Predator [2023] #5 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 5, September 2023

Packed with a series of disconcertingly satisfying deaths and a cluster of soul-shattering murders, Ed Brisson’s narrative for Issue Five of “Predator” certainly should have firmly placed anyone perusing this comic on a rollercoaster of emotion. Sure, the entirety of this twenty-page periodical’s plot is confined to just a couple of corridors set inside the belly of the Sandpiper. But this claustrophobic backdrop simply adds to the sense of the survivors’ desperation, as well as the Yautja’s deadliness, when there’s no room for poor Allen to even swing the razor-sharp axe he enthusiastically selected from Sandy’s armoury at the fast-moving extra-terrestrial trying to gut him.

Quite possibly this book’s chief success is the way the writer pens the well-deserved demises of his considerable cast’s least likeable members. Of particular note is the whiney Isla, who despite being confronted with the plain truth that she caused all the mass mutilation on board Theta Berwick’s spacecraft, still attempts to defend her treachery by suddenly employing the old “we have a daughter” ploy, before the Other Worldly Lifeforms Program (O.W.L.F.) trooper’s head is shockingly blown asunder. This killing genuinely smacks of poetic justice, and is only overshadowed by the subsequent sorrowful slaying of this tale’s roguish bouncer a split second later.

Indeed, many a bibliophile will probably put down this “final showdown” afterwards with a truly heavy heart, as poor Omar and Allen are cut to pieces by the Predator. These characters demonstrated such significant loyalty to the woman who scooped them off the Yautja’s game preserve planet, that it seems such a shame neither were able to reach the temporary safety of the control deck and “stick with you and Paolo” for some future adventures; “Sure. We could always use another set of hands around here.”

Pencilling some incredible pulse-pounding panels is Netho Diaz, who manages to convey both the stark terror permeating the vessel’s population and the savage suddenness of their grisly downfalls. In fact the staggeringly good splash page of the psyched-up alien leaping upon Berwick’s band with its wrist-blades ready for a fatal slash looks as if the creature has quite literally stepped from a celluloid film frame straight into the comic book.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Pencilier: Netho Diaz, Inker: Belardino Brabo, Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Predator [2023] #4 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 4, August 2023

Gorily depicting the traitorous Lucas receiving his just reward for betraying Theta Berwick on board the Sandpiper, courtesy of a Predator savagely skewering him straight through the chest with one of its razor-sharp claws, Ed Brisson’s script for Issue Four of “Predator” quite possibly caused many of the comic’s readers to momentarily cheer the cold-blooded Yautja on. In fact, it’s arguably not until the alien killing machine appears about to swoop upon a hapless Paolo Silva that this book’s audience will probably stop rooting for it; “The comms are down. Someone’s trying to keep us in the dark.”

Much of this disconcerting desire to see the extra-terrestrial tear into the likes of Isla and Kiyoshi Yaksubo stems from the pair’s utter contempt for the one person who both actually knows precisely what the technologically-advanced extra-terrestrials are capable of, and has beaten them in close combat a staggering amount of times. This incredibly misplaced hubris on the two soldiers’ part really makes them dislikeable, and this loathing only increases when the female Other Worldly Lifeforms Program (O.W.L.F.) trooper immediately blames her badly maimed rescuer for her husband’s aforementioned murder, even though it is her arrogance and ignorance which caused his ghastly demise in the first place.

Setting aside this almost palpable seething hatred for the would-be-hijackers, this publication’s multiple Joe Shuster Award-nominee is also good at quickly establishing the sense of trust any perusing bibliophile should have with the remaining survivors, as they repeatedly put their faith in Berwick's decision-making once she regains consciousness (and a new cybernetic right arm). This confidence is probably all the easier to bestow upon Allen, Omar, and Awja in light of the other humans’ shocking disloyalty. But it still helps establish a genuine sense of fear for these characters once it becomes clear a Predator is roaming Sandy’s corridors, and appears intent on massacring all the craft's passengers.

Likewise the artwork of Netho Diaz does a first-rate job of imbuing all the considerable cast with plenty of emotional energy and personality. Yaksubo appears particularly well-drawn, with the Japanese Defence Forces soldier repeatedly demonstrating his selfish, self-centred streak with canine-like snarls, and boorish, physical outbursts when his plans are questioned by the man’s two co-conspirators.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Pencilier: Netho Diaz, Inker: Belardino Brabo, Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Predator [2023] #3 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 3, July 2023

Predominantly focusing upon the mini-series’ large cast of characters interacting with one another, as opposed to depicting a ton of Predator-lead violence, Ed Brisson’s narrative for Issue Three of “Predator” must surely have had the majority of its audience literally frothing at the mouth with the sheer boorishness of some of the survivors Theta Berwick saves in this comic. Indeed, the atmosphere of treacherous injustice towards the Sandpiper’s badly wounded ‘skipper’ is truly palpable once the likes of Other Worldly Lifeforms Program (O.W.L.F.) trooper Isla becomes progressively resentful that her military organisation haven’t benefitted from the Yautja hunter’s collection of alien artefacts and equipment.

To make this soldier and her husband-in-crime, Lucas, even more dislikeable though, the pair’s pathetic justification to seize Sandy and release the cowardly Kiyoshi Yaksubo from confinement is apparently because they fear the deadly extra-terrestrials are heading for Earth. This concern simply doesn’t stand up to any scrutinization whatsoever, as the fact that the Predators have already kidnapped humans such as club doorman Allen, shows that they have already visited the planet. Instead, the entire argument just comes across a poor excuse for Isla to vent her fear and frustration at being cryogenically frozen for approximately forty years at the person who actually snatched her from the jaws of certain death.

Setting aside all the irrational squabbles and distinct split straight down the middle of the strangers’ loyalty to Berwick, 'A Wolf In Wolf's Clothing' is also notable for its depiction of the “powerful alien animal pack” fleetingly first seen in Nimrod Antal’s 2010 science fiction action film “Predators”. These River Ghosts appear truly savage creatures under Brisson’s penmanship, who despite being completely unarmed are still clearly quite capable of tearing down a fully-armed Yautja if they have enough numbers; “ Let’s get you outta ‘ere while the beasties are busy with one another.”

Masterfully managing to maintain an incredible atmosphere of tension and suspense throughout all this twenty-page-periodical’s dialogue-driven scenes are Netho Diaz’s pulse-pounding pencils. Coupled with Belardino Brabo’s ostentatious inks and Erick Arciniega’s moodily dark colour choices, these layouts do a grand job in showing the Jekyll to Hyde transformation in Isla’s physical demeanour as she plots with his partner to despicably betray their unconscious liberator.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Pencilier: Netho Diaz, Inker: Belardino Brabo, Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Predator [2023] #2 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 2, June 2023

It’s difficult to determine just how many of this comic’s readers were all that delighted with Ed Brisson’s decision to bring Theta Nedra Berwick back for this mini-series’ second instalment, as the technologically-advanced Yautja hunter’s presence alone completely changes the dynamic of the twenty-page periodical’s plot. For whilst the book’s considerable cast of “trained soldiers” are still penned desperately tearing through the tall trees on the Predator’s preserve planet. They’re no longer doing so out of sheer terror as to what is hunting them, but rather in a determined push to reach their saviour’s spacecraft and escape the nightmare world which they’ve found themselves trapped on.

Of course that doesn’t mean for a moment that the author isn’t still able to pack his narrative with some genuinely tense action sequences, or completely stun his audience by having “the daughter of botanists Hugo and Francesca Berwick” shockingly wounded in a duel when her attention is momentarily caught by the Sandpiper surprisingly blasting off-planet. However, much of the focus upon just how the original, outmatched humans were somehow going to avoid adding to the Yautja’s kill count whilst distrusting one another, is somewhat disappointingly replaced by the likes of Doctor Paolo Silva providing plenty of background exposition as to Theta’s plans and prowess; “We’ll bring you to a nearby Astar outpost and drop you off a few miles away so you can hike in.”

Quite possibly this publication’s most interesting character is therefore Kiyoshi Yaksubo, who after constantly complaining about how unfair everything is, cowardly rushes aboard Sandy and steals the vessel when he thinks the “motley crew” are about to die at the hands of a Predator. This utterly spineless act by the Japanese Self-Defence Forces officer will surely have caused many a bibliophile to almost wring the comic in sheer frustration, particularly when the man’s selfish behaviour costs his would-be-rescuer so much.

Managing to imbue all these sense-shattering shenanigans with plenty of pulse-pounding dynamism and pace is Netho Diaz, who does a terrific job of creating the illusion of action, even when a scene is simply showing a large, bald-headed bouncer protesting that he shouldn’t have been ‘time-snatched’ by the Yautja because all he does is deal with “a bunch ‘a slobberin’ drunks swingin’ on one ‘nother.”  The “mainstay at Marvel Comics” is also particularly good at sketching a sudden moment in time, such as poor Ernesto being horrifying fried just as safety was in sight for the Filipino soldier, or Berwick’s aforementioned debilitating injury.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Pencilier: Netho Diaz, and Inkers: Belardino Brabo & Roberto Poggi

Predator #6 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 6, March 2023

Rather succinctly bringing this six-issue series to a conclusion, whilst simultaneously leaving matters open enough for some follow-up adventures, this final instalment to Ed Brisson’s “Day Of The Hunter” storyline probably still didn’t land quite as well with its fanbase as its New York City-based publisher had hoped. True, Theta Nedra Berwick does finally succeed in taking her revenge upon the Yautja who savagely slew her parents fifteen years ago. But the manner in which the ‘sole survivor’ achieves her lifetime ambition is arguably a little contrived and dissatisfying; “Hey. Over here! It’s me you want. I’m the one who’s been killing all of you b@$tards.”

For starters, the rather naïve and disconcertingly forgiving Paolo Silva suddenly saves his former prisoner’s life by wounding the latest Predator with a well-aimed laser-beam to the extra-terrestrial’s waist. This sensational shot by a dazed Chief Scientist who has literally just been blasted to the ground by his spacecraft’s catastrophic destruction, could admittedly have been aided by the hand-weapon’s targeting device. However, considering that the man fired at a target who was busy man-handling Theta at close quarters, this debilitating volley is debatably highly unlikely.

Furthermore, the Joe Schuster Award-nominee’s handling of Captain Ferrier is similarly unconvincing, with the Astar Industries Commander illogically blaming his captive for the destruction of his ship and crew, even though the young woman has been repeatedly warning him about a Yautja revenge attack since the moment she first regained consciousness. This complete disregard for the consequences of his own inaction makes the senior officer’s character utterly dislikeable, especially when he savagely strikes Berwick following his people’s demise at the hands of the killer extra-terrestrial, and resultantly many a bibliophile may well take some satisfaction in the man’s grisly death when he’s literally torn asunder just moments later.

Undeniably providing this edition of “Predator” with plenty of ‘bang for its bucks’ is Kev Walker, who imbues the comic’s numerous detonations with some insane-looking flare-ups which genuinely radiate all the forceful heat a reader would expect from such devastating blasts. Disappointingly though, the British illustrator doesn’t quite seem to ‘hit the nail on the head’ when it comes to pencilling the combatants’ final moments, with the alien appearing disconcertingly thin in silhouette and colorist Frank D’Armata perhaps going a bit overboard when it comes to obscuring the cast with almost impenetrable black shadows.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Predator #5 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 5, February 2023

Exclusively focused upon Theta Nedra Berwick’s incarceration at the hands of Captain Ferrier on board the Astar Industries Recon Ship, the Turnstone, Ed Brisson’s script for Issue Five of “Predator” probably had its readers crying out in frustrated anger as much as the Sandpiper’s sole survivor does throughout the comic. Indeed, this incredibly word-heavy, twenty-page conversational piece seems to almost purposely go around and around in circles, simply so the book’s bibliophiles can wholly sympathise with its central protagonist’s repeated demands to be let free before another Yautja descends upon the frozen planet of Tusket.

Disappointingly however, whether intentional or not, British artist Kev Walker prodigiously pencilling an endless series of questions and piecemeal answers – all of which any longtime reader would already know – quickly bogs the publication’s plot down to a sedentary, snail-like pace, and is only momentarily broken when Paolo Silva somewhat unconvincingly decides to disobey his senior officer’s orders by bringing his space vessel’s prisoner a futuristic version of “Pot Noddle”. Lamentably though, even this ‘opportunity to escape’ is reduced to little more than a contrived cell break using an everyday eating utensil rather than the Chief Scientist using the new knowledge he has gained from Sandy’s databanks to deduce his crew’s sole hope of survival is to rearm Berwick; “If you don’t I swear I’ll drive this fork into your carotid artery, and you’ll be dead before they can get you to the Infirmary.”

Similarly as strange is arguably Ferrier’s apparent complete disinterest in the deadly Predators and Theta’s evident ability to both track and actually kill them. Admittedly, the Captain is understandably suspicious of a lone human single-handedly piloting one of his company’s missing space exploration vessels. But once he knows the truth, and that the mass-murdering extra-terrestrial species were responsible for both the massacre on Damara and at the local Astar Industries facility, it seems distinctly odd that the skipper would simply decide to return to Earth rather than ascertain whether there is now an opportunity for Humanity to stop the Yautja once and for all – or at least determine a defence which could prevent similar bloodbaths from occurring in the future.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Predator #4 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 4, January 2023

Despite depicting some genuinely pulse-pounding predicaments for young Theta Nedra Berwick as she “goes head-to-head in an all-out dogfight” against two Predators on the frozen planet of Tusket. It is quite possible that some within this twenty-page-periodical’s audience might find the sole survivor’s persistent brushes with death all a bit too unbelievable by the comic’s climax; “I gave him the advantage. Served myself up on a platter. Useless. Weak. An injured animal… screaming… Here I am! Kill me!”

Foremost of these unconvincing contrivances occurs straight from the start when Ed Brisson proposes that the woman’s clunky-looking Astar Industries spaceship is capable of outmanoeuvring a pair of Yautja attack craft for long enough to allow its drunk pilot to clamber outside onto the hull and destroy one of her fast-paced pursuers with a hand-held surface-to-air rocket launcher. Sure, some bibliophiles may well argue that the human hunter has doubtless upgraded her interstellar vessel since she first seized control of it in order to track down her parents’ extra-terrestrial killers. But considering that Theta is supposedly 'the worse from drink' having consumed an entire bottle of booze from Port Medway, it’s debatably difficult to comprehend how she maintains either her balance or deadly one-shot aim.

Perhaps just as unpersuasive is Berwick’s subsequent decision to go toe-to-toe with the remaining Predator. Ed Brisson goes to some quite considerable lengths to inform the reader just how inebriated this comic’s central protagonist has become, as well as how badly the unaccustomed alcohol is affecting both her decision-making and fighting abilities. So, it comes as no surprise when “the daughter of botanists” is outmatched by her superior opponent despite initially gaining the upper hand. However, rather than being filleted by her foe, the Joe Shuster Award-nominee has the ‘Damara dropout’ conveniently rescued in the very nick of time by a team of gun-toting Astar employees who appear completely out of the blue.

Much more credible are Kev Walker’s layouts, which do a really good job of showing just how chaotic Theta’s actions are forced to become during her efforts to elude capture. The panels depicting the Sandpiper being buffeted whilst its pilot desperately tries to lock her weapon onto the Yautja will doubtless cause some to uncontrollably sway in sympathy of the ship’s sickening movements. Whilst others may well feel the anger emanating off of Sandy’s ward as Berwick realises the folly of her confrontation and that the woman’s fifteen year-long revenge mission is about to come to naught.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Predator #3 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 3, December 2022

Considering just how much of Ed Brisson’s script for Issue Three of “Predator” consists of the audience simply watching Theta Berwick pack a hoverbike with “enough M.R.E.s, canned goods and booze to get me through next year”, this twenty-page periodical still contains an incredible amount of tension and pulse-pounding pace courtesy of a rapidly dwindling countdown until an inbound Astar Industries spacecraft arrives. In fact, by the time the young woman has spent yet another sixty minutes of this ever-ticking clock cutting down the hapless employees recently slaughtered by a Yautja, some readers may well be holding their breath in anticipation of the authorities arriving a little sooner than perhaps Sandy anticipated; “Based on the strength of the signal, I would estimate that the ship will arrive in twelve to fifteen hours.”

Of course, understandably this comic’s biggest draw is the sole survivor’s epic battle against a Predator which thought it had the drop on her. This intense clash of blades is wonderfully penned, and enjoyably doesn’t fall into the trap of the Canadian writer simply imbuing the title’s lead protagonist with super-human fighting skills either. Instead, having quickly lost a limb to the lady’s ferocious adversary, it soon becomes clear that she will only outlive her bestial opponent with a massive amount of good luck.

Furthermore, having arguably got the book’s action out of the way early on, the author has time to bring out more of Theta’s motivation for tracking down the slayer of her fellow interstellar surveyors, and depict the character’s guilt at having inadvertently caused the deaths of others by drawing the Predators’ attention upon herself. This genuine desire to do good by others blinds her to more pressing dangers and makes her much more intriguingly vulnerable than Berwick would ever acknowledge.

Just as captivating as this comic’s narrative though is Kev Walker’s prodigious pencilling, which does a great job of depicting all the emotions running through the human warrior as she realises she has fallen into an ambush and subsequently attempts to outthink her much stronger foe. Furthermore, the woman’s descent into an alcohol-induced stupor is made all the more sympathetic by some terrific facial expressions and physical exertions, with the weight of innocent murders weighing heavily upon her shoulders.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Predator #2 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 2, November 2022

Despite Ed Brisson’s narrative for Issue Two of “Predator” solely focusing upon Theta Berwick’s grim journey across the snow-packed tundra planet of Tusket, it’s highly doubtful that many of its readers were able to put it down until they’d perused the publication’s final pulse-pounding panel. Indeed, just as soon as the sole survivor’s “old, slow-as-molasses rust bucket” crash-lands upon the bone-chilling world, this comic firmly grabs the attention as its Canadian author pens its pilot desperately trying to save the artificial intelligence which she sentimentality sees as “the last thing I have left of my parents.”

Similarly as well-written though is the warrior’s slog through the depressingly white landscape which stands between her and the Astar Industries installation that houses the replacement spaceship parts she now needs. This oppressive, speechless sequence could so easily have become a boring carousel of lifeless monotony as the central character stoically trudges onwards without food for days on end. However, the human hunter’s fortunate encounter with a large horned boar, and then subsequent battle against a pair of out-of-their-depth extra-terrestrials, provides the audience with plenty of much-needed action (and even a little dialogue) to keep them wholly hooked throughout the journey.

Without a doubt however, it is this twenty-page periodical’s final third which really helps make this book so enthrallingly intense, as Theta finally arrives at her destination and discovers that a Predator has been there before her. This shocking revelation strongly suggests that Berwick quite possibly isn’t actually the one doing the hunting, especially when she spots the merciless Yautja who has slaughtered all the Astar Industries employees and hung their lifeless corpses from the ceiling is carrying her lost hand-axe. 

Genuinely helping any bibliophile physically shiver at both the comic’s cold climate and spine-tingling terror is Kev Walker’s artwork, which does a tremendous job in selling all of the varied adversities this publication’s protagonist has to face single-handedly. Foremost of the “Magic: The Gathering” illustrator’s triumphs has to be the sheer savagery and initial frustration felt by the daughter of interstellar surveyors when she is surprised by two bolt-gun firing aliens in the wilderness. Caught completely off-guard due to a nightmare-filled sleep, the ordinarily deadly killer is visibly furious at how slow she is to react to the danger she’s suddenly in; “That hoverbike -- I’m taking it -- That’s a given. That’s not a question. That bike belongs to Astar Industries. How do you have it?”

The regular cover art of "PREDATOR" #2 by Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho

Predator #1 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 1, October 2022

Having survived a year-long delay owing to a copyright lawsuit involving “the screenwriters behind the original 1987 movie and Disney's 20th Century Studios”, Ed Brisson’s script for Issue One of “Predator” probably made the vast majority of its audience believe that the twelve-month wait was worth it. Admittedly, the thirty-page plot might have surprised many a bibliophile by initially being set on the planet X14432-8 in the year 2056 A.D., as opposed to being concerned with a modern-day Earth setting as the science-fiction franchise’s films have predominantly done. But the comic’s well-penned story concerning Theta Nedra Berwick’s unsuccessful vengeance upon a facially disfigured Yautja immediately holds the attention, especially when the young woman’s entire scientific community are cold-bloodedly butchered by her elusive prize in a fascinating flashback sequence from fifteen years earlier.

Furthermore, the Joe Shuster Award-nominee’s inclusion of the friendly artificial intelligence called Sandy, who acts as the central protagonist’s synthetic parent, cleverly provides the sole-survivor with plenty of opportunities to both demonstrate her vulnerability and imbue the yarn with some much-needed humour. Indeed, despite the fact that the computer system is only depicted as a bodiless voice, its wise words of comfort to a clearly hurting ward should lead to a genuine sense of loss in the majority of this comic’s readers when the Astar Industries spacecraft crashes “one hundred miles south of the Port Medway post” and its computer abruptly goes deathly silent; “Sandy, I don’t know where I’m supposed to go from here. I need you. Sandy?”

Adding plenty of swashbuckling savagery to this periodical’s opening, and subsequently following it up with some well-paced layouts as the titular killer methodically slaughters every person an adolescent Theta has ever known, is Kev Walker. The former “Judge Dredd” illustrator is particularly good at pencilling the emotions visible upon each character’s face as they terrifyingly realise that whatever is attacking them from within the dense vegetation is not going to be stopped by a technician wielding an unfamiliar laser gun. Furthermore, the British artist does a top job imbuing Berwick with a world-weary weight which belies her youth, sketching the woman as a grim-faced, battle-scarred warrior who is exhausted by a relentless lifestyle, yet absolutely resolute in locating the “ugly b*stard” who massacred her hapless people.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Predator [2023] #1 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 1, May 2023

Described by “Marvel Worldwide” in their solicitation synopsis as “an explosive new series”, Ed Brisson’s storyline for Issue One of “Predator” certainly lives up to the New York City-based publisher's promise. In fact, fans of Twentieth Century Studios’ science-fiction franchise will probably have to wrack their brains to recall a comic book set upon “a planet far from Earth” which portrays quite so many Yautja-flavoured detonations, decapitations and disembowelments; “Looked like the jungle came alive and gutted another soldier right in front of me.”

Much of these mutilating massacres are due in large to the thirty-page-periodical’s plot replicating the insane action shown upon the silver screen in Nimród Antal’s 2010 film “Predators”. But unlike the $127 million worldwide grossing movie, “The Preserve” doesn’t allow any time for its audience to build-up much of a connection with its opening cast of eight strangers, preferring instead to repeatedly surprise the reader by having each and every one of them pitilessly obliterated by the Predators whenever the script suggests a character is actually going to become the central protagonist.

This literal meat-grinder, which is repeatedly fed fresh victims whenever the group’s number starts to dwindle, can potentially become a bit tiresome after the umpteenth evisceration. However, the pace of the slaughter taking place within the tropical game park is so intense that most bibliophiles probably won’t have time to be phased by the narrative’s somewhat repetitive nature, and instead just hope that their favourite survivor will actually make it through their first day in the extra-terrestrial jungle without being carved into pieces by their insanely deadly abductors or the odd, multi-tentacled monstrosity which they just happen to inadvertently blunder into.

Disconcertingly helping the Joe Shuster Award-nominee depict such utter slaughter is Netho Diaz, who truly helps establish an incredibly intense and terrifying atmosphere straight from the comic’s opening sequence. Able to pencil as many human internal organs spilling out across a flora-filled floor as a panel will allow, the Brazilian illustrator is as merciless with his no-holds barred artwork as the publication’s titular characters are at remorselessly gutting their hapless prey whenever one is foolish enough to try to make a futile last stand.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Penciler: Netho Diaz, and Inkers: Belardino Bradbo with Victor Nava

Predator 2 #2 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR 2 No. 1, June 1991

“Created by a different team” to that which drew, coloured, and lettered its opening instalment, this official comic book adaption of “Predator 2” probably pleased the majority of its audience in June 1991, courtesy of “Dark Horse Comics” proud presentation featuring a number of plot clarifications which weren’t shown in the motion picture. Indeed, considering just how much clearer it is that the titular antagonist purposely stalks the different members of Detective Mike Harrigan’s team, this thirty-two-page periodical’s narrative may actually be seen by many a bibliophile as being somewhat superior to the storyline seen on the silver screen.

For starters, there is little doubt “the killer from outer space” is proactively following both Leona and Jerry when they take the Metro to Vernon Station. Admittedly, this journey is a little contrived in Franz Henkel’s script, suggesting that the squad’s veteran policeman orders them to go their separate ways simply to give Special Agent Keyes’ boys the slip should they “be around.” But the move does provide artist Mark Bright with an opportunity to proficiently pencil a couple of splendid-looking panels showing the extra-terrestrial killer watching the pair from afar.

In addition, this publication also strongly suggests that the head of the Other Worldly Life Forms (OWLF) team operating in Los Angeles is actually trying to save the metropolis from being blown up by the Yautja’s devastating self-destruct device, rather than cynically hoping to weaponize both the alien and its highly advanced technology. This change in motivation debatably brings a lot more pathos to Peter Keye’s character than is seen during the movie and adds an extra element of bravado to his death when he stops the Predator from filleting Harrigan in a slaughterhouse; “I’m not through with you, god dammit!”

Perhaps this comic’s most significant difference though, lies with just how much more talkative and personal the “city hunter” becomes once it goes “one-on-one” with Mike. Quite possibly the extra-terrestrial’s taunts are noticeable due to Henkel’s truncation of the pair’s lengthy celloid chase and pulse-pounding bout of pugilism. However, the creature’s persistent use of Danny’s voice recordings to goad his opponent makes their fight much more personal and resultantly bitter.

Script by: Franz Henkel, Pencils by: Mark Bright, and Inks by: Randy Emberlin

Predator 2 #1 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR 2 No. 1, February 1991

As comic book adaptions of a film go, Franz Henkel’s narrative for Issue One of “Predator 2” certainly appears to be a well-written conversion of Jim and John Thomas’ original screenplay. Indeed, the thirty-sheet storyline almost follows the 1990 American science fiction action flick to the letter, only deviating during the narrative’s more sedentary, dialogue-heavy sequences in an effort to maintain the different medium’s fast-paced momentum.

Such truncation might well cause some confusion to those readers unfamiliar with the plot of director Stephen Hopkins’ $57 million worldwide grossing motion picture. But it certainly means that there is rarely a pause of more than a half dozen panels between Lieutenant Mike Harrigan either shooting someone with a formidable-looking firearm or physically manhandling them ‘back at the Palace.’ Furthermore, a lot of the missing conversations are actually quite cleverly shoehorned into the grizzled street veteran’s numerous thought boxes, so despite the actual discussions not being shown, the information exchanged during them is carried over onto the printed page. 

Alongside this admirable attempt to keep his audience’s experience as exhilarating as possible, the author also does a tremendous job in capturing the sheer raw energy and sense-shattering violence of the movie’s opening. True, the lead protagonist’s fear of heights probably doesn’t carry over as well as it does on the silver screen, nor perhaps the desperate urgency needed to get Officer Johnson off to hospital before he bleeds to death. But the sheer gratuitous nature of Harrigan’s actions, as well as those of the deadly extra-terrestrial, are quickly established in any perusing bibliophile’s mind within moments of both characters making an appearance; “He wasn’t talking to me! Whatever he was hallucinating -- it must have been pretty ugly.”

Probably this comic’s biggest selling point though, besides it licenced tie-in to “the lowest-grossing film in the Predator franchise”, lies with Dan Barry’s pencils, Randy Emberlin’s inks and Lurene Haines’ colours. Between them the trio create a seriously grisly representation of (future) Los Angeles in 1997, with the artistic team’s visual recreation of both the alien hunter’s infra-red vision and invisibility cloak’s deactivation proving particularly effective – especially during poor Danny Archuleta's fatal exploration of Colombian drug dealer Ramon Vega’s “posh penthouse”.

Script by: Franz Henkel, Pencils by: Dan Barry, and Inks by: Randy Emberlin

Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens #4 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS No. 4, June 2017

“Dark Horse Comics” have kept very quiet as why this comic book series’ finale was ultimately delayed from hitting the shelves for a staggering eight months. But considering just how much ground John Layman’s script covers within the confines of just twenty-two pages, it was quite possibly due to the former “Wildstorm” Editor and artist Chris Mooneyham desperately trying to storyboard an alien invasion of Mega-City One and its subsequent (surprisingly swift) downfall all in the space of a single pamphlet.

Indeed, considering that Issue Four of “Predator Vs Judge Dredd Vs Aliens” depicts the Archbishop Emoji’s apocalyptic death cult being massacred by Doctor Niels Reinstot’s “xenomorph-infected man-animal hybrids”, Judge Dredd’s extensive hunt for the lethal extra-terrestrials and creation of an uneasy alliance with the Yautja, as well as the lawman’s discovery, successful penetration and explosive destruction of the creatures’ subterranean hatchery, it’s incredible that the Milwaukie-based publisher didn’t decide to simply extend “Splice And Dice” to include at least a fifth instalment… As it is however, this concluding chapter’s narrative moves at such an incredible pace that it disappointingly turns what should have been a cataclysmic rematch between H.R. Giger’s lethal creations and the future metropolis’ finest into just simply yet another in a long line of hostile invasions which is all-too readily defeated by a couple of judges; “Control, this is Dredd. Alien organisms have been eliminated.”

Fortunately, despite the terrifying tempo of this “ultimate science-fiction crossover”, Layman still manages to provide a few moments of magic within his narrative, and cause a couple of surprises along the way too, such as the bug-eyed “self-proclaimed geneticist” coldly killing his psychic partner-in-crime, the “robo-messiah”, and later transforming into the “ugly, mother spugger” queen, Intercivus raptus regina, by self-injecting himself with the DNA serum he had originally concocted for Cassandra Anderson. Similarly, there’s plenty of fun to be had watching the Mega-City One judges and predators battling it out side-by-side, as they are literally swarmed by adult aliens and scuttling face huggers.

Whatever the cause for this magazine’s postponement, Chris Mooneyham’s pencilling shows no sign of haste, and instead delivers plenty of thrills with his gorily graphic illustrations of citizens being literally torn to shreds, and a wonderfully envisaged egg-laying alien monarch. In fact, the comic book artist’s drawings of an unshaven Dredd blazing away at his enemies one moment, and then angrily sticking a big finger in the face of the formidably tall Yautja in the next, was arguably worth the wait for this title’s culmination alone…

Script: John Layman, Artist: Chris Mooneyham, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh

Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens #3 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS No. 3, December 2016

Having spent so much time and patience in the previous two instalments contrivingly conspiring to ensure that all three of this mini-series’ titular characters are thrown together for “the biggest brawl in the history of the universe”, it is doubtful many of readers enjoyed John Layman’s resoundingly swift, and arguably unbelievable resolutions within Issue Three of “Predator Vs Judge Dredd Vs Aliens”. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine more of a ‘cop-out’ than the Eisner Award-winner’s belief that the Justice Department would actually befriend “the universe’s deadliest killers” rather than ‘sentence them to death’; especially when Chris Mooneyham so graphically illustrates one of the extra-terrestrial hunter’s spearing Judge Gilligan whilst the injured man is being carried to safety by Mega-City One’s toughest lawman; “You just made a big mistake scum.”

Disconcertingly however, that is precisely what the American author would have his “IDW and 2000 A.D.” co-publication's audience believe, and later even goes so far as to portray Joe begrudgingly praising the Yautja for murdering his colleague by declaring that he won’t be “charging him for what he did to Judge Gilligan.” Maybe the sentient, humanoid alien was “right” and the lawman “was already doomed as soon as the implanted xenomorph started to grow within him.” But Dredd doesn’t usually wait around to see whether or not someone who has killed a judge is justified or not? And this attitude certainly fails to explain why, despite one of them having been levelled by a blow from Fargo’s clone, the three predators decide to team-up with Judge Anderson when they are only facing two of their endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial prey.  

Just as preposterous is Layman’s bizarre plot-twist that depicts Cassandra somehow managing to take over the mind of Judge McCrary, in order for her to manipulate the alien DNA-fused lawman into both attacking a Predator-Xenomorph XX121 hybrid and releasing a seemingly securely incarcerated Dredd. This psychic power is admittedly not completely out of the realms of plausibility considering the Psi Judge’s documented abilities are chiefly telepathy and precognition. Yet it, along with her sudden aptitude to mentally communicate with the Yautja, still seems a little too convenient considering at the time Anderson was in the hands of the mad genetic scientist Dr. Reinstöt…

Script: John Layman, Artist: Chris Mooneyham, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh

Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens #2 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS No. 2, August 2016

Considering that “Judge Dredd and his squad of Mega-City One’s finest” spend half this comic securely strapped to some laboratory experimentation cubicles, John Layman’s script for Issue Two of the preposterously named “Predator Vs Judge Dredd Vs Aliens” certainly contains plenty of suspense and gun-blazing action. For whilst Doctor Niels Reinstot undeniably spends a fair proportion of his ‘screen time’ waxing lyrical as to how his “earliest experiments with my DNA-infuser formula” were “crude, and dangerously unstable”, the former “Wildstorm” Editor’s narrative keeps things ‘more than lively’ by repeatedly flashing back to a time when Old Stoney Face supposedly blew the mad scientist’s head apart for “the charges of kidnapping, child endangerment, and unauthorised genetic manipulation”.

Sadly however, this somewhat ‘back and forth’ storytelling technique does make for a rather choppy read on occasion, especially when, without any particular evident reason or warning, the plot intermittently leaps from Joe’s past, to the Predators' present, and then back to another point in the timeline when Mega-City One’s toughest lawman was chasing “the emoticon-faced cult leader known as Archbishop Emoji across the Cursed Earth and into the Alabama Morass.” Such interludes certainly become disappointingly distracting by the time Reinstot has injected Judge McCrary with a “formula incorporating the DNA taken from this strange alien skull” and placed a parasitoid larva over the face of a second horrified Judge.

Fortunately what the American comic book writer seems especially good at is creating an incredible sense of fear and dread, even when the plot itself is somewhat plodding, undoubtedly dialogue-heavy and sedentary in nature. The bound, helpless law enforcement officers’ stark anguish as the multi-eyed murderer approaches them armed with either a glowing-green syringe or wriggling face-hugger is absolutely palpable, as is Dredd’s increasing anger and frustration as he witnesses his wretched colleagues fall to Niels’ sadistic experimentations; “Drokk it, creep, when I get out of here --”

Equally as engaging as Layman’s penmanship is Chris Mooneyham’s penciling. The “traditional” artist’s breakdowns genuinely convey a sense of foreboding doom as the Predators quickly piece together Emoji’s frantic flight from his well-armed pursuers and the robot’s subsequent fire-fight. However, such dynamic panels are as nothing when compared to the American illustrator’s seriously disconcerting facial expressions as the psychotic doctor’s Mega-City test subjects realise their imminent grisly fates; an especially impressive feat considering that none of the male Judges have removed their helmets.

Script: John Layman, Artist: Chris Mooneyham, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh

Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens #1 - Dark Horse Comics

PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS No. 1, July 2016

Touted by “Dark Horse Comics” as “the ultimate science-fiction crossover” by pitting “legendary Judge Dredd against [both] the universe’s supreme hunters… [and] the galaxy’s ultimate killing machines”, this opening instalment of a four-issue miniseries actually lives up to its ‘online community hype’ by being “exactly as awesome as it sounds.” In fact, besides John Layman strangely scripting for a lone Hish-qu-Ten to be unforgivably outfought by some spear-carrying animal-men during the book’s opening, this twenty-two page periodical provides a near-perfect platform upon which to base “the greatest showdown in the history of the universe.”

For starters the Eisner Award-winner soon establishes a suitably gritty feel to “Splice And Dice” by initially focussing almost exclusively upon Mega-City One’s “judge, jury and executioner” as he leads a team of fellow judges into “the vast atomic wasteland known as the Cursed Earth” looking for a group of “robot-worshiping apocalypse cultists.” The subsequent search of Smeg’s Saloon and fist-fight with the “group of terrorist fugitives” instantly provides the former “Wildstorm” editor’s tale with plenty of pulse-pounding gusto, and additionally allows the America Author ample opportunity for both Judge Anderson to demonstrate her psi-powers and the moustached Gilligan his ‘flawed’ thinking.; “Looks can be deceiving, Judge Gilligan.”

Sadly, perhaps this comic’s only real disappointment comes once the lawmen realise that Archbishop Emoji has escaped west into the Alabama Morass and all of the audience’s attention is then turned upon the foolish ‘DNA doings’ of Doctor Niels Reinstot. Although Layman’s script makes it clear that the multiple-eyed mutant “geneticist supreme” has only just manufactured his laboratory’s assortment of face-hugging extra-terrestrials from one of his captive predator’s skeletal trophies, it is still somewhat unfortunate that these encapsulated second stage endoparasitoids are as close to a living mature specimen of Xenomorph XX121 as the plot allows artist Chris Mooneyham to go…

However, besides failing to depict one of H.R. Giger’s famous Necronom IV-inspired creations, the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art graduate’s contribution to Issue One of "PvsJDvsA” is hard to fault with its punchy panels and square-jawed depictions of Mega-City One's finest; especially as the Milwaukee resident’s heavily-lined rough-looking pencilling is rather reminiscent of former flagship “2000 A.D.” artist Cam Kennedy.

Script: John Layman, Artist: Chris Mooneyham, and Colors: Michael Atiyeh