Tag: Aliens

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Essays

Call of the Jungle: Severin Films’ Antonio Margheriti Adventure Film Boxset

Just like the title of the Fat Boy Slim album says: “You’ve come along way, baby!”

Back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, a younger Nicholas Diak was enrolled in the liberal arts program at the Tacoma campus of the University of Washington. I was neck deep in my master’s thesis which was about Italian genre filmmaker Antonio Margheriti and his masterpiece, Castle of Blood (1964).

Aside from demonstrating the virtues of Castle of Blood and why it was an important movie in Italian film canon (it was transgressive, showed nudity, depicted lesbianism in a chaste, Italian society, etc.), I had also made a call for the reconsideration of Margheriti as an Italian director of note. I felt at the time (and still do) that he was extremely overshadowed by the likes of Bava, Argento, Fulci, and Leone, and his contributions to the various genres he operated in were not as acknowledged or appreciated as they should have been.

This was extremely apparent at the time in that Margheriti films were next to impossible to procure. While the four directors I mentioned above all had accessible filmographies, made even more available with the rise of DVDs and the emergence of boutique film labels, Margheriti films remained hard to find and obtain, much like the treasures featured in his Indiana Jones knock offs of the 80s. In order to find Margerhiti’s films, I often had to go to Scarecrow Video in Seattle, check the (albeit small) Margheriti section, note the titles and formats, and hope for the best on eBay or websites like the now defunct xploitedCinema. In time I accrued a handsome amount of other region DVDs and VHS tapes of Margheriti’s films. Many hours were spent at the UWT A/V lab transferring those VHS tapes to a DVDr. In the end, these all become my treasures.

It is now 15 to 20 years later. My writing career has been all over the map, but I have never stopped writing about and championing Margheriti. The list at the end of this write up is a consolidated list of my writings and podcast/vidcast appearances talking about the director and his films (if you’re interested). Concurrently, Margheriti’s films did find themselves being released in accessible, restored editions that they deserve.

Castle of Blood has a red spiral with Barbara Steele and other zombies behind her. Alien from the Abyss shows a robot-alien with lots of tubes running from its helmet. It has a huge crab claw that it is using to break a glass window.
Personal copies of the Severin release of Castle of Blood and Alien from the Abyss.

Severin Films, the masters of releasing European genre and sexploitation cinema stateside, has been kind to Margheriti. Prior they had released Castle of Blood (in a couple different editions) and Alien from the Abyss (1989), an underrated knock off of Alien(s) and Predator (1987), and technically, kinda/sorta Blood for Dracula (1974).

Boxset with three black-cased Blu-ray/4Ks.
The Antonio Margheriti & The Jungles of Doom boxset.

The 80s were a prolific decade for Margheriti, where his filmography looked split between two different genres: the post-Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) adventure film, and the post-Vietnam men-on-a-mission film (both overlapping with jungle settings). Severin’s newest Margheriti masterpiece release, Antonio Margheriti & the Jungles of Doom: His 80s Adventure Films, is an excellent representation of the former. It is a stately boxset with new editions of Ark of the Sun God (1984), Jungle Raiders (1985), and Hunters of the Golden Cobra (1982), though each film is available individually. For fun, I’d like to show off a side by side of these new Severin releases next to what I had to work with back in the day.

The 4K/Blu-ray depicts a man in a blue shirt, white cap, and holding a revolver, behind chased by indigenous folk. There are trees and a waterfall behind him. In the sky is a white suited/white hat Lee Van Cleef and a woman in a safari hat. There is an orante cobra statue between them.
Personal copies of Jungle Raiders on 4K and VHS.

Looking at DVDCompare.net, it appears that Jungle Raiders‘ only physical release after the 80s was a German DVD in 2000, the early days of the format. The long abandoned Antonio Margheriti website lists no DVDs of this film. This makes the Severin release the first truly accessible incarnation of the film, unless one happened to hold on to their VHS copy distributed by the Cannon Group (like me!). To be fair, Jungle Raiders does make a great addition to the Cannon library, along side other Indiana Jones-ish fare like Firewalker (1986), King Solomon’s Mines (1985), and its sequel, Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986).

The Severin edition contains a UHD and Blu-ray format of the film, a trailer, and an interview with Edoardo Margheriti, the son of Margheriti who assisted his father in many of his films. The VHS edition does not support any special features, obviously, but I have to give it a point for having fantastic artwork. The Severin Films cover art is nice, and evokes a 1950s style, think Secret of the Incas (1954), but the Cannon VHS screams 80s ‘splosions.

