BRIEFLY

MARVEL'S ALIEN: Marvel Comics has announced Sept. 7 launch for a new Alien series, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, with art by Julius Ohta and a cover by Bjorn Barends.

Here's how Marvel describes the book:

"A small colony of synths have settled in secret on a backwater moon. When a company of United System soldiers come to them for help retrieving biotechnology on a hostile planet that could be the key to saving humanity, the synths must decide whether the prospect of peace between man and machine is worth the risk of betrayal."

"Writing season one of Marvel's Alien was a horror fanboys dream come true," Johnson said. "We got to tell exactly the story we wanted to tell, bringing horrific new species of Xenomorph to life while also exploring the themes of family and corporate distrust that are such a crucial part of the films. And as much as I loved our season one, we're outdoing it in every way in the new series.

"Julius Ohta is exceeding all expectations as series artist. Every background, every facial expression and emotion, and of course, all the environmental creepiness and full-on body horror is lovingly rendered by Julius, who is at the absolute top of his game right now. I can't say enough great things about him. Fans are going to be truly spoiled. Stay tuned for one of the best, most beautiful Alien comics ever made."

"When I got invite to draw the new Alien series, I had a professional and standard reaction -- I was glad to be invited and I was determined to make it the best work of my life. But then, a few minutes later, it came all at once -- I understood that I was going to draw Alien...THE ALIEN," Ohta said.

"I freaked out -- in a very good way -- and then I knew the tremendous responsibility that is to be in this franchise. Even though there's a huge responsibility to bring the series to life, I couldn't expect a better welcome from the creative team. It's been fantastic to work with Phillip, Sarah [Brunstad] and everyone involved. Phillip is a genius and also a gentleman and is always looking for something to make the story better. When I started reading the script, I couldn't stop until I reached the last page. I could talk about it forever. Sarah is such a kind editor and it's been a dream to work with these guys!"

MARVEL FIRST LOOKS: For cover and five-page preview of The Amazing Spider-Man #2, available in stores on Wednesday, May 25 from Marvel Comics, CLICK HERE.

DC FIRST LOOKS: For covers and four-page preview of Detective Comics #1060, available in stores on Tuesday, May 24 from DC Comics, CLICK HERE.

VALIANT FIRST LOOKS: For covers and six-page preview of The Harbinger #8, available in stores on Wednesday, May 25 from Valiant Entertainment, CLICK HERE.