Prometheus: Fire and Stone #1

By Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra

The first follow-up to Ridley Scott’s masterful return to science fiction finally hit shelves today! Part of the major crossover event “Fire and Stone”, this story takes place 127 years after the events in Prometheus. A group was hired to salvage anything they could from the wreckage on LV-223. When they arrive, the recon team discovers a jungle and they are not alone…

The introduction in the book nails the color palette used in the source film of ambers and cool blues. Also, a female filmmaker is introduced as the heroine of this storyline, which aligns with a key trope of the Alien franchise. The interactions among the crew tend to be more on the jokey side, which is fine, but the wisecracks are not funny. Paul Tobin is trying to make the characters relatable and three-dimensional, but it honestly just bogs down the comic. Now, the video confessionals are an awesome concept that is accomplished beautifully with Juan Ferreyra’s craft. He adds video noise to the panel and even includes the logo of a well-known corporation in the image! There are a couple other easter eggs that will please fans.

Ferreyra simply does beautiful work. The detail he puts into the ship and the jungle is stunning. The trees trunks have a double-helix structure, which ties in with the thematic elements of Prometheus. The biggest issue I came across was the space suit design; it looks exactly like the ones the crew of the Prometheus wore. This narrative takes place years later, and the reader is to believe the suits have not changed? The suits in Alien and Aliens are very different from those, which should have been taken into account.

Even with some issues, the story is intriguing. Also, knowing that it is only one part of a huge storyline helps its case. The tone of the Alien franchise is evident, but I hope the creative team doesn’t lose sight that Prometheus is vastly different from those films.