Alien vs Predator: Fire and Stone #3

By Christopher Sebela & Ariel Olivetti

Being the penultimate issue of Alien vs Predator: Fire and Stone, the battle between the two vicious alien species reaches its apex. Elden and a Predator are now infected with the genetic accelerant. The altered synthetic battles the Xenomorphs as the remaining human survivor, Francis Lane, struggles for survival at any cost…

To be perfectly honest, it feels as if there was no real plot progression in this issue. The book ends with how it opens: all-out conflict among all the species aboard the now derelict ship. The cat and mouse game between Elden and Francis, which is the frame for this entire storyline, is becoming very tedious at this point. Also, Christopher Sebela tries to throw red herrings into the mix this late in the game that just confuse the reader and continue to hinder the development of the story.

One would think that since their little in terms of plot, there is a lot of action, but sadly Ariel Olivetti can’t seem to capture the intensity and powerful imagery that can be invoked from the two most dangerous species (even with two genetically altered beings in the mix). He does depict the struggles in the combat sequences well, but there’s something missing that delivers that “wow” factor. Olivetti has a very clean, crisp visual style that perhaps doesn’t lend itself well to the material.

Sadly, this latest installment in the mini-series fails to invoke the drama and horror one would expect from aliens and predators locked in their primal clash. Considering this is the next-to-last issue, most readers are already pot-committed. Let’s hope this creative team can end on a high note with the finale.