Artwork on both release shows David warbeck, showing off his chest, as he reaches for a Cobra. The Blu-ray has the cobra surrounded by lightning bolts while the VHS has it surrounded by flames.
Personal copies of The Hunters of the Golden Cobra on 4K/Blu-ray and VHS.

Hunters of the Golden Cobra is one of the many, many films Margheriti made with cult film star David Warbeck (read his biography put out by FAB Press many years ago, he talks fondly working with the Italian director). Like Jungle Raiders, it appears Hunters of the Golden Cobra only got one release (well, a DVD and a Blu-ray), put out X-Cess Entertainment in Germany (also lacking an entry at the Margheriti website). There’s no date for this release at DVDCompare.net, but one of the special features is a video with Dr. Marcus Stiglegger, who had contributed to Severin’s own release of Horrors of Spider Island (1960), so that makes this German release fairly recent. That means in the 40-ish years since its release in theaters/VHS, Hunters of the Golden Cobra has not been available at all.

The Severin Films release holds even more treasures than the Jungle Raiders release: two interviews, a Q&A with star Warbeck, a video essay, and trailers. The Vestron Video VHS is a neat artifact of the era, but its cover art does not quite capture the energy in the Indiana Jones-like films. The Severin release definitely takes the VHS artwork and improves upon it.

Two rows of movies. Top one is 2 Blu-rays bottom is three DVDs. All are of Ark of the Sun God, but with different art.
Personal copies of Ark of the Sun God on DVD and Blu-ray.

And finally, there is Ark of the Sun God. As you can probably surmise from the picture above, there are a) a lot of editions of Ark of the Sun God and b) I REALLY like Ark of the Sun God. It is, unironically, one of my top five favourite films of all time. Right up there with von Trier’s Europa (1991) and Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Red (1994). Ark of the Sun God is at that level!

The first academic presentation I ever gave, at the 2009 Popular/American Culture Association Conference, was on Ark of the Sun God. If you look closely at the bottom center DVD, you’ll see, in silver marker, an autograph by Edoardo Margheriti to Michele and I. Back in the late 2000s I posted this film (and a few others) to Edoardo for him to autograph, and it has been one of the jewels in my collection. Thus, for the reasons above (and more) I have a strong affinity to this film.

The bottom row of three DVDs are, well, pretty bad in regards to image quality. They are definitely rips from VHS tapes. The AIP Studios release (bottom left) looks borderline like a Ghanaian film poster, with the cartoonish flames on the tanker and Susie Sudlow looking rather ghoulish.

The Tales of Voodoo Vol 4 DVD (bottom right) has two movies on it: Temple of Hell (which is Ark of the Sun God) and Cannibal Curse (1988). Cannibal Curse is ripped from a subtitled VHS tape, and if the subtitle is too long, it cuts off due to the cropping of the frame. The cover of this DVD looks akin to a cover a horror comic from EC Comics back in its day, though not too fitting for Ark of th – I mean – Temple of Hell, which has no voodoo or even really any gore (the character of Mohammed gets shot and bleeds, but he recovers).

The center middle DVD from Pulp Video, the one that is autographed, is my favourite DVD of the trio and the one that I have watched the most. The art on this one is great and really captures the last scene of the film when Warbeck and company find the Scepter of Gilgamesh (there is no Ark in this film) and battle with Turkish Star Wars and his minions.

Shockingly, I have no VHS copies of Ark of the Sun God, and that is because I was able to find the film on DVD(s). What I do have is the 88 Films release of Ark of the Sun God that came out in 2023. This is an import release (88 Films is in the UK), but it is stacked with extras: poster, booklet, a commentary, two interviews, and more. At the time, this looked to be the best treatment Ark of the Sun God would ever receive.

Of course, Severin Film stepped up to the plate to deliver their own release of Ark of the Sun God in early 2026. The Severin Films does not contain the same supplemental material as the 88 Films edition, instead bringing an interview with Edoardo, and interview with the film’s writer Giovanni Paolucci, and Margheriti reminiscing about David Warbeck. The cover art is a much, much better version of the AIP DVD release.

What Severin Film brings that is truly unique is a CD soundtrack that has songs from both Hunters of the Golden Cobra and Ark of the Sun God. For decades the Ark of the Sun God theme song done by Josette Martial has been unavailable, which is unfortunate because the track is an Italio-Disco banger. In 2025 the album got a digital-only release on Amazon via Cam Sugar, but here it is, in physical format for the first time, in Severin’s release. A Holy Grail, er, Holy Scepter of Gilgamesh, album release for sure.

And with that, my little retrospective of comparing old VHS tapes and DVDs of Margheriti’s Indiana Jones movies to their new Severin counterpart concludes. I hope that this boxset is extremely successful because there is a plethora of other adventure/action/jungle movies Margheriti directed in the 80s that would greatly benefit from a re-release. A double Blu-ray of the Indio movies perhaps? A triple boxset of his men-on-a-mission films with Lewis Collins maybe? These are all great, fun, films that capture that 80s action/mercenary film spirit that was prevalent at the time.

If you’ve enjoyed this fun retrospective and want to check out some of my writings on Margheriti, see the links below.

My best piece on Margheriti is no doubt my essay “Welcome to the Jungle: Fun and Games in Antonio Margheriti’s 1980s Mercenary Films” that was published at We Are the Mutants. One of the best things I’ve ever written:

“Welcome to the Jungle: Fun and…”

There is, of course, my master’s thesis that started it all for me. However, it is really old and I’ve become a much better writer since then:

UWT Library – Masters Thesis

And lots more:

I’ve also looked at other Severin Films releases at my website here:

Categories
Comics

The Chaos Continues: Vanya 09

The Story So Far

Vanya is a warrior in training, sent to the prehistoric past for a year to test her survival skills against a harsh primeval environment and dinosaurs. Her journey becomes upended as she is drawn both into an intergalactic war with the purple skinned Torridians and the prophecies of the Bone Tribe who seek to hatch Torridian Dragon eggs. Vanya finds momentary respite when she and her lover, Serah, make it to a Federation installation. There Serah is cared for after having been implanted with a cranial device by the Bone Tribe Witch that gives her visions. As the Torridians commence an all-out assault against the base with their legion of cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs, the Federation responds in kind with their army of mechs. As the battle rages, Vanya is sent out into the jungle once again on a mission to retrieve a set of Torridian Dragon Eggs.

Cover is a scene at night. Vanya stands over a campfire, spear in hand. On a tree root next to her is a saber tooth tiger with a scar across its right eye. Beams of moonlight filter through the jungle foliage.
Vanya #09 cover by Zoran Jovicic.

Issue 09 Plot

The large scale battle between the Federation in their mechs and the Torridians with their cybernetic dinosaurs rages on. Taking advantage of an opening, Torridian general Tora pilots her robo-T-Rex, leaps off her mount, and lands on Relo Quarr’s mech, slashing it open. Holding her double ended sword at Relo’s throat, she orders the Federation to surrender. At that moment, in a deus ex machina, a battalion of Astral Guard arrive, mowing down the Torridians and their dinosaurs with their chain guns, laser webs, light blades, and other futuristic weaponry. Seeing the battle lost, Tora impales herself on an Astral Guard’s blade.

Panel shows a T-rex with metal arms that have blades instead of claws, roaring. General Tora, who has purple skin and is wearing green arm, has a double ended blade in her hand. She leaps from her T-rex mount saying "H'yahh!" toward a bipedal mech that looks like an AT-ST from Star Wars.
General Tora leaps from her cyber T-rex onto Relo Quarr’s mech unit.

Meanwhile, Vanya, having survived the rocket attack from a cyber-pterodactyl, encounters a scarred sabretooth tiger, who beckons Vanya to follow. Vanya does so, and their trek takes them across a chasm bridged by a rotten log. The log breaks, plummeting the two in to the treacherous river below, however they make it safe to shore and set up a camp.

At the caves of the Bone Tribe, the Witch grows frustrated that her pheromones are not imprinting on the Torridian Dragon egg. She tries to force the captured Astral Guard soldier Elah into the massive ritual orgy, but Niya offers to take her place instead.

Far at the edge of the Galaxy, a fleet of Torridian ships receive a transmission from the now defeated General Tora.

Commentary

The titanic battle that started in issue eight sees its conclusion in Vanya #9, though with a change in perspective. Issue eight went for big and epic, with many of the panels zoomed out to show the battlefield between the Federation and the Torridians and how large its scale was. Issue nine takes a personal, focused approach, narrowing it down to General Tora and Relo. The arrival of the Astral Guard, though a deux ex machina, was unexpected and a pleasant surprise. The last appearance of the Astral Guard was back in issue seven and it was not a positive portrayal. In that issue, Elah and her squadron of Guard arrive through a portal and are easily tricked and dispatched by the Bone Tribe Witch. The elite guard, the best of the best, did not live up to mythological-esque hype prior issues hinted at. This issue rectifies this portrayal (perhaps the issue seven portrayal is more of Elah was simply an ineffective leader and hence why her men are killed and she and others are captured so easily). The Astral Guard show up, do not falter in any way, and steam roll over the Torridians.

