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Resident Alien (Collected Editions) #4
Resident Alien Volume 4: The Man with No Name
Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle--a stranded alien explorer hiding in plain sight--has been posing as doctor and solving crimes in the small town of Patience, Washington. After Harry accidentally exposes himself to investigators who are on his trail, a mysterious arsonist and a stubborn federal agent arrive in town to heat things up! The local sheriff must decide if he'll remain loyal to his inquisitive friend Harry, and nurse Asta finally realizes the danger she and Harry are both in. Peter Hogan (2000 AD, Tom Strong) and Steve Parkhouse (Milkman Murders, Doctor Who) continue their unique, acclaimed science-fiction/murder-mystery series!
Praise for previous volumes of Resident Alien
"A pitch-perfect narrative from two of my favourite creators." -Alan Moore
"One of the most charming and wonderful comics being published today." -Jeff Lemire
"A series that only gets stronger and better with each installment." -Comic Bastards
Praise for previous volumes of Resident Alien
"A pitch-perfect narrative from two of my favourite creators." -Alan Moore
"One of the most charming and wonderful comics being published today." -Jeff Lemire
"A series that only gets stronger and better with each installment." -Comic Bastards
104 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2017
10 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Peter Hogan
237 books50 followersPeter Kenneth Hogan is an English writer and comics creator who started out as editor of cult political British comic Revolver in 1990–1991, before working for 2000 AD and American comic book publishers Vertigo and America's Best Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
December 12, 2020
I had to skip over volume 3 because I couldn't find it, BUT it didn't hurt my enjoyment of The Man with No Name. <--good to know, right?
These are basically self-contained stories, so if you have to skip around, you can. There's an overreaching storyline about some kind of MIB agency that's looking for Harry, but it never really goes anywhere. <--or hasn't yet
This is another cozy-style mystery about an arsonist and a dead hobo.
Whodunnit?!
I like these kinds of mindless/bloodless mysteries, and the fact that it's got this cool little sci-fi twist is just icing on the cake for me.
These are basically self-contained stories, so if you have to skip around, you can. There's an overreaching storyline about some kind of MIB agency that's looking for Harry, but it never really goes anywhere. <--or hasn't yet
This is another cozy-style mystery about an arsonist and a dead hobo.
Whodunnit?!
I like these kinds of mindless/bloodless mysteries, and the fact that it's got this cool little sci-fi twist is just icing on the cake for me.
December 21, 2018
I enjoy this series but this one was extremely slow paced with little to no detective work on Harry's part other than hiring a private detective. I'm beginning to wonder if this story with the government looking for Harry will ever come to a head. At this point, it's just starting to feel like misdirection.
May 4, 2021
I like Asta's new look!
Already looking forward to vol. 5.
Already looking forward to vol. 5.
December 19, 2020
Another great chapter with (finally) some background info about Harry's life before Earth.
October 1, 2023
Still a fan of the art style as well as the story.
April 16, 2021
Another really good read. This stuff is going to be called classic one day.
December 22, 2024
In this fourth volume of Resident Alien, we get a bit more backstory about Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle (actually an alien) than we have in any previous volumes, and eventually someone he interacts with figures out his secret. But, once again, that's just a minor point in a story about solving crimes in a small town. And, once again, it's a really fun story.
Part of what makes this series work is Steve Parkhouse's charming art.
Charming seems like faint praise, but I promise it isn't. This series wouldn't seem as authentic if the art was Stupendous or Amazing or Fantastic. Parkhouse's mastery of expressions often gets brought up in reviews, and with good reasons, but I really appreciate how he has populated this town with many people who look very normal, and yet none of them could be confused for each other. So many artists, most whose work I love, have only one or two types of female characters they can draw, and one or two types of male characters. Parkhouse has an incredibly wide range of figures and faces that all work really well.
I really wish more people were reading this excellent series.
Part of what makes this series work is Steve Parkhouse's charming art.
Charming seems like faint praise, but I promise it isn't. This series wouldn't seem as authentic if the art was Stupendous or Amazing or Fantastic. Parkhouse's mastery of expressions often gets brought up in reviews, and with good reasons, but I really appreciate how he has populated this town with many people who look very normal, and yet none of them could be confused for each other. So many artists, most whose work I love, have only one or two types of female characters they can draw, and one or two types of male characters. Parkhouse has an incredibly wide range of figures and faces that all work really well.
I really wish more people were reading this excellent series.
January 4, 2021
***Review applicable to the first 5 volumes that I consumed it a single morning.*** A delightful and refreshing series about a stranded ET turned reluctant-detective. The stories are kept refreshingly small, and the two B-stories are dripped out steadily but slowly enough that they never overshadow or hinders the main tale in each volume.
April 16, 2023
I enjoyed this volume as much as the first 3. I like how it is more serious than the TV show based on it and more focused on solving mysteries for fun. I like how Asta and her father are his friends and helping him out even when he doesn't know it.
April 28, 2023
This one turned out to be a story with hidden depths and introspection. Mystery-wise it was good. But there were layers that I loved.
Drawings were excellent. Characters were so good that by now I have started looking at Patience as a place that I have known for a long time.
Highly recommended.
Drawings were excellent. Characters were so good that by now I have started looking at Patience as a place that I have known for a long time.
Highly recommended.
August 27, 2023
This is the fourth volume in a slowly unfolding story of a stranded alien explorer. There is a superb subtlety to the narrative that is surprising engaging and delightfully entertaining. Each volume gets better and better as the story becomes increasingly complex, just as the number of characters inflates. The protagonist is immediately likable and his ongoing subterfuge to blend in is at the heart of the story, but there is also the interwoven personalities and relationships of the townspeople that add an indelible charm to the book. I cannot stress enough how good these stories are. While each volume spins around a mystery of some kind, this is not the central theme or focus. The characters and their relationships are the focus, the heart and soul of this wonderfully compelling series.
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December 17, 2016Not a comic which gets discussed much, but I'm increasingly fond of it. The idea of having an alien stranded on Earth who then chooses to pose as a small-town doctor and solve local crimes...it could have been the sort of weird US TV show from the seventies or eighties which you'd catch on off-prime TV and not be quite sure why it existed, but like all the same.
August 10, 2018
This volume tries to go harder on the mystery/crime angle and still doesn't really have space to pull it off, but that's okay. Loved the scene where Harry and Mr. Twelvetrees finally meet and converse.
November 27, 2019
Same great detective story with a sci-fi twist. I honestly love these simple but engaging detective stories staring our lovable alien Harry. The main story is developing nicely but I really enjoy the one shot detective stories in each volume. Art is great as well
September 14, 2021
Space alien Dr. Harry is involved in two adventures this time. First, a mysterious fire breaks out downtown and a homeless man dies. The identity of the man is unclear: fingerprints turn up nothing and dental records are slow in coming. Second, he meets his assistant Asta's dad, a Native American who has guessed Harry's secret and is willing to help out with the whole alien on a strange planet situation. That's good since the Feds are snooping around, hoping to get a lead on the space alien who has been passing around counterfeit money (an early indiscretion for Harry). Both stories move together nicely, though naturally the friendship is just beginning and will continue on into another volume.
The mystery is fun if slight and the new friendship moves the overall plot along.
Recommended.
The mystery is fun if slight and the new friendship moves the overall plot along.
Recommended.
March 25, 2021
I'm really enjoying this series. I read the first three volumes in the omnibus and this one carries on with Harry the Doctor/Alien still solving crimes and coming to grips with the fact the Feds are now on his trail.
As I mentioned in my review of the omnibus - the comic series is 100% different than the tone and the direction of the TV series. I love them both but the TV series has huge comic overtones and at the same time more sinister and deadly undertones. This comic is more in the middle. No real humour but we also get an alien who is a lot nicer (not one willing to kill children to conceal his identity). And the focus is on him solving crimes not getting home.
Enjoyable series. Highly recommended.
As I mentioned in my review of the omnibus - the comic series is 100% different than the tone and the direction of the TV series. I love them both but the TV series has huge comic overtones and at the same time more sinister and deadly undertones. This comic is more in the middle. No real humour but we also get an alien who is a lot nicer (not one willing to kill children to conceal his identity). And the focus is on him solving crimes not getting home.
Enjoyable series. Highly recommended.
April 18, 2021
An arson and a dead vagrant end up exposing a number of family secrets in Patience. While there's a fair bit of investigation going on, Harry isn't responsible for much of it; the story is more about the larger community and Harry's place in it than exploring the central mystery. This also has the biggest action sequence in the series so far, which honestly felt a little out of place. But this book does further the larger story a bit, as Harry's secret comes out to a couple of people. It makes sense and moves a side character closer to Harry's orbit. That part of the story is interesting. But the central mystery is a bit of a miss overall. Still, overall an enjoyable read, just not the series' strongest.
November 28, 2021
Can’t help it, I adore this series. Also Asta’s new look really does suit her!! Getting more of her background while rounding off Harry’s background was super nice.
“Very sensible of you. Deny everything and perhaps the rumors will just fade away.”
Small town drama meets big city drugs, and as expected they get the bottom of it eventually. I actually found it really sweet how the entire town came together to try and find out what happened, because of a man’s unfortunate death. None of them really liked the guy, but they still sought out the truth and justice he deserved.
The government is still inching up onto Harry’s life and area, but he seems determined to stay put. I wonder if this will all blow up, or if the town will keep him safe as I hope they will!
“Very sensible of you. Deny everything and perhaps the rumors will just fade away.”
Small town drama meets big city drugs, and as expected they get the bottom of it eventually. I actually found it really sweet how the entire town came together to try and find out what happened, because of a man’s unfortunate death. None of them really liked the guy, but they still sought out the truth and justice he deserved.
The government is still inching up onto Harry’s life and area, but he seems determined to stay put. I wonder if this will all blow up, or if the town will keep him safe as I hope they will!
April 4, 2023
Days before the mayoral election a fire breaks out in town, the result of a meth-lab accident, leading to the death of a drifter. As he's dying in Harry's arms, the drifter begs Harry to contact his daughter, setting him on a quest to identify the drifter and unearth his past. In the meantime, Harry's secret is beginning to spill out, the Feds are closing in, and he discovers that others already know what he really is. All in all, this is another good read, although the mystery itself is kind of simplistic this time around, but the real focus of this volume is on Harry choosing how to deal with the fact that his secret is out.
May 24, 2020
Another good entry in the Resident Alien series. This one follows pretty much the same formula as the previous volumes: a central mystery for Harry to solve, with some more work filling in his backstory, and some progress on the subplot of the government agents looking for him.
As with the previous volume, the slow progress of the subplot is a little frustrating. (If I'd been reading this as it was originally being released, the 1-2 year wait between volumes would have been quite frustrating.) But it's such a fun series, and so enjoyable to read, it's all good.
As with the previous volume, the slow progress of the subplot is a little frustrating. (If I'd been reading this as it was originally being released, the 1-2 year wait between volumes would have been quite frustrating.) But it's such a fun series, and so enjoyable to read, it's all good.
March 1, 2022
Not quite as compelling as the other adventures in this series. It was fine, but I wasn't as drawn in as I'd like to have been.
The outer layers of story seemed to mostly be setting things up for later. I'll get there, but it's annoying to just have it sitting there. The actual Man with No Name storyline was fine, but I saw the first half coming a mile away, and the second half was meant to resonate more than it did.
Fine as a middle chapter, but can't stand alone.
And the TV show is really making this seem tame by comparison.
The outer layers of story seemed to mostly be setting things up for later. I'll get there, but it's annoying to just have it sitting there. The actual Man with No Name storyline was fine, but I saw the first half coming a mile away, and the second half was meant to resonate more than it did.
Fine as a middle chapter, but can't stand alone.
And the TV show is really making this seem tame by comparison.
December 27, 2020
Another boring happy ending. Mystery was solved in a few pages (due to medium's size) but no, It's always solved in the best possible way and leaves out some philosophical questions for our protagonist. Sheriff suddenly is becoming SWAT type cop with macho guns and team, a member of the city is having a sad past but now under the radar has a meth lab... Will read next volume but no, nothing special. Lost me here.
October 28, 2025
Amazing. Thoroughly enjoyed!
“HUMANS ARE FRAIL, BUT THEY STRIVE. THEY TRY. THEY MAKE MISTAKES AND FAIL AND FALL, THEN RISE AGAIN.”
Resident Alien Volume 4: The Man With No Name follows Harry a stranded alien posing as a small town doctor as he realizes the loyalty of his friends.
Storyline - cohesive, mysterious, informative. World building - consistent with the previous volumes. Flow of events – fast paced. Writing/Prose – well written. can’t wait to read the next volume!
“HUMANS ARE FRAIL, BUT THEY STRIVE. THEY TRY. THEY MAKE MISTAKES AND FAIL AND FALL, THEN RISE AGAIN.”
Resident Alien Volume 4: The Man With No Name follows Harry a stranded alien posing as a small town doctor as he realizes the loyalty of his friends.
Storyline - cohesive, mysterious, informative. World building - consistent with the previous volumes. Flow of events – fast paced. Writing/Prose – well written. can’t wait to read the next volume!
November 20, 2025
Resident alien is very funny comedy story ,when alien lands on earth and walk near by meets this doctor and duplicate its self like doctor, doctor dies the alien struggles with where to hide the body. One day he decided to go for work where this doctor used to work act like him. This alien had to learn many things from scratch like how to speak normal walk normal from doctors assistant. The story is so funny how the alien used to learn how to talk and act normal so interesting.
January 11, 2022
I read the first book, but then watched the first season of the TV series adaptation, so I am confused about what's going on.
I like this character more than his adaptation (although Alan Tudyk does a good job, that character's just more evil).
This is a series I would consider owning for myself. I like both the pacing and the illustrations.
I like this character more than his adaptation (although Alan Tudyk does a good job, that character's just more evil).
This is a series I would consider owning for myself. I like both the pacing and the illustrations.
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March 1, 2021Probably my least favorite volume so far, however, I’m fully invested in the long term story which it did add some details to.
Looking forward to the possibilities of New York City in the next volume.
Looking forward to the possibilities of New York City in the next volume.
March 20, 2021
The people who have been hunting him have seen him now.
Harry realizes that he needs to do a few more things as he closes in on the killer, and realizes a few of his friends may be getting closer to danger, themselves.
Harry realizes that he needs to do a few more things as he closes in on the killer, and realizes a few of his friends may be getting closer to danger, themselves.
March 28, 2021
The residents of Patience, Washington deal with a tragedy in town and the death of a mysterious drifter tugs at Harry's curiosity. Hogan and Parkhouse continue to knock it out of the park with enjoyable stories that stay fresh and give a new spin on both the murder-mystery and sci-fi genres.
May 25, 2021
Several unrelated (?) mysteries big and small for our favorite alien amateur detective to solve. These are resolved. But another bigger, more personal mystery pops up and we get more of Harry's backstory.
January 24, 2022
More of the same in this series, with another mystery in town as well as some nice movement as Dan and Harry finally have The Talk about Harry's origins. I really like how that's handled, and how it's clear that Harry's endeared himself to more than one person in town at this point.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews