By Dan Brown

In a way, I’m the perfect person to write a review of the one-shot prequel comic Alien: Romulus.

I still haven’t seen the latest Alien movie, which landed in theatres August 16, so I can tell you if it stands on its own.

The short answer is, at 28 pages long, it’s too brief of a story for that.

But it does make me want to see Alien: Romulus – so mission accomplished, I guess.

As you may know, Alien: Romulus sits between 1979’s original Alien and the 1986 sequel, Aliens, in the franchise’s timeline.

And the events of this comic take place after the first film and shortly before the beginning of Alien: Romulus.

Got it? I hope that’s clear.

Artist Daniel Picciotto and writer Zac Thompson are an able creative team, and colour artist Yen Nitro deserves a nod for making sure the action is either frozen in chilly clinical blues or drenched in bloody reds.

The premise was supplied by the guy who directed Romulus, Fede Alvarzez, and his co-writer, Rodo Sayagues.

“One of my life’s dreams was to create a comic book,” Alvarez says in a prefatory note. “I think this is the perfect format to fill the story gap presented in the first few minutes of my film.”

“Read the comic book, then watch the movie,” he recommends

By the events of this comic, what went down on the Nostromo seems to be common knowledge.

I’m guessing that’s because Ripley sent out a message at the end of Alien relating the space freighter's fate before she and her tabby, Jones, went into cryosleep – not suspecting they wouldn’t be waking up for a long time.

The Alien: Romulus comic does something I believe no other Alien movie has done: It shows alien life on other planets, life that is not the Xenomorph. I stand to be corrected by diehard fans, but my understanding is this idea has been teased, but never definitively answered before.

In a flashback scene, Ryla – the comic’s lead character and a former colonial marine – is shown losing an eye on a distant moon to an “indigenous critter” while on a “routine bug hunt.”

So if I’m right, then this one-shot is a big deal in the Alien universe.

Ryla later becomes a security officer on the space station that serves as the setting for Alien: Romulus the movie.

One of her fellow passengers is Rook, who dresses in the same outfit as one of the Nostromo’s doomed crew. And I was happy to see the onboard computer referred to as “Mother,” in keeping with old-school Alien lore.

Some fans didn’t like how Alien: Romulus connected to Prometheus, considered by many to be the red-headed stepchild of the Alien family. There is talk in this comic of “eternal life,” which was the goal of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s founder.

It also hints at why the company wanted the alien as a biological weapon in the first place – to keep its “failing colonies” in line.

And it also indirectly connects to another Ridley Scott creation, 1981’s Blade Runner, when an android tells its flesh-and-blood companions, “If you humans really want to exterminate yourselves, give the job to a few of us synths – we’ll gladly comply.” Sounds like a replicant to me, so that line is more fodder for the online speculation that says Blade Runner and Alien take place in the same universe.

Alien: Romulus (the comic) will appeal to those fans who are looking to flesh out their understanding of the Alien cosmos.

Also those who can’t get enough scenes of badass women with military rifles kicking butt!

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 32 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.