My
first exposure to the four color version of Predators wasn’t in their solo comics by Dark Horse Publishing.
Dark
Horse (as illustrated by their name) was the first comics company that decided they
couldn’t compete head on with DC and Marvel in superhero worlds, and took a
side route of focusing solely on licenses, some of which the big two previously
held and allowed to lapse.
Instead
they had multiple series based on different movie and TV show franchises.
The
first Dark Horse title I bought was an absolute “need.”
On
my weekly pilgrimage to Aquilonia, the comic shop in downtown Troy, December of
my Junior year at RPI, I walked in the door, and was greeted by both alternate
deluxe covers of Batman vs. Predator with
the two foes facing each other.
In
1991, Marvel and DC hadn’t crossed over in nine years, and the new age of them
crossing over that would lead to the Amalgam Comics series was still a few years away.
And the lead up to that was DC crossing
characters over with Dark Horse and other third party companies.
These
crossovers helped the Yautja stand out in ways that didn't happen in their own
solo titles.
First
of all, a large section of the standard Predator comic had to deal with the introduction
and definition of the creature’s human opponent. In this case, that’s covered by two words, “I'm Batman!” That allowed much more panel
space to focus on the Predator’s style and culture.
The
other huge advantage in an intercompany crossover is that since money and legal
deals have to be exchanged for it to happen, the top creators get assigned to
it. In fact, multiple pages in each issue were top artists showing the two
square off.
That
first one I bought was written by Dave (Watchmen)
Gibbons, and drawn by Andy and Adam Kubert (of the Dover, New Jersey Kuberts).
The two sequels extending the interaction with the Bat-clan were written
two of the top Batman family writers of the era, Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon.
Besides
the Batman battles, a Yautja also met Superman. Micheline and Maleev’s tale
brought the Predator to earth along with a space virus that affected Big Blue’s
power level, to prevent it from being three panels long. At least it allowed the fight to take place in the jungle setting of the original film.
For a power level and gadget match up, Batman
works better. There was even an acclaimed short fan film, Dead End!
The
“enhanced creator” effect also happened when Dark Horse crossed over licenses
within itself. Walt (best Thor ever)
Simonson wrote the feral conflict that brought in two of Burroughs’s
mythologies in Tarzan Vs. Predator: At the
Earth’s Core.
Those
trophy takin' space monsters fit in really well in Mega City one and the Cursed
Earth as well, spawning epic battles with Judge Dredd. Actually, the Batman/ Dredd crossovers were awesome as well. We really need one with all three.
The
most bizarre mix was unquestionably 2015’s Archie
Vs. Predator. The storyline, and
violence, followed in the footsteps of the critically and commercially successful
Archie horror line. Yet the art was done
in classic Archie style by Fernando Ruiz.
It was a fun, yet twisted version of the Yautja, tearing his way through
a Riverdale gang who somehow retained their identities and innocence, when not
being ripped limb from limb, as they referenced the original film.
Reggie
claiming to be a, “Gosh darn sexual tyrannosaurus.”
And
Veronica,
“Ain’t got time to read.”
Or
the most classic line, shouting out another classic eviscerated by TV censors:
“You
are one ugly melon farmer!”
Batman,
Superman, and Judge Dredd also met the Xenomorphs (separately, sadly) with similar artistic
success, and they all also met them with the Predators (Bruce and Clark together this time), but that specific type cross
over is where the Yautja shined the most, and will be covered next week.
Aliens vs Predator comics
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