One of the nice things about creator-owned comics is their consistency. They're usually the product of one writer and no more than a handful of artists. But sometimes it's fun to see a different creative team try their hand at a long-running, creator-owned series. After more than 150 issues of The Walking Dead, why not view this post-apocalyptic world through a different lens? And if any team is qualified to fill in for Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, it's The Private Eye and Barrier co-creators Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but The Walking Dead: The Alien #1 is easily one of the best comics ever to sport the "Walking Dead" name. It offers a fresh take on the zombie genre from a pair of creators who have developed an incredibly strong and effective working relationship. Aside from the black-and-white format and one specific twist that calls back to the main series ( click here if you want to be spoiled ), Vaughan and Martin could just as easily be building their own zombie universe in this issue. Continuity is far less important than the immediacy and urgency of the story.The two craft a very enjoyable and cohesive standalone story here, introducing two new characters to the Walking Dead mythos and ending their brief journey on a fittingly ambiguous note. And where it can sometimes take a while for new characters in the main series to really come into their own, Vaughan's razor-sharp dialogue immediately establishes Jeff and Claudia as compelling protagonists.Martin's art is just plain gorgeous here. His rendition of zombie-ravaged Barcelona is haunting, and a welcome change from the Southeast US setting that's dominated the main series for the past 12 years. Martin renders the city's distinctive architecture with impeccable detail. But there's also a stark quality to his work that sets this issue apart from Vaughan and Martin's other Panel Syndicate work. Martin places a heavy emphasis on light and shadow in order to highlight the suspense in this tale of survival. The story flows smoothly from panel to panel, taking readers on a roller coaster that veers between tense clashes with the undead to brief moments of respite and back again. And while this issue largely sticks to the same monochrome format of the main series, there is one very effective use of color.