Welcome to Alien Day!

“There is an explanation for this, you know.” – Ash

Rogues Portal loves Alien. It’s been nearly thirty-seven years since Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking original film, and this year marks a historic 30th Anniversary for James Cameron’s sequel, the movie that turned a one-time critical hit into a money making powerhouse.

There’s something special about those worn down corridors, the silence of space, and the physical body horror that Alien introduced to the world of film. The milk-coloured synthetic blood of Ash and Bishop runs deep through the veins of fandom, creeping into the edge of our minds every now and then to make us afraid of the deep, black emptiness that lies beyond the dark night sky.

And it all started on Planet LV-426.

In honour of that hunk of rock, many outlets have chosen April 26th as “Alien Day”, a once-a-year special event that celebrates all things Xenomorphic in a variety of special events. To do our part, we’re dedicating our entire site (for one day only, of course) to articles from both our regular site staff and a host of guest contributors, exclusively focussed on Alien and its sequels.

From ancestors like Dark Star to latter sequels like Alien 3 and Prometheus, we hope to shed light on the more obscure corners of the franchise and show you what you’ve been missing if you only choose to alternate between Alien and Aliens in your Blu Ray player. We’ll reintroduce you to fan-favourite characters, analyse Ellen Ripley and tell you what the plot of Alien was like from the perspective of Jones the cat. We’ll talk about H.R. Giger’s influence and the lasting impact seeing the original movie can have for a child walking into the theatre at the tender age of nine. And of course, we have a plethora of Alien-related fan art waiting for you to geek out over all day long.

We hope there’s something here for everyone to enjoy.

The contributors bringing content to you today have been enthusiastic and dedicated to making this day special. Of the writers that we reached out to, a staggering number have followed through and brought you something unique about what they see in the Alien universe. Our site founder, Stephanie Cooke, has been more than supportive of this crazy idea and has been crucial in pointing people in the right direction for this event. If you’re one of our amazing contributors: THANK YOU. This Alien Day wouldn’t exist without you and I am proud of every article going up today. Here’s hoping we can do it again sometime soon.

And… uh, before we dock, I think we oughta discuss the bonus situation.

Billy Seguire
Alien Day Editor

Featured image art by Cory Schmitz