Aliens: Defiance, Vol. 2

Aliens: Defiance #7-12

by Brian Wood, Stephen Thompson (Illustrator), Tony Brescini (Illustrator)

Colonial Marine Private First Class Zula Hendricks is on an AWOL mission to prove her mettle by eradicating the alien species before they can be exploited as weapons on Earth. She must battle with aliens, fend off space pirates, and elude the insidious Weyland-Yutani corporation that wants their freighter back, all while facing rehabilitation from an old war injury.

New York Times best-selling comics writer Brian Wood gives us a gripping story of strength going up against staggering fears. The talented artist Tristan Jones brings these fears to life.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Aliens, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2017

About the author

Brian Wood's history of published work includes over fifty volumes of genre-spanning original material.

From the 1500-page future war epic DMZ, the ecological disaster series The Massive, the American crime drama Briggs Land, and the groundbreaking lo-fi dystopia Channel Zero he has a 20-year track record of marrying thoughtful world-building and political commentary with compelling and diverse characters.

His YA novels - Demo, Local, The New York Four, and Mara - have made YALSA and New York Public Library best-of lists. His historical fiction - the viking series Northlanders, the American Revolution-centered Rebels, and the norse-samurai mashup Sword Daughter - are benchmarks in the comic book industry.

He's written some of the biggest franchises in pop culture, including Star Wars, Terminator, RoboCop, Conan The Barbarian, Robotech, and Planet Of The Apes. He’s written number-one-selling series for Marvel Comics. And he’s created and written multiple canonical stories for the Aliens universe, including the Zula Hendricks character.

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second and last volume of this short series is less coherent than the previous one.

There are a couple of plot threads that were either left dangling or were only filler material in the first place.
Additionally there's a constant change in artists, which got a little annoying at some point, as both quality and style of the artwork are inconsistent as a result.



So, objectively this is probably not as good as the first book.

What it has working for it, though, is that I got so attached to the characters that it had me on edge towards the end as things got more dramatic and closer to its conclusion. I even got a little emotional during the last issue. So, clearly the creators have done something right.



I just wish they had shown a little more commitment to their own creation.

Amanda Ripley, btw, had a short cameo in the first book but never shows up in the second. Which kinda makes sense, I guess, because at this point she's very likely already on Sevastopol Station, and pretty busy to somehow not get killed there.

Which leads me to the sequel of this series. I wasn't sure there even was one, but google told me that Aliens: Resistance is actually a continuation of both this series and the Alien: Isolation game, which I haven't played, but apparently own, according to my PSN account. It looks like Zula, the main character of Aliens: Defiance, and Amanda Ripley, the main character of Alien: Isolation, will be reunited there. I actually might read it and probably play the game as well. We'll see.



Overall, while this wasn't great or something, I still enjoyed my short time back with the franchise. Even watched the second movie once more, in the process. It's still my favorite.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read 2023: I actually raised my score here. The ending didn't seem confusing this time around. Maybe because I read it in a row with the first. I do think at times the jumping around in timelines without telling us you're going to be jumping around is jarring but the message was still clear. Makes me excited to read Wood's last two Alien stories now too. A 4 out of 5.

Original Review: Ah dang, sad this didn't pan out 100%.

The first volume was a real interesting look into a human/robot situation. This had a deeper message here of survival, and what we would do in the end of it all facing a unstoppable force of aliens. This started off good enough, art great, but then the 2nd half gets really confusing and the ending felt a bit sudden. Overall, a solid alien story and well worth reading, but didn't live up to the first volume. A 3 out of 5.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

More original in its approach than the average Aliens. Its focus is more on the definition of will (Hendricks), "being human" (Davis) and bravery (Hollis) than a mere survival/hunting game. For that it easily wins 4*.

This being said I thought it was sometimes surprisingly confused, some passages being somewhat abstract to me. I'm under the weird impression there was quite some filling pages to stir it up to the mandatory 12 issues when some cuts are very brutal and could have been better introduced. With Brian Wood on the wheel that's unsatisfactory.

The end is perfectly coherent-and certainly different from the expectations of many- yet totally underwhelming at the same time. Somehow surprising and surprisingly mundane. I think I liked it.

Visually it's mostly ok but not amazing.

So, to sum it up: very interesting and complex characters and an overall good plot but a few issues too long (probably 2) with pacing problems that impedes a totally satisfying reading.

[Koen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read through this like a speeding bullet!
Very well brought and drawn (most of the artists), but the ending felt a bit rushed... Didn't quite like it :(

But all in all: me = happy

[Valentin Derevlean · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stele. Desenul excelent, deşi nu mai sunt atât de multe cadre pe care să le pui în ramă. Povestea însă scârţăie uşor. Şi devine uşor plictisitoare pe final. Rămâne primul volum în topul preferinţelor.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things get worse before they get better, and while the conclusion is realistic it's also not what I'd hoped for. The final pages do present some hope, however. Even though this is an Aliens book it really was all about the humans (and synthetics who become human.)

If you love the Aliens franchise but are looking at something a little deeper than the usual "bug hunts", this one might be for you. Although there's also plenty of action for those that enjoy that as well!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

Story:We pretty much pick up where we left off in vol 1. Hollis discovers she has one of those things inside her. Instead of killing it she thinks it would be wise to study it so they can find better ways to kill them. Davis and Zula are hesitant but they agree to Hollis' plan. Davis retrofits one of the cargo holds into a giant cryo chamber. Hollis successfully removes the creature and Davis transports it to the cryo hold where they successfully hold the thing, for a while. All the while Zula who is in constant pain keeps thinking back to the transmissions her doctor sent her about coming back to Earth and turning herself in and how she can have it to where she won't face any punishments. But the makeshift cryo hold has caused damage to the ship and now not even the cryo hold is failing top it all off with pirates attacking and Zula has decided the only way to go is home. But first they have to get rid of the Alien. Once they get to Earth things don't go quite as they planned but Zula ok with that she's not a quitter she can find a way.



Art: For the most part beautiful artwork. The first three episodes the main characters were drawn really inconsistently. Zula's head would completely change shape from different perspectives. The latter half of the book it's wonderfully drawn. I am constantly amazed how beautifully scary the xenomorphs are drawn especially the queen.



Review: Wow. Hollis reveals she has a xenomorph in her and all I'm thinking is, "that is a queen!"
The story just keeps getting better and better and when you think all is hopeless Zula is there with a solution. It does have a bit of a bittersweet triumphant CLIFFHANGER ending but man oh man. I think the story flowed better in this one than the first volume it definitely exciting, I couldn't put it down.

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zula and Davis rescued Dr. Hollis who worked on the xenomorphs. The latter becomes infected during their escape from a station attacked by Weyland-Yutani marines. She wants to harvest the xenomorph queen growing inside her and learn its weaknesses. The operation sent many chills up my spine, though I always thought myself immune to such images. Hollis survives and begins to analyse a sample from the queen. They don't have much time with the ship's life support systems failing.

Their ship gets attacked by pirates. Zula decides to release the xenomorph on them, though Davis is against it. They reach the Luna base where Weyland-Yutani expects to receive the alien. Davis destroys it first and gets irreparably damaged in the process. Weyland-Yutani opens fire on their ship which is impossible to maneuvre at this point.

Zula and dr. Hollis escape in a shuttle and are arrested when they crashland. Zula is courtmartialed, but has little to offer them and is dismissed. Dr. Hollis is wanted for the resudual biomatter inside her. It was never intended for her to survive the procedure.

Even though Weyland-Yutani gave up on Davis, Zula does not. She recovers his behavioral chip or memory or whatever to keep her promise to him that they would survive their mission. She intends to continue her fight against the xenomorphs.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked these Alien comics. Sometimes these short lived series can be kind of bad (Aliens: Dust to Dust), but I thoroughly enjoyed the content of Defiance. Ex-Captain Zulu Hendricks, after Weyland-Yutani corps order her to tag and bag a live alien sample decides fuck them and goes rogue along with her synthetic friend Davis and really make things harder for the company in excellent fashion.
I'm looking forward to reading to two sequel series that Hendricks got!

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume wasn't as good as the first but still a solid resolution to the story. Our heroes return to Earth after being hunted down by the baddies and mass chaos and betrayals ensue. I would have rather have them stay in space on their mission for a little longer but I get that the author may not have had a choice here. The ending was open and hopeful and I would love to see this adapted to a film, live action or otherwise.

[Mando Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m scared why was this so good

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

After really enjoying the first volume, my expectations were high. Too high, it turns out - this volume spends most of its time detailing the messy outcome of the first volume, and although that is novel in its own right, it does feel a bit like a wasted opportunity.

The characters remain some of the best I've read in any Aliens comic, and I do look forward to seeing them again in future publications.

Using various artists, the art is spotty. It starts out excellent, and pretty much goes down from there. It's never actually bad, but it misses the mark.

[Viki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zula, Davis 01, and Hollis are still on the rogue mission of trying to exterminate the hostile aliens, and at the same time they are trying to stay hidden from The Company (Weyland-Yutani) which is doing everything in its power (and it's a lot of power) to get an alien specimen to open new doors to the future of bioweapon programs.
The problem is that there are a lot of aliens. The problem is that Hollis harbors something unimaginable in her body. The problem is that Zula is suffering from her back. The problem is that Davis 01 is becoming more and more of a person.
The problem is that they can't go on forever.

I will be honest, the first volume was a lot stronger than this second one. Somehow it's always the ending/wrapping up where stories fall short (I'm not saying it is easy to close a good story but it should be as important as the beginning and the middle part). The last two-three issues felt rushed, there were moments I didn't even know what was happening, and again, I'm not a huge fan of open/ambiguous endings. I mean it's not a horrible ending but it isn't a good one either.

I forgot to mention in my review of volume 1 that the cover arts of this series are absolutely breathtaking, I loved all of them, and even though I'd not call the art of the issues traditionally beautiful or a style I'm most fond of, but it certainly works for this story set in space.

Besides the vibe matching art style and the decent storyline, what really makes this series compelling is the characters.
Zula, who is a born warrior, and against all odds she always gets up and never gives up. You can't even blame her for doing the mistakes she does, like she is only human, and for most of it, she does exceptionally well.
Davis, who is the reason we have this storyline, who made the best possible decision, who choose to improve himself and taste more and more of the human life until he straight-up became one.
Hollis, who is a smart, strong woman, who is the definition of a survivor, and who most definitely deserved a lot better.

Writing: ★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Art: ★★★★
Coloring: ★★★★
Lettering: ★★★★
Entertainment value: ★★★★

[Zoë Birss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of books and graphic novels from the Aliens series in the last few months. I was anticipating the new film, and was therefore reminded of just how much I love this series and this world.

Among the vast world of fiction in the Aliens universe, this story is among the best ones. It has been accepted as part of canon by 20th Century Fox, and is also the longest running comic series, and therefore longest graphic novel to bear the name.

Brian Wood was an excellent fit for writer. His creator-owned work often surrounds themes of conspiracy and paranoia in dystopian worlds. And he is no stranger to science fiction.

In Aliens: Defiance, Wood brings his talent for plot and character to a story that is thoroughly Alien in tone and in theme, yet with unique and interesting elements that explore the world in new ways even decades after the original film.

The art is serviceable, and occasionally excellent. The book maintains a cinematic feel throughout. Unfortunately, I found it to be inconsistent, sometimes distractingly so. This was especially true of the final chapter, which also didn't quite deliver as satisfying an ending as I hoped. Why the publisher chose to change pencillers throughout is a mystery. I am glad for the consistent inks and some consistency to the layouts. That the last chapter had the weakest illustration by far was quite a disappointment at the end of a strong series.

I personally think that the story could have either been written with a solid ending for the last page of the eleventh chapter, or else it could have lengthened the final chapter with two more after. As it is, it seemed like an unnecessarily long denouement, possibly just for the excuse of opening sequel possibilities. That said, if Brian Wood were writing, I would read a sequel.

Despite my criticisms, I still think this is a four star book. It may not be as solidly so as the first volume. But taken together, I think that this is an example of the best of the canon outside of film.

[Philip Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

More action packed sci-fi horror fun that neatly wraps up the story. A couple of frustrations though. The narrative isn't helped by confusing nightmares/flashbacks in the last section. The alien queen that takes out a bunch of random space pirates (?!) without incurring a scratch is next seen as a floating corpse - did I miss something?

Biggest gripe is the change in artists & style in the last rather rushed section. Our gritty heroines turn a bit Barbie looking. The corporate Big Bads, Weyland Yutani, seem way (wey?) inconsistent: compare and contrast the fates of our two survivors, Zula (rehabilitated and offered work) and Dr. Hollis. Still, all good fun and the intriguing hint of more adventures to come.

PS. Why was Davis 01 ,the sympathetic synthetic, shown hiding an alien talon in his locker? Was he secretly a wrong 'un after all, or just hedging his bets? Discuss.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had it high and low momments. I dislike that Zulu couldn't seem to think about anyone else, but I understand that pain can make impossible to think about anyone but yourself. So it was hard to be annoyed, but I felt a little conflicted with her.
And you know, Hollis did think about everything, as she had to about ever step she's had to take since she join them. The alien, her survival is proof of that. That a confusing sentence but I didn't want to give anything away. Anywho, she's smart, genius smart, you can figure that she did think of what will happen to all them, while Zulu couldn't. That makes it harder to read once you realize that.
It was a really good comic, a need part of the story because it gives Zulu the drive that she didn't really have in the first comic. Where it wasn't really her choice to be with Davis.

[Gavin Wask · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part of this set up a very interesting story with some great new characters, this one failed to live up to that first one. To be honest I feel a bit of a fraud writin ga comment on Goodreads, as this did not involve much reading.

The second part of this story seems very rushed and told through visuals - which I realise is part of whata graphic novel is all about but the characters of Davis and Hollis were pretty much dropped from being any important part of the story and what could have been a great clash with an ALien Queen was brief and handled as an afterthought. The ending was a set up to allow Zula to feature in future stories.

Sorry if this seems harsh but my enjoyment of this story plummeted along with the Europa.

[Annabel_Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing and story I loved enough to give five stars, despite the art hovering around 3.5. Zula is incredibly likable while being tough, but she's realistically vulnerable too; and holds her own easily when held next to the rest of the franchise's stellar heroines.

Fingers crossed that we get a third volume!
...
........and that the third volume involves Amanda Ripley.... And that the third volume involves getting her synthetic back online too.

PS: Zula said she's in love with Davis, and the HOPEFUL ENDING...? Honestly it was strangely the happiest ending pretty much anyone has ever gotten in the Alien-verse

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marine Zula and synthetic Davis fight to keep an alien out of the hands of a corporation.

3.5 stars This is not as good as volume one, unfortunately. This story felt like it had a lot of filler stuffed in and yet the ending was too rushed and sparse. I liked it mostly because I had buy-in with the characters from the novel "Alien: Prototype" by Tim Waggoner. The art ranged from really good in the first part with intricate details of spaceships to not so good in other parts with different artists.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely one of the better Aliens comics, mostly because it doesn’t just repeat the movies. The Davis character is really interesting and a logical continuation of themes explored through Bishop. More could have been done with Zula over the amount of story we got, but she’s a worthwhile hero. I also liked that it was one cohesive overarching story but still felt pretty episodic throughout. Art is pretty solid and helps a lot with the atmosphere.

[Paul Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this, I re-read part 1 again and really liked how the two stories linked. The first few issues of part 2 are tense, character driven and utilise the Alien mythology well.

The ending is not the greatest and it felt like the story lost its tension to some degree. Anyway still a good story and a great addition to the methos. Ridley Scott is wrong - the beast is not dead at all.

[Elliott Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calling this volume a conclusion would to the story that Wood set out to tell would be a bit of an overstatement. It's clear that the publisher wanted to leave things open for more books.

That said volume 2 is a satisfying culmination of the what Wood set up in the first volume. The characters remain compelling, and he does right by core themes of the setting.

[RND · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't feel it ended in a satisfactory way. A bit confusing, sometimes jinky; switching artists every so often didn't help, even though they were mostly fine. Still, some interesting avenues explored. Some new stuff to consider in Aliens canon, at least.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the first three quarters of this story I thought it was the best Aliens comic I've read since the very first black and white volume many many years ago.

But then it sort of stuffed the ending. Unfortunately.

It feels like there is a story here somewhere on how this tale ended.

[Trang Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the art!! Also it has that typical human stupid decision making pattern but what do you want.. its for science right lets bring back an alien 😂 Overall, it has a nice little twist at the end !

[Sean Goh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dream sequences interspersed make the story quite hard to follow. And the alien magically dies after killing all the pirates?? Sloppy storytelling.
Davis was a very compelling character though, and the ending leaves the possibility of a sequel open.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

First volume was much better. This one just sort of fizzled out (as a number of Wood's stories have done). Artwork is still strong and the story is good, but not the dazzler it was in the first volume.

[Neurocomp · Rating 4 out of 5]

sometimes the scene's jump in the middle...so gets a little confusing but
the story line itself is interesting 4stars.

can't wait for Aliens Resistance and still have to read dead-orbit and dust-to-dust

[ALJT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Wood accompanied by excellent Artists.
Great ride, better than usual in comics of this kind of franchise.
Brian Wood story gives an extra layer of interest and delivers all the stuff you expect for in aliens series. The Art is most of the times fantastic.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series. Davis is a very intriguing synthetic individual. A doomsday weapon is never something that you ever want to develop in case it gets turned on you.