. While the story threads little new ground, as a reader you will be too busy and captivated by the lush and amazingly lifelike airbrush paintings, some of the best to ever grace the medium. Every page is a work of art in itself and helps propel the story straight into your mind. This is a story that is told through images rather than text, images that will stay with you long after you finished reading it. Highly recommended.
January 15, 2025
I don't remember much about the movies, but I don't think they broached on such mature themes as this story does. A major part of it focuses on the horrific aliens, but the humans are no less monstruous. A general tortures a captured alien queen into submission. Some of his men go awol and kill to try to get away from his madness. A woman tries to fill her loneliness with feelings for an android. It's all so chaotic and dystopian that you can't but enjoy it. As expected, the humans' best laid plan go out the window, not because of the aliens, but their own greed and hubris. The aliens are just there for the clean up.
The Earth has been infested by an alien species. The humans tried to stifle its bloodthirst with nuclear weapons, leaving the planet a ruinous husk. A ship with a small crew is tasked with bringing a set of alien samples to a research facility. Some of the samples escape containment and attack the crew, forcing them to respond in kind. Newt, Hicks and the android Butler make it to their destination where General Spears has nefarious plans for the aliens. So far the research facility is kept under his thumb, but the men are liable to lose control at any second.
The Earth has been infested by an alien species. The humans tried to stifle its bloodthirst with nuclear weapons, leaving the planet a ruinous husk. A ship with a small crew is tasked with bringing a set of alien samples to a research facility. Some of the samples escape containment and attack the crew, forcing them to respond in kind. Newt, Hicks and the android Butler make it to their destination where General Spears has nefarious plans for the aliens. So far the research facility is kept under his thumb, but the men are liable to lose control at any second.
July 14, 2020
Tomo en español que comprende la historia Aliens: Nightmare Asylum, originalmente lanzada por Dark Horse en 1996 (editada primeramente como miniserie de cuatro números como Aliens: Book II en 1989).
Originalmente, esta historia era la secuela del primer cómic de la franquicia "Alien", que a su vez servía éste como continuación de la película Aliens (1986), dirigida por James Cameron. Pero como en 1992 salió la película Alien³ (que obviaba lo acontecido en los cómics), cuando lanzaron al mercado este libro, les cambiaron los nombres a los protagonistas, ya que obedecían a personajes del film de Cameron. Así, Hicks, Newt y Butler pasaron a llamarse Wilks, Billie y Bueller.
Historia que continúa inmediatamente después de la primera miniserie. Wilks, Billie y el androide Bueller llegan a un planeta terraformado en el cual conocen al general Spears, un megalómano que cree poder controlar a voluntad a los Aliens para formar con ellos un ejército y así reconquistar la Tierra, devastada por sus congéneres extraterrestres.
En esta segunda historia, Verheiden insiste en temas como el control de la naturaleza por parte de los humanos (los Aliens para su utilización como soldados excepcionales), el amor entre humanos y androides, y hay pinceladas de algo que, creo recordar, ahonda más en el siguiente cómic de la franquicia: el lazo afectivo entre una madre y sus hijos. Es una historia más concreta, donde se hace hincapié sobre todo en un tema, a diferencia de la miniserie anterior donde había muchos personajes y temas llevados de una forma más desordenada. Los dibujos de Denis Beauvais son eficaces y de un talante más realista.
Originalmente, esta historia era la secuela del primer cómic de la franquicia "Alien", que a su vez servía éste como continuación de la película Aliens (1986), dirigida por James Cameron. Pero como en 1992 salió la película Alien³ (que obviaba lo acontecido en los cómics), cuando lanzaron al mercado este libro, les cambiaron los nombres a los protagonistas, ya que obedecían a personajes del film de Cameron. Así, Hicks, Newt y Butler pasaron a llamarse Wilks, Billie y Bueller.
Historia que continúa inmediatamente después de la primera miniserie. Wilks, Billie y el androide Bueller llegan a un planeta terraformado en el cual conocen al general Spears, un megalómano que cree poder controlar a voluntad a los Aliens para formar con ellos un ejército y así reconquistar la Tierra, devastada por sus congéneres extraterrestres.
En esta segunda historia, Verheiden insiste en temas como el control de la naturaleza por parte de los humanos (los Aliens para su utilización como soldados excepcionales), el amor entre humanos y androides, y hay pinceladas de algo que, creo recordar, ahonda más en el siguiente cómic de la franquicia: el lazo afectivo entre una madre y sus hijos. Es una historia más concreta, donde se hace hincapié sobre todo en un tema, a diferencia de la miniserie anterior donde había muchos personajes y temas llevados de una forma más desordenada. Los dibujos de Denis Beauvais son eficaces y de un talante más realista.
September 28, 2025
After Aliens: Outbreak I didn't have high hopes that the sequel would be much better. I only gave this a try out of curiosity. I'm glad I did. Aliens: Nightmare Asylum is an amazing comeback, that manages to avoid what the first volume did.
First, the art style is very different. The colour palette is darker in tone, it doesn't look as cartoonish as it did in Outbreak. The characters' features look more distinct, so it's easier to tell them apart.
The main problem with Outbreak was that it tried to tell a story that was too complex, taking place in several locations in the galaxy at the same time, and with grand arches that made it feel like a space epic. However, all of this was very condensed, the pacing was all over the place, especially towards the end the story felt very rushed and there was little room left for details or character development.
Here it's different. The story takes place on a terraformed planet: at a military base and at a terraforming colony. The plot revolves around a general experimenting on Aliens and trying to control them in order to use them as soldiers against the Aliens that overrun Earth.
Since the story follows a single narrative arch, there's more room left to elaborate on characters' motives, to build up atmosphere and detail scenes in which humans are stalked by the Xenomorphs. The story is also less pulpy, but there are still some moments that are a bit trashy (mostly involving Newt).
First, the art style is very different. The colour palette is darker in tone, it doesn't look as cartoonish as it did in Outbreak. The characters' features look more distinct, so it's easier to tell them apart.
The main problem with Outbreak was that it tried to tell a story that was too complex, taking place in several locations in the galaxy at the same time, and with grand arches that made it feel like a space epic. However, all of this was very condensed, the pacing was all over the place, especially towards the end the story felt very rushed and there was little room left for details or character development.
Here it's different. The story takes place on a terraformed planet: at a military base and at a terraforming colony. The plot revolves around a general experimenting on Aliens and trying to control them in order to use them as soldiers against the Aliens that overrun Earth.
Since the story follows a single narrative arch, there's more room left to elaborate on characters' motives, to build up atmosphere and detail scenes in which humans are stalked by the Xenomorphs. The story is also less pulpy, but there are still some moments that are a bit trashy (mostly involving Newt).
June 17, 2018
Absolutely awful. The original mini-series was bad. Even though it started with some deep atmosphere, nice writing and good artwork, it turned out to be generic "just for money" nonsense. The first series was all about maniacs? Here comes another one. The first series was all about Hicks and Newt running from baddies (both human and alien ones)? Here's more of the exactly same. You miss this story - you miss nothing. Because nothing special happens here. Just some more random guys killed.
But, of course, those are the problems of the original comic. While this collection is another one of those butchered re-releases. With Newt being re-named to Billie just because Dark Horse were way too greedy and wanted this comic to co-exist with the new movie (which was the third one at the moment). Years later, when the whole franchise became a mess and being canon wasn't that important anymore, I expected them to re-release the comics with proper names, but no, legacy of this garbage still lives. And I'll tell you what - it's even worse than watching an American versions of those Japanese animated series. Because in this case we don't lose just the original names. In this case lack of the original names literally kills the story. Not like there's much to kill this time, but... you've got the idea.
But, of course, those are the problems of the original comic. While this collection is another one of those butchered re-releases. With Newt being re-named to Billie just because Dark Horse were way too greedy and wanted this comic to co-exist with the new movie (which was the third one at the moment). Years later, when the whole franchise became a mess and being canon wasn't that important anymore, I expected them to re-release the comics with proper names, but no, legacy of this garbage still lives. And I'll tell you what - it's even worse than watching an American versions of those Japanese animated series. Because in this case we don't lose just the original names. In this case lack of the original names literally kills the story. Not like there's much to kill this time, but... you've got the idea.
June 16, 2024
Following on from 'Earth Hive', survivors Billie, Willks and Bueller flee the xenomorph infestation of Earth. They find themselves trapped at a military facility on a remote planet where the General in command has developed a deranged fascination for the aliens and believes he can tame them to reclaim the Earth.
So, the version of this I read was the post-Alien 3 version where Billie and Willks were altered to no longer be Newt and Hicks from 'Aliens' (despite still sharing the exact backstories of those characters).
Although purists have bemoaned this change, I for one was glad that Billie isn't Newt for the simple reason that she's kind of sexualised quite a bit here and that's not something I'm ready for in regard to the character of Newt, aged-up or otherwise.
Overall this follows a fairly predictable format; human thinks he can tame aliens, aliens break loose, handful of people work to escape and survive. It's done pretty well, but it's not going to shock anyone with how it all unfolds.