The panel shows two spider web like webs (all straight, no curves), drive through three pterodactyls. The pterodactyls are slices into little tiny pieces.
The razor sharp webs of the Astral Guard make short work of the cyber pterodactyls.
Close up of a xenomorph from the Alien series, who has a criss cross green pattern on his head and shoulders, caused by being caught in a web launched by a Predator.
The Grid Alien from the 2004 Alien vs. Predator movie.

There are a few panels in the Astral Guard battle that might be homages or pop culture references. The Astral Guard shoot a web that passes through a flock of cyber-pterodactyls, slicing them into tiny pieces. This is akin to the Predator’s net weapon in the Predator movies (best exemplified with the Grid Alien in Alien vs. Predator [2004] that survives such a net attack).

A woman in a grey soldier's armor. She has blonde hair and 2 braids. She his holding a giant chain gun in her hands. Her speech bubble says "Time we made the Torridians extinct, boys".
An Astral Guard Warrioress wields a giant chain gun.
A warrior woman wearing a skull with two tusks sticking up from it, face paint, shoulder pads with a skull on them, and holding a chain gun in her hand. Basically a Lady barbarian with a big gun.
Barbarianna from the movie Kung Fury.

Another panel shows a blonde, braided lady Astral Guard, who evokes images of a Valkyrie, holding a chain gun in her hand. This is reminiscent of the synthwave movie Kung Fury (2015) that features a lady Barbarian (named Barbarianna) from the past who also wields a chain gun. These references may be coincidental, but they are bad ass and rehabilitate the image of the Astral Guard as the elite force that Vanya has been training to be a part of.

As the General Tora plot line comes to a close, another one gains momentum and that is the mystery of the sabretooth tigers. In this issue, Vanya encounters a sabretooth cat with a scar with two slashes across its right eye. Vanya follows the cat, which leads to a near brush with death for both of them as they fall into a chasm (though there is some whimsy present in the panel of Vanya and the sabretooth tiger riding the log together as if it were an amusement park ride).

Vanya, wearing a torn white shirt and pants, holds on to a log. Behind her a giant sabertooth cat also holds on. The river they are in goes "Slam! Slam!"
Vanya and a Sabretooth tiger ride a log in the river rapids.

Is the cat friend or foe? Way back in issue two there was a sabretooth cat that was stalking Vanya and company. However, this cat lacked the scars over its eye, so it cannot be the same sabretooth. Its fate is currently unknown: is it alive or perhaps it was one of the sabretooths that perished during the attack on the Bone Tribe back in issue five.

Close up of a sabertooth tiger's face as it peers through tall grass. It has 2 scars that cross its white eye.
Sabretooth tiger in issue 9 that leads Vanya.
The Bone Tribe Witch is topless and wears a primitive skirt. She has a rope necklace dangling from her neck. She has black makeup around her eyes that run a little bit. There are three sabertooth cats around her, one with two scars over its eye. Behind them is a dark forest and a red sky.
The Bone Tribe Witch and three sabertooth tigers at her command in issue seven.

Issue seven shows the Bone Tribe Witch with a pack of three sabretooth tigers who follow her commands. One of the tigers does have two scars over its right eye. Has the Bone Tribe Witch sent this particular feline out to fetch Vanya and lead her back to the Bone Tribe’s caverns? In issue seven the Bone Tribe Witch references the Prophecy of the Dragon Rider. Perhaps the Witch needs Vanya in order to fulfill this role? With the tribe’s ritual orgies causing the Torridian Dragon eggs to hatch, there will definitely be some dragons to be rode.

Covers and Swag Impressions

Issue nine of Vanya was crowdfunded via Kickstarter in September of 2025 with physical rewards being shipped in late January of 2026. With this issue of Vanya came the news that the series was not going to end on issue twelve but instead would be turned into an ongoing series, the first for publisher Bad Bug.

This issue of Vanya was particularly awash with amazing alternative covers. John Royle’s cover gave Vanya a J. Scott Campbell vibe. Renato Camilo (who did the best covers for Vanya issues two, four, and five) brings their A-game again with a spooky night hunt scene between Vanya and a T-rex. Marissa Pope’s cover is particularly vibrant and luminescent.

Vanya is in the nude save for some cauldrons and bracers and straps. She has her dreadlock hair in a beehive with dinosaur spikes sticking out from her. She is poised atop a tree root. Behind her a volcano erupts and a flock of pterodactyls fly by.
Vanya #9 with nude, alternate cover done by Hedwin Zaldivar.

The best cover for issue nine goes to Hedwin Zaldivar who captures both the cheesecake style with the battle-hardened cave woman girl style. Zaldivar’s Vanya sports a giant beehive-dreadlock with dinosaur spikes sticking out from it, a cross between midcentury pinup girl and jungle girl. The cover is also action packed, with an exploding volcano and a squadron of pterodactyls flying about. A great, energetic cover all around.

Issue nine also came with an abundance of extra swag, more so than other issues in the series.

Cheesecake style of Vanya, done in a cute/adorable style with bigger eyes and wing/cat eye liner. She stands, holding a long spear in her left hand. She is wearing a jungle girl bikini top and bottom with boots that have a fluffy top.
Vanya #9 art print by Sam Payne.

Firstly, there is the art print done by Sam Payne who has a distinctive “good girl” style, which is evident in the wing-tipped eyes of the women he draws. This is an adorable iteration of Vanya.

Three stickers. One is Vanya on a knee, bracing herself against a spear. The other is a cheese cake Vanya, standing up holding a long spear.
Stickers for Vanya #9.

Next comes not one, not two, but three (!!) stickers! One of the Vanya series logo, the other is of Yum!’s Vanya cover, and the final one is of the aforementioned Sam Payne art piece.

Two tarot cards. The one on the left is "Justice" and shows Vanya hunched over a puddle, bracing herself against a spear while a T-rex looms behind her. The next one is "The Hermit" and shows Vanya crouched on a tree branch holding a vine, spear in hand, ready to leap off.
Two Tarot Cards for Vanya #9.

Stickers are not the only thing in quantity as this issue came with two tarot cards. One is of “Justice” and uses the Yum! cover art, and the other is of “The Hermit” and uses Tony Tzanoukakis cover art.

A print of a lady cosplaying as Vanya. She is wearing a black bikini top and bottom and is laying in a pool of water that has Lilly pads. She has necklaces and a wait chain that has dinosaur teeth on them.
Vanya #9 Sooyoung Cosplay Print.

And finally, as with issue seven, Vanya #9 comes with a cosplay art print. The model in this print is Sooyoung, and shows a Vanya relaxing in a pool of water, something the character is fond of doing (see issue one and the Bruno Sousa and Tommy Shelton alternate cover of issue three). Overall, this issue of Vanya is mighty stacked with loot and those who contributed to the Kickstarter are well rewarded with some great swag.

Conclusion

Issue nine of Vanya was a nice package of both wrapping up story threads and introducing new ones. General Tora is no longer a menace, but it appears that victory may be short lived as interstellar Torridians mobilize. Vanya is back in her element being a neo-jungle girl who technically has an animal companion now. Will that sabretooth tiger align itself with Vanya or is it truly under the control of the Bone Tribe Witch? The Astral Guard received a much needed image makeover after their less than impressive entrance a few issues back. With this issue it feels like the Vanya series is moving into a new phase, one that is more mature, mature in the sense that the story has become wise to itself and knows where it is going and each character has solidified themselves into a specific role with specific stakes/goals: from Serah coping with her new kinda-psychic dinosaur ability (from the prior issue), to the Bone Tribe Witch working her magic and showing frustration at the ritual, to even Relo Quarr, who has only been present in the most recent issues, showcasing himself as a formidable leader. Vanya has elevated itself from a fun, chaotic at times, hypersexual comic to a story driven one that is taking itself seriously.

For more information on Vanya and the comic’s creative team, check out the links below:

Also, consider checking out the reviews I’ve done of other titles published by Bad Bug:

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-05-01

Personal / Website News

Interview with V. Castro

Last week was LV-426, aka Aliens Day! I love to celebrate Aliens Day by writing articles that help spotlight the Aliens mythology in different and interesting fashions.

Later this year a new novel, Aliens: Vasquez will be published. I had the honour to interview author V. Castro about her book. It can be read here.

New Episode of HP Lovecast

Michele and I have a brand new episode of our Transmissions programming on HP Lovecast Podcast.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

In this episode we interview David Rose about his novella, Lovecraft’s Iraq, and Jonathan Maberry about his upcoming Dark Fantasy book, Kagen. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

This Is Horror 2021 Nominations Open

The publication nominations for works for consideration for the 2021 This Is Horror awards are open.

