Aliens Omnibus Volume 1

Years after Aliens, Wilks, a Marine haunted by his past, breaks Billie, the young survivor, out of a psychiatric hospital where nightmares torment her. A military mission to the creatures' homeworld goes wrong, and the xenomorphs reach Earth, spread by a cult that worships them. In Nightmare Asylum, the two take refuge with a general who tries to turn the creatures into an army, a plan that ends in disaster. In Female War, Ripley returns and joins them on a desperate trip to the aliens' world, after a queen mother who may be the key to retaking the planet. The volume ends with that final showdown and an Earth scarred by the infestation.

1. Behind the scenesWhere it all began

   Dark Horse's Aliens line began in 1988 with the series collected here as Outbreak, written by Mark Verheiden and drawn by Mark A. Nelson.

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2. ReferenceNewt and Hicks, renamed

   The first series followed Newt and Corporal Hicks. Since Alien³ (1992) killed them both off, later reprints renamed them Billie and Wilks and recolored the pages.

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3. Behind the scenesThree artists, three looks

   Each miniseries has its own look: Mark Nelson on Outbreak, Den Beauvais's paintings on Nightmare Asylum and Sam Kieth on Female War.

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4. Behind the scenesEnd of the Dark Horse era

   In 2020 the Aliens comic rights were sold to Marvel, ending more than 30 years of Dark Horse comics.

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