Alien: The Illustrated Story, or simply Alien, is a sixty-four page critically acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of the 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien published by Heavy Metal magazine in 1979. It was scripted by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Walt Simonson. It is the first comic from the Alien franchise and one of few of the franchise's comic publications which is not associated with the long-lasting Aliens line from Dark Horse Comics. The book was a major critical and commercial success and was the first comic to ever be listed on the New York Times Bestsellers list.