Humans are hardwired to look toward the stars and ask, “What if?” We wonder if this it, if it’s just against the vastness of the universe. Speculative science fiction has long explored this question, whether we are alone and, if there are other residents living in our plane of existence, where are they? Why haven’t they made contact? What would happen if they did reach out to us?
Those questions and more are explored in the new comic miniseries Alienated from Comixology Originals. In Alienated—written, colored, and lettered by Taki Soma with art by John Broglia—Earth finally knows that aliens exist and they’ve made contact with us! However, all of the alien visitors have died… or so we think. Retired teacher TJ finds one surviving alien, and he and his grandkids are bound and determined to protect the survivor, while also trying to ascertain how the aliens came here… and what they wanted in the first place.
I spoke with Taki Soma recently about the idea behind Alienated, how her love of alien tales influenced this story, working with artist John Broglia, and whether we are alone in this universe.
Alienated’s first issue had me completely hooked; it was such a fun way to kickoff a romp about an extraterrestrial encounter. That’s why we’re happy and honored to give you a look at an exclusive preview of Alienated #2, out next week!
Alienated #2 cover
FreakSugar: First of all, I loved your work on Bitch Planet. Not a question; just wanted to let you know!
Taki Soma: Thank you so much!!!!!!!! I absolutely loved working on BP. Valentine De Landro gifted the cover art from that issue to me, too. Yes, I am bragging. Sorry.
FS: For folks considering picking up the comic, what is the conceit of Alienated?
TS: First of all, thanks for the interview! Alright, here’s the elevator pitch to the readers: Imagine waking one morning to find that alien invasion occurred overnight only to discover them all deceased, littering the streets all over the world.
FS: The cast is rounded out so well right away. Who are some of the characters we meet?
TS: We will experience this strange alien invasion from the point-of-view of a typical family in Minnesota. One of which is a retired teacher named TJ, or Gramps to his grandkids, Lily and Winter who are both high schoolers. They encounter the one surviving alien, aptly named Alien. The family isn’t exactly close, but not quite estranged either. But this strange visitor forces them to work together to protect it at all cost.
FS: We don’t know a lot about the alien Gramps finds, but it seems benevolent. I can feel it’s frustration in trying to communicate. What can you tell us about the thinking behind how the aliens should look and act?
TS: John Broglia, the artist, really brought personality into Alien. It is meant to come off benevolent and that’s all John’s doing. I wanted the Alien to act and seem vulnerable, alone and frightened. Why wouldn’t it be when all of its friends perished?
FS: Do you have any favorite alien-encounter tales that might have influenced this book?
TS: I mean, there are so many. My husband, Michael Avon Oeming, who is also the cover artist for Alienated works on a series called Blue Book published by Dark Horse, written by James Tynion IV which is all about real life alien encounters, so there’s that. Also, fictional stories like E.T. Extra Terrestrial, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were heavily on my mind while writing it, too. I love aliens, alright? There, I said it.
FS: John Broglia’s art has a lightness and a heaviness throughout that I think works so well with a story like this. What has your collaboration been like?
TS: We’ve been friends for almost 20 years. I don’t want to talk about the time so much, but I think if a friendship lasted this long, it was inevitable that we were meant to work together one day. And my god, he really is perfect for Alienated. When he did the character designs, none of them looked anything remotely close to what I pictured in my head and it was the most delightful experience! Now, I can’t fathom visualizing the characters differently than his designs.
FS: We are fascinated with stories of aliens and beings from other worlds visiting us. Why do you think it holds us in that way?
TS: I think for the majority of us, it’s about hope. And maybe a dash of adventure. When my husband and I were first dating, we often posed fun questions to each other such as ‘if aliens came to earth and told us we can either have the power of flight or invisibility, which would you choose?’. But why would they do that? That’s so silly. It does prove to me that we believe there’s something mystical about aliens that they can perform miracles at will.
FS: What are you reading right now?
TS: Michio Kaku’s Quantum Supremacy; Jason Pargin’s I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom; Gary Stevenson’s The Trading Game: A Confession.
FS: Is there anything you can tease about what we can see later in the miniseries?
TS: A weird incident occurs at the end of issue one. What do you think it means? Read on to find out more!
FS: Do you have any other projects coming down the pike you’d like to discuss?
TS: I have another project in production with ComiXology Originals as we speak! And that’s all I’m allowed to say =)
FS: What are your thoughts on extraterrestrials? Would it change you in any way if you learned they existed or if they made contact with Earth?
TS: I am a believer. I am certain they exist. I don’t know what I believe when it comes to them visiting us, however. I personally haven’t encountered anything that convinced me. Yet. But I am always looking. We go to Mt. Adams to sky watch, geared with light gathering binoculars and a telescope on occasion. Yes, we’re those people and I’m sure none of you are shocked. If they made contact though… I imagine Alienated would become the New York Times best seller unless they are hostile. In that case, I don’t think we would be reading anything, because we’d be running for our lives.
FS: If you had one final pitch for Alienated, what would it be?
TS: Prepare yourselves for an alien invasion by reading Alienated. Because it’s better to be prepared than not, just in case. Think of it like having insurance.
Thank you again for this interview, I appreciate your questions and I had a lot of fun!
Alienated #2 goes on sale Tuesday, May 6, 2025, from Comixology Originals.
From the official issue description:
As TJ guides Alien, the lone survivor, falls for a woman in a nursing home. Lily discovers that Winter has a crush on her friend, Kaiden. Frank, an unlikely character is a threat to TJ and Alien. Alien is concerned by our physics, what does this mean?