Send in the Space Marines!

There were some very pivotal encounters in my childhood that set the tone for much of the rest of my life.  Seeing the movie Aliens was definitely one of those encounters.  Finding out, a few years later, that there were also comic books based on the Alien Franchise, was just as profound but in a slightly different way.  At that point, I felt that I could not only enjoy the world those stories were set in, I could participate!

I started drawing the space (Colonial) Marines from the world of the Alien/Aliens movies.  Back then, in the late 80’s/early 90’s, references were hard to come by.  So, when I series like Aliens: Colonial Marines came out in 1993, I was ecstatic.  The first three issues, drawn by Tony Akins, inked by Paul Guinan, and colored by Matt Hollingsworth, were just… phenomenal!  The first three issues were chock-full of new spacesuit designs, space guns, star ships, and dynamic action scenes.

Having gotten a new lease on my drawing-life recently, I’ve been inspired to start drawing some of those designs myself.  Here’s a pencil sketch of the security from the Sungun station:

I’ll clean it up in the near future.  In the meantime, here’s a taste of one of the wonderful treats that series offered up: