Aliens and alien lore is a popular subject for comics, or graphic novels. There are various ways that aliens may appear. They could be written as the hero, villain, or menace. Due to its fanciful nature, there is much that can be written or imagined concerning extraterrestrials and alien life. Writers of alien comics are only limited by their own imaginations. There are many variations and designs of aliens that have been created by some very imaginative people.
The hero is the “good guy.” He will save a person, small group, or even the world from an enemy. I think most of us know who Superman is but how many think of him as being an alien? He is a hero, saving the world on a daily basis, but he is not from our world. He is from a planet called Krypton, and as an alien, has certain abilities that make him superhuman. First appearing in 1932, he is the very first alien presented in graphic novel form. Superman has been the focus of many series’ over the decades. He is certainly a unique design of alien; not like the “Grays” that we envision as the “real” aliens, not even as H.G. Wells envisioned in his Victorian-era novel War of the Worlds. Superman’s popularity as a fictional character has even extended to include new Kryptonian “relatives.” Perhaps our need for Superman to be alien, and our fear of aliens in general, prompted writers to give Superman a weakness; Kryptonite. As alien comics go, this is certainly one that has become an American icon. Other alien comic heroes soon followed. The Legion of Superheroes and Green Lantern Corp have members which hail from different planets.
But aliens are not just the good guys. Aliens have taken many different shapes and have worn many different masks of villainy. Most notably, the Aliens in the comic based upon the popular series of movies. These are quite nasty foes. With their acidic blood and unmerciful parasitic reproductive needs, this is certainly an interesting and formidable villain. But, alien comics don’t just restrict their villains to being thoughtless, mindless killing machines. From The Shi'ar Empire to The Skrulls, aliens depicted in comic books have become quite elaborate and imaginative, and rich in lore.
Orson Scott Card’s vision of an insect-like alien race called “Buggers” is a frightening prospect. A mixture of the fiends from the old giant bug movies mixed with intelligence and a locust-like drive to consume the resources of other worlds, the Buggers invaded Earth on two separate occasion, narrowly escaping annihilation the second time. Originally a novel, the tale of Ender Wiggin, the hero, is now making its debut in comic book form. If other authors take Card’s lead, we can see a whole new world open in alien comics.
Unique story lines, imaginative plots, brilliant imagery, endless variation possibilities and the author’s ability to create rich and believable characters and races of aliens make alien comics an exciting and thrilling prospect for the future of the graphic novel.