Script: Ian Edginton
Art: Will Simpson
Colors: Robbie Busch
After “Colonial Marines” I guess I was prepared for another mad-scientist plot concept. Albeit, I do have to point out that these plot themes are getting a little unoriginal. Don’t get me wrong, when they’re well written they’re great, and luckily “Rogue” is one of those better written forms.
“Rogue” does have a bit of the a-typical plot backdrops like we’ve come to find in most Aliens themes. Here we have a remote research facility funded by a corporation back on Earth to do research and development using the Alien organism. This facility is run by the brilliant Dr. Kleist and he has his own Marine detail to help him manage anything concerning an Alien threat, should something go wrong. Problem is, the good doctor has a pretty twisted agenda and he cares little for human life, only his Aliens. This is another common theme, and as you can expect things don’t go exactly as the doctor plans. The catalyst that starts this off is the arrival of high grade personnel from the company to check up on the doctor. Adding more people into the mix only makes this facility feel more off track, and as usual, new people ask questions… too many questions. You get the drift. While “Rogue” is quite exciting and pays homage to “Genocide” in some respects, we have mostly the same old tired story. I did enjoy this a bit more than others, because it had double agents and some different twists that I wasn’t expecting, so I can hardly call this totally predictable in that regard. Overall I did enjoy Ian’s writing for this issue.
The art is quite interesting as well. While certainly not the best comic art I’ve ever seen, Simpson’s work did the series justice. I think he managed to capture the feel and structure for Ian’s script. This was only enhanced by Robbie’s coloring using very dark tones and a tinge of lighter ones when necessary. It definitely made for a visually pleasing comic in that regard. The wrap cover for issue four is simply amazing though, I will say that much.
Overall I really enjoyed reading these comics. I don’t think you should go in expecting a totally new twist to the story of Aliens, but I think most people will find it enjoyable. I think it was good to include after “Colonial Marines”. Not to mention “Rogue” has enough marine quality to make it also fairly exciting, rather than just solely a brooding dark series.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5