Alienated #4 Review: Grandpas, Graduation & a Missing Alien

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Plot overview of ‘Alienated’: Earth is deluged with the bodies of dead aliens, but one family finds a survivor and attempts to understand what happened to his species. What happens when their secret guest is discovered, especially at a time when alien cults and shrines are rising in popularity?

Issue #4 of Alienated by Taki Soma and John Broglia kicks off with a funny scene at a comic-con-like event to celebrate aliens and UFOs. It’s called an “annual Alien conference.” The obsession over the dead aliens continues to grow on planet Earth, which means if TJ’s live alien is discovered, all hell would break loose. And if you remember, Issue #3 had ended with a shocked TJ finding out his alien friend is missing.

Also Read: Alienated #3 Review: High on Potential, Light on Progress

So this chapter of the comic book series focuses on TJ recruiting his grandchildren Lily and Winter to help locate the alien before something disastrous occurs. Meanwhile, Frank, the old dude who basically kidnaps the alien, tries to communicate with the creature while also trying to get the word out in the media that he has a surviving alien with him.

After being ambivalent about this series so far, I can say this is probably the first time I definitely enjoyed reading an issue of Alienated. It’s entertaining to see how teens Lily and Winter are loyally attached to their grandfather and rush to his rescue when needed, even when the emergency is as bizarre as locating a missing alien. The kids even miss their graduation ceremony for the mission and get in massive trouble with their parents, but refuse to let TJ’s secret out.

The artwork continues to be engaging, and it helps that the creators use color, because quite frankly, the story isn’t exciting or gritty enough to work in black and white. Besides, for instance, toward the end of this issue, TJ hilariously dresses up like a thief out to rob a bank, in black shirt, black pants, black beanie, to rescue the alien, which wouldn’t have the same comical effect if this weren’t a color comic.

If you like the sound of a low-stakes sci-fi story about a grandfather and his grandchildren befriend an alien, who slowly learns to talk, ‘Alienated’ is a decent title to try out.

Alienated is also on Kindle Unlimited.

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