HP Lovecast Podcast qualifies for the non-fiction award category. If you feel our podcast is meritable, consider nominating it. The rules and nomination process can be found at this post at the This is Horror website. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

StokerCon 2022 Souvenir Cover Reveal

The cover art for the souvenir book for StokerCon 2022 has been revealed!

The book is edited by Cynthia Pelayo and the cover art done by Kealan Patrick Burke. Michele and I have two articles in this book: one is a quick essay about the five year anniversary of AnnRadCon and the other is an interview with one of the guests of honour, john Lawson.

Writing in the Dark Spring 2022 Appearance

Michele and I appeared as guests at the All Access Con’s Writing in the Dark Spring 2022 event. For an hour starting 2:00 pm PST on Saturday the 30th we talked about AnnRadCon and being academic writers.

The conference can be found here. If you register for All Access Con you’ll get access to archival presentations. Check it out!

Highlander Call for Papers

Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.

If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of. 

Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP

Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.

Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.

General Neo-Peplum News

100 Bible Films vs. The New Peplum

Matt Page’s (interviewed by me here) 100 Bible Films and my The New Peplum are neck and neck on one of Amazon’s sales ranking book categories:

Help Matt not only blow past my book, but to have a super successful debut book launch by pre-ordering his book! You can order at copy at Amazon and Bloomsbury.

Categories
Interview

Combat Zone Drop: V. Castro on Aliens: Vasquez

The Aliens universe is constantly expanding as new comics, video games, movies, and books are created. With each text, the IP’s lore is built upon and fined tuned, creating an epic canon that speaks to fans of a variety of interests and backgrounds. Cult favourite Aliens marine, Jenette Vasquez, is set to receive her own, fleshed out, backstory in the upcoming novel Aliens: Vasquez written by V. Castro. Castro, known for her works Goddess of Filth (2021), The Queen of the Cicadas (2021), and Mestiza Blood (2022), talks about her forthcoming novel with this interview. 

Entertainment Weekly recently did a cover reveal and a synopsis of Aliens: Vasquez. What are some more juicy, but spoiler-free, details that you can reveal about the novel?

As many people know from my books I always include a little romantic heat. This will not skip that! Santa Muerte and Dia de Los Muertos make appearances. You find out how Vasquez meets Drake. I can’t say more!

Book cover image provided courtesy of V. Castro.

What are your earliest and fondest memories of the Aliens/Predator universe? What has been the impact of these films on you?

I was so very young! Times are different now. When I was a child, I loved Aliens because there was another child in it AND a Latina character. Back then there were so few Latinas represented in big films. Even though the character was not played by a Latina in the film, it still felt huge. I am so honored to write this story and I hope everyone enjoys it.

When writing Vasquez, did you stick mostly to the Aliens film as your source material? Or were you able to leverage the various comics, games, and other texts out there?

I had to use everything that mentioned Vasquez to make sure there were no inconsistencies, however, I watched the film a few times to get into the frame of mind.

What were some of the challenges you encountered while writing for an IP? What were some of the pleasant surprises?

The challenge is it has to stay in line with existing canon and everything goes through a lot of checks. In general, it was just fun to write because I have been a fan since I was a kid!

What are your proudest elements that you go to add to Vasquez to develop her even further?

Probably giving her snapshots of her past a Latina might have experienced and taking her beyond the stereotype. I include the use of cascarones which are hollowed out eggs filled with confetti. They are then cracked on each other’s heads. I use this very Latinx experience to foreshadow her future.

The Alien and Predator films are full of iconic quotes. What is your favourite quote in Aliens: Vasquez?

“El riesgo siempre vive.” I use this quote in her backstory and plays a role in her legacy. 

Author headshot provided courtesy of V. Castro.

What is the biggest thing you want readers and fans of the franchise to take away from your book?

That there are so many exciting places we can take established characters and stories when we include writers from different backgrounds to leave their unique stamp. I loved using my own experiences in Texas when writing this book.

What are your upcoming projects you like folks to stay tuned for?

I would love for people to preorder and continue to make noise for this book so I can continue to write for the franchise!

Aliens: Vasquez will be released October 25th from Titan Books. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon, or query your favourite indie book store. 

Sincere thanks to V. Castro for doing this interview. She can be found at:

If you’ve enjoyed this Aliens/LV426 Day interview, please feel free to check out my other Aliens articles: