Well, we have a real change of pace for you all today. This week brings a bonus episode of Off Panel to both SKTCHD and Off Panel’s Patreon that’s an exclusive for subscribers and patrons, and for maybe the first time ever, there’s basically no comic connection in this episode whatsoever.

It’s an Off Panel special that takes a deep dive look into one of my great, immortal loves: the larger Alien franchise. Timed for the release of both the latest film, Alien: Romulus, and the upcoming Aliens vs. Avengers, this episode is a look at that franchise as a whole, all six movies, and how an eternal franchise apologist like myself feels about all that. But because it’s Off Panel, I brought on a guest in artist/writer Phillip Sevy, someone who loves certain parts of the franchise but maybe not all of it. In this episode, we discuss our own Alien stories, why we keep watching these movies, hopes for Alien: Romulus, and more, before we discuss all six core movies — there’s no Aliens vs. Predator to be found here — and rank each movie within the franchise, pick some hits and misses, cover some of our big questions, and hand out Olympic style medals to our winners from each movie. It’s a lot, but it’s also a lot of fun if you’re interested in the franchise.

Naturally, there’s a major spoiler warning here for all six movies that precede Romulus, so if you haven’t seen each and would like to watch them at some point, I would hold off. But that’s it! This episode is a one-off lark, and one that finds me embracing one of my great franchise loves in a new way. I hope you enjoy it.

Also, if you’d like to find Phillip, you can find him on Twitter and Instagram as well as his work in the X-Men Infinite Comics at Marvel.