I did really like Den Beauvais' fully-painted artwork, however.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
So, the version of this I read was the post-Alien 3 version where Billie and Willks were altered to no longer be Newt and Hicks from 'Aliens' (despite still sharing the exact backstories of those characters).
Although purists have bemoaned this change, I for one was glad that Billie isn't Newt for the simple reason that she's kind of sexualised quite a bit here and that's not something I'm ready for in regard to the character of Newt, aged-up or otherwise.
Overall this follows a fairly predictable format; human thinks he can tame aliens, aliens break loose, handful of people work to escape and survive. It's done pretty well, but it's not going to shock anyone with how it all unfolds.
I did really like Den Beauvais' fully-painted artwork, however.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
February 1, 2021
Another graphic novel in which I had read the novelisation first and so did find this a little thin in comparison. However, the story itself is quite an interesting one with a nice twist on the theme. Wilks and Billie are clearly Hicks and Newt from Aliens and make a really great team. I still prefer the novel, but this was a lot of fun and found the artwork was pretty good.
November 27, 2021
3.5 stars. Much better than the first one, simply because the story is tighter and more contained, which seems more appropriate for a comic book. I’m curious to see if Perry’s novelization improves on it further, or if this is one of those stories that’s just more appropriate for one medium than another.
March 20, 2024
Aside from my previous complaint about the cheap character name switch, which becomes even more apparent at the end of this one, when Ripley shows up. Overall, I thought the story was decent, and the illustrations were markedly better.
August 10, 2024
Estes livros de Aliens foram muito idênticos aos filmes da franquia, sobretudo aqueles protagonizados por Sigourney Weaver. Na verdade, era isso mesmo que eu procurava, bom entretenimento com o alienígena mais famoso da indústria, portanto estes três volumes publicados entre 1989 e 1991 serviram para preparar-me para o novo Alien: Romulus que, dizem, faz jus aos predecessores.
November 23, 2018
The bitch is back
Even better than the 1st part, can't wait for part 3 Ripley's back in town and she has a new toy
Even better than the 1st part, can't wait for part 3 Ripley's back in town and she has a new toy
September 4, 2019
Great art, good story.
January 2, 2020
This feels like an Alien story. Good tension.
January 25, 2021
Miles better than outbreak (book 1). The art alone makes this book a three.
August 6, 2021
Better than "outbreak" that I found a bit schematic. Good pace and a graphic atmosphere that connects with the original movie concept.
June 17, 2022
This one was really good. The introspective pages, the action filled pages, horror or the alien. All done well
June 1, 2024
Loved the storyline, loved the art.
July 28, 2024
Now this is an improvement over Outbreak in every way,in fact is a perfect comic book.It's action packed since start,really cool art style and interesting story.
August 25, 2024
It’s a bad read. Very bad. It lack logic and continuity
March 27, 2021
Like this one more than Outbreak, it think it explains more the wat xenomorphs adapt and evolve. I am a huge fan, I guess that's why my ratings are kinda high but no regrets. I like getting to know this creature more and more and see the development of Newt and Hicks as well.
July 13, 2016
Remastered edition of the previously untitled Aliens: Book Two, and "newly aligned with Twentieth Century Fox film coninuity!"
This is my favorite story of the Verheiden "trilogy" of graphic novels, and also it has the best art of the three by Canadian Den Beauvais. And this edition only changes the names of Hicks and Newt to fit the new names defined in the Steve Perry novelizations. There's a full gallery of Beauvais' beautiful cover and promo pieces.
Only gripe: Since Newt is no longer Newt, the impact of meeting Ripley on the last page is lessened greatly from the original version, and Billie's reaction is out-of-place as she has never met Ripley. This is *the* version to own, unless you collect the series in the Omnibus books.
This is my favorite story of the Verheiden "trilogy" of graphic novels, and also it has the best art of the three by Canadian Den Beauvais. And this edition only changes the names of Hicks and Newt to fit the new names defined in the Steve Perry novelizations. There's a full gallery of Beauvais' beautiful cover and promo pieces.
Only gripe: Since Newt is no longer Newt, the impact of meeting Ripley on the last page is lessened greatly from the original version, and Billie's reaction is out-of-place as she has never met Ripley. This is *the* version to own, unless you collect the series in the Omnibus books.
April 21, 2016
Great alien story
The story takes place after earth is over run with aliens and end with you seeing Lt Ripley I'm not 100% but the aliens genocide graphic novel should follow after this one
The story takes place after earth is over run with aliens and end with you seeing Lt Ripley I'm not 100% but the aliens genocide graphic novel should follow after this one
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews