Eggstraordinary

The screen’s ooziest, ickiest monsters are back--in the “Aliens” comic books. But how come she-ro Ripley is nowhere to be found? Licensee 20th Century-Fox and Sigourney Weaver didn’t want her likeness used. “They said, ‘can you work around her,’ and we did,” said Dark Horse Comics Editor Randy Stradley.

The six black-and-white books by artist Mark A. Nelson focus on the now-grown Newt (the child from “Aliens”), the now-fatherly (and facially disfigured) Hicks (played by Michael Biehn in “Aliens”) and a mission to the Alien Homeworld--source of the original alien eggs. The government wants Hicks to gather eggs for study, but he’s on a vendetta.

Prior to the “Aliens” series, Dark Horse--a small comics house based just outside Portland, Ore.--was best known in the biz for its comics featuring a heroic dude named Concrete.

But, said Stradley, “ ‘Aliens’ is definitely our hottest seller,” with the series notching over 100,000 in sales.

The series will probably end in May, but Dark Horse is planning a sequel, a four-book series in color. Ripley may or may not be aboard.