Alien Fire <i>Pass in Thunder</i>

Alien Fire was a rare jewel among alternative comics of the 1980s: a wonderfully illustrated science fiction story that was as elusive and beautiful as it was free of clichés. That very originality doomed it: the comic was canceled (criminally, in my opinion) by Kitchen Sink Comics after only 3 issues, as sales plummeted. It was no ‘Heavy Metal.’ The multi-strand storyline was never easy to follow, yet cohered in ways more compelling for its intelligence and lyricism, as well as the originality of the characters. Eric Vincent's drawing style, reminiscent of the legendary French comic artist Moebius, was stunning in its detail and invention. Then, as a sort of belated apology, in 1995 KSP published this short graphic novel by the original authors, Anthony F. Smith and Eric Vincent, part new material and part old. They really should have invited Smith and Vincent to finish the original story sequence, projected at 12 issues. Nevertheless