New York Comic Con News:  Dark Horse Comics announced today that it is adding a Prometheus comic book series, based on the recent Ridley Scott Alien prequel, to its lineup of horror/science fiction titles based on Twentieth Century Fox licenses and simultaneously rebooting its other Fox SF titles.  Paul Tobin will write the new Prometheus comic, while Chris Roberson will take on the rebooted Aliens comic, Chris Sebela will preside over the makeover of Aliens vs. Predator, and Joshua Williamson will handle similar chores on Predators.  All four books will inhabit a shared universe and DHC says the writers of all four books are coordinating their efforts.  So it appears the connections between the titles, which are due to debut in 2014, will be significant, though no formal crossover has been announced.
 
Tobin told i09 that the new Prometheus comic book will feature new characters and will not just focus on continuing the adventures of Elizabeth (played by Noomi Rapace) and David (Michael Fassbender).  But The Engineers and the theme of creation will be a core concern of the new series, which will be able to examine the subject in greater depth than in the movie.  Tobin also expects to clear up a few mysteries like the difference between the "eggs" depicted in the original Alien movie and those in Prometheus.
 
Chris Roberson, who earlier this year left DC Comics over the publisher’s treatment of the heirs of Superman creators Siegel and Schuster (see "Roberson Speaks Out"), plans on rebooting Dark Horse’s Aliens comic franchise by focusing on an entirely new set of characters (Sayonara, Ripley).  Roberson plans on steering the franchise away from the realm of military science fiction and more towards pure unadulterated sci-fi horror.
 
The new Aliens vs. Predator and Predators comics are also getting the reboot treatment with all new casts, and neither of these books will have conventional "heroes."  Readers will not have an easy time identifying with the anti-heroes in these books, which even include an older Ahab-like Predator with a Moby Dick-style obsession driving his every move. 
 
Will these characters in these books get together outside of the confines of the AvP comic?  Well there are no plans that Dark Horse is ready to reveal yet, but there must be a few overriding reasons why the quartet of writers working on these books meet regularly in what editor Scott Allie, in a nod to how modern TV series are created, refers to as a "writers room."