With a Foreword by Chris Foss

Titan, out August 11

A stunning collection of art inspired by Ridley Scott’s 1979 SF horror tale.

Many people seem to remember exactly how old they were – and often the circumstances – when they first saw Ridley Scott’s Alien, whether that was in the original theatrical release in 1979, on a reissue a couple of years later (which is when I did), on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and from reading the accompanying pieces in this beautifully presented collection, it seems a lot of artists got to see it at an age that wasn’t appropriate to its R / X / 18 rating. Whether you’d say that the sight of HR Giger’s Xenomorph preying on the crew of the Nostromo was a good or a bad influence is another matter.

The forty artists represented here were asked to contribute something that connected to the film, and it’s fascinating to see how that’s been interpreted. We get symbolic images of Ripley and the Alien (and quite a few of those including Jonesy); there are at least two interpretations of a number of scenes (Harry Dean Stanton’s character’s demise notably), and Giger’s creation is presented in a variety of manners, from the clinical to the ethereal. There’s a Jetson-esque version, and an anime one (although unfortunately, that simply looks as if James Cameron went through the same thought process as this artist when he put Ripley in the power loader in Aliens!). There’s a comic strip and cave paintings; there’s one that links the story powerfully back to a different sort of mythology. Nearly every one comes with additional smaller items, detailing the creation process or alternate lines not taken.

The icing on the cake comes at start and finish, with Chris Foss’ introduction discussing his work on not just this film but also Guardians of the Galaxy, and at the end are some of the concept paintings both for the movie and for the posters.

Verdict: Beautiful and terrifying – words that apply to the Xenomorph, Scott’s movie, and now this collection. Essential for any Alien fan. 10/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to view a gallery of images from the book

Click here to order from Amazon.co.uk