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Aliens (comics)
Aliens - Berserker
Issues #1-4
100 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2013
83 people want to read
About the author
John Wagner
1,295 books190 followersJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 9, 2021
Your pretty standard Aliens affair. There were some neat concepts in this. It's about a bughunt team that goes in and destroys Alien infestations. They have a point man who wears protective gear over his face and allows himself to be brought back to the hive so the rest of the marines know exactly where to go. After the initial bug hunt, it drops back to the same tired Aliens affair where the company is trying to hide their mistakes and screw over their people.
September 16, 2024
Nice story and a good read in this Aliens mini series. I enjoy when the mini series connect in small ways making an overall story line., Recommended
August 28, 2023
Easily a 4.5 all around.
On the heels of way too many mad scientist stories Aliens finally returns to a more action packed series, this time with a bit of a twist from a standard Colonial Marines story. Now, some of those mad scientists stories are quite good, but let's be honest, it had been getting a bit repetitive with how many there have been and while Aliens - Music of the Spears was very different and moody, it wasn't action packed. In fact, it had a bit of the mad scientist vibe, but instead it was a mad musician... yeah, we'll go with that.
Berserker isn't really about the Colonial Marines, but it definitely gives of that feel in a lot of ways. What I'm going after is, remember the old comic series called Aliens: Colonial Marines? That series should have been like Berserker. In this story John Wagner brings us into the world of a corporate clean up crew. Ex-cons and, what I assume are underpaid ex-Colonial Marines are stuck in an endless cycle of cleaning up Alien infestations. It's not a large crew or anything, so they can handle smaller hives and we get to see them in their prime in the first issue cleaning up a problem on a mining planet. The reason they don't need as many people in this crew is their major weapon, the beserker unit!
The berserker unit sort of reminds me of the Clan Elementals from BattleTech, but Aliens being a major dystopia it's much more grim than that. The pilot is encased in the suit and basically lives there. When not on duty they are heavily sedated until needed. When they need to clean out an Alien infestation they get hit with various drugs that shock their system into overdrive. Who would sign up for such a job? Convicts. This is basically a return to the idea that violent criminals can receive this fate worse than death and they will eventually die from it anyway... so "justice" is served? Remember, Aliens is very much a cyberpunk world, especially when it comes to the corporate end of things and I love the way Wagner interfaced it into his story.
Aliens, crossing into Horror realms, also means this series won't always be a nice tale of total success. Part of the issue with having a small crew is they can only take care of a certain level of infestations. Such as a LV-426 sized hive, but after the mining job they are called into check on space station 949 which holds thousands of people... contact has been lost and you can surmise why by the title of this comic.
I think Berserker had excellent characters through and threw and most of the crew was fleshed out enough so you got a feel for them. Wagner didn't spend a ton of time, instead opting for corporate intrigue and action, which, honestly, I rather was fiending for after the last few rounds of Aliens comics and I didn't realize how much I needed an action plot until this hit.
So, if you're looking for an awesome action series, pick this one up. Mendoza does a decent job behind the pen, the only complaint I might level is that sometimes his Aliens look a little wonky. But everything else is spot on and I can get beyond that with such a well written story anyway. His action sequences are excellent and sometimes the way he chooses perspective in a panel adds a lot to the tension in the image. So, all around a job well done as far as I'm concerned. The cool part is our berserker crew shows up in a future series and if you want to find out what happens next, check out Aliens vs. Predator: War
On the heels of way too many mad scientist stories Aliens finally returns to a more action packed series, this time with a bit of a twist from a standard Colonial Marines story. Now, some of those mad scientists stories are quite good, but let's be honest, it had been getting a bit repetitive with how many there have been and while Aliens - Music of the Spears was very different and moody, it wasn't action packed. In fact, it had a bit of the mad scientist vibe, but instead it was a mad musician... yeah, we'll go with that.
Berserker isn't really about the Colonial Marines, but it definitely gives of that feel in a lot of ways. What I'm going after is, remember the old comic series called Aliens: Colonial Marines? That series should have been like Berserker. In this story John Wagner brings us into the world of a corporate clean up crew. Ex-cons and, what I assume are underpaid ex-Colonial Marines are stuck in an endless cycle of cleaning up Alien infestations. It's not a large crew or anything, so they can handle smaller hives and we get to see them in their prime in the first issue cleaning up a problem on a mining planet. The reason they don't need as many people in this crew is their major weapon, the beserker unit!
The berserker unit sort of reminds me of the Clan Elementals from BattleTech, but Aliens being a major dystopia it's much more grim than that. The pilot is encased in the suit and basically lives there. When not on duty they are heavily sedated until needed. When they need to clean out an Alien infestation they get hit with various drugs that shock their system into overdrive. Who would sign up for such a job? Convicts. This is basically a return to the idea that violent criminals can receive this fate worse than death and they will eventually die from it anyway... so "justice" is served? Remember, Aliens is very much a cyberpunk world, especially when it comes to the corporate end of things and I love the way Wagner interfaced it into his story.
Aliens, crossing into Horror realms, also means this series won't always be a nice tale of total success. Part of the issue with having a small crew is they can only take care of a certain level of infestations. Such as a LV-426 sized hive, but after the mining job they are called into check on space station 949 which holds thousands of people... contact has been lost and you can surmise why by the title of this comic.
I think Berserker had excellent characters through and threw and most of the crew was fleshed out enough so you got a feel for them. Wagner didn't spend a ton of time, instead opting for corporate intrigue and action, which, honestly, I rather was fiending for after the last few rounds of Aliens comics and I didn't realize how much I needed an action plot until this hit.
So, if you're looking for an awesome action series, pick this one up. Mendoza does a decent job behind the pen, the only complaint I might level is that sometimes his Aliens look a little wonky. But everything else is spot on and I can get beyond that with such a well written story anyway. His action sequences are excellent and sometimes the way he chooses perspective in a panel adds a lot to the tension in the image. So, all around a job well done as far as I'm concerned. The cool part is our berserker crew shows up in a future series and if you want to find out what happens next, check out Aliens vs. Predator: War
May 27, 2017
I was on a Alien franchise reading binge after participating in a podcast discussion about the recently released 'Alien Covenant' from Ridley Scott. Written in the mid-1990s, this four issue story arc introduces readers to the Nemesis crew headed towards a space outpost that has gone dark. A reconnoissance group shuttles over, re-establishes the communications link, kiss some xenomorphs and face huggers, then heads back to their ship. Knowing it is a suicide mission, the squad is directed to go back to the outpost to secure data files. It is revealed that Weyland-Yutani Corporation is trying to cover-up that they are the cause of the alien infestation and death of the outpost.
This series came out after 'Alien3' but two years before 'Alien Resurrection'. The tone of Wagner's story sits clearly with the first two films of the franchise in which a ill-equipped crew is a pawn for a powerful corporation. However, Wagner provides a couple of interesting story elements. The first is the inclusion of a Berserker model, Mobile Assault Exo-Warrior (MAX), which readers discover that inside the huge armored robotic is a person, whose body acts as the core conduit for the machine. MAX does not look human, but rather, is an ultimate killing machine. However the knowledge that there is someone inside the suit, who's vital signs indicate the person inside is dying, triggers tension and uneasiness amongst the crew. They discuss the possible reasons why someone might "volunteer" (subtext: forced) to undergo the invasive procedure of entering and wearing the suit. It's a fascinating discussion and in the climatic third act, readers learn one reason a person might don the suit.
One of the other elements that Wagner incorporated is the idea that if a human is docile towards the xenomorphs, instead of being killed outright, they will be carried back to their hive where they will become human incubators, i.e. facehugger fodder. It was kind of odd to see the aliens carry humans but it provides an explanation of how the humans were taken back to the nest.
In spite of the spaciousness and brightly lit environments of the Nemesis and the outpost, Wagner delivers a tense-filled story throughout the four issues. He balances character development - really just enough flavor to pull readers in - with lots of action and horror, successfully blending the elements of the first two films. For fans who adore those films, this is must read.
This series came out after 'Alien3' but two years before 'Alien Resurrection'. The tone of Wagner's story sits clearly with the first two films of the franchise in which a ill-equipped crew is a pawn for a powerful corporation. However, Wagner provides a couple of interesting story elements. The first is the inclusion of a Berserker model, Mobile Assault Exo-Warrior (MAX), which readers discover that inside the huge armored robotic is a person, whose body acts as the core conduit for the machine. MAX does not look human, but rather, is an ultimate killing machine. However the knowledge that there is someone inside the suit, who's vital signs indicate the person inside is dying, triggers tension and uneasiness amongst the crew. They discuss the possible reasons why someone might "volunteer" (subtext: forced) to undergo the invasive procedure of entering and wearing the suit. It's a fascinating discussion and in the climatic third act, readers learn one reason a person might don the suit.
One of the other elements that Wagner incorporated is the idea that if a human is docile towards the xenomorphs, instead of being killed outright, they will be carried back to their hive where they will become human incubators, i.e. facehugger fodder. It was kind of odd to see the aliens carry humans but it provides an explanation of how the humans were taken back to the nest.
In spite of the spaciousness and brightly lit environments of the Nemesis and the outpost, Wagner delivers a tense-filled story throughout the four issues. He balances character development - really just enough flavor to pull readers in - with lots of action and horror, successfully blending the elements of the first two films. For fans who adore those films, this is must read.
December 5, 2022
Was a weird, but decent look into the alien world.
October 28, 2023
(Zero spoiler review)
A floundering narrative filled with the most cardboard of cardboard cut-out characters. Bland and tedious, and about as memorable as sitting in a freshly painted round room and watching the wall dry. The art was reasonable, although any chance it had of leaving a positive impression disappeared with the ridiculous colour palette. Never has an alien story been so bold and bright, and so utterly unappealing because of it, though it is the horrendously uninteresting story that offends most here. Aliens omnibus volume 3 is off to a pretty terrible start. 2/5
OmniBen.
A floundering narrative filled with the most cardboard of cardboard cut-out characters. Bland and tedious, and about as memorable as sitting in a freshly painted round room and watching the wall dry. The art was reasonable, although any chance it had of leaving a positive impression disappeared with the ridiculous colour palette. Never has an alien story been so bold and bright, and so utterly unappealing because of it, though it is the horrendously uninteresting story that offends most here. Aliens omnibus volume 3 is off to a pretty terrible start. 2/5
OmniBen.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews