New Comic Review - Predator #4

Name: Predator #4

Published by: Marvel comics

Writter: Ed Brisson

Artists: Kev Walker

Colorists: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: Clayton Cowles 

The new Predator mini-series have gone past its halfway mark, but the author managed to keep the story flowing despite it starting to become a bit predictable. The beautiful drawing also emphasizes this action packed issue to keep fans of the franchise enticed enough for the future. 

This issue focuses more on action compared to the past few, but tries to show more flashy armors and designs rather than focus on visceral battle scene which is saved for the last few pages and tries to introduce a new angle close to the end. 

We get to learn more about the situation Theta is in as our protagonist tries to survive being pursued by more than one Predators. The battle gets brutal pretty soon and readers are kept wondering how this confrontation might resolve. 

The drawing by Kev Walker seems to very well suited for the futuristic action scenes and his take on the beloved Predator armors are very eye catching and detailed.

Despite having quite a few positive, some of its issues do hold this issue back somewhat. All in all, this one gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Predator #3

Name: Predator #3

Published by: Marvel comics

Writter: Ed Brisson

Artists: Kev Walker

Colorists: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: Clayton Cowles 

The third issue of the new Predator comics starts with the fight that was expected based on the ending of the last issue. And afterwards, the mystery starts to unravel about the nature of the Predators and about how they are trying to deal with the situation of the protagonist Theta. 

The issue didn't really deliver the action I was hoping for, but it did expand on the plotline and gave some more exposition upon the past and implications for the future of Theta. And ended on a note promising more action on the upcoming issues. 

The drawing was quite strong on this issue, I really liked the facial expressions on Theta as well as the interior designs of the ship and the overall environment. Hopefully we get to see more action in the future from the artists. 

Overall - 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

Graphic Novel Review - Predator Omnibus Vol. 1

Name: Predator Omnibus Vol. 1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics 

Written by: Mark Verheiden, Ian Edginton, Chuck Dixon, Dan Barry, Mike Richardson, Neil Barrett, Jr. 

Penciled by: Chris Warner, Ron Randall, Rick Leonardi, Enrique Alcatena, Dan Barry, Leo Duranona

Inked by: Sam De La Rosa, Chris Warner, Randy Emberlain, Steve Mitchell, Rick Magyar, Dan Panosian, Enrique Alcatena, Dan Barry, Leo Duranona

Colorer by: Chris Chalenor, Rachelle Menashe, David Nastelle, Steve Mattson, John Hannan III, Greg Wright, Gail Beckett, Eric Vincent 

Lettering by: Jim Massara, David Jackson, Clem Robins, Steve Dutro, Gail Beckett, Ellie De Ville

Well, this one is certainly not for everyone, but for the fans of Predator and of 80's action movies this is definitely going to be something of pure joy and nostalgia. Don't come here looking for artistic writing or groundbreaking mystery or finesse, but if you just came to enjoy mindless action and cheesy dialogue filled with varied and interesting drawings featuring the iconic Predators you have reached the right place indeed. 

This omnibus contains some of the earliest comic issues published by Dark Horse and you can clearly feel the influence of the first movie of the franchise in these stories. I would now write a few lines expressing my feelings about each of the story on offer. 

'Concrete Jungle' is the first ever original Predator comic series. It deals with the brother of Dutch, John Schaefer, who is an NYPD detective. It is clearly apparent that this has heavily influenced the second movie. While the author did some things better than the movie, but some things were just better done on big screen. 

'Cold War' once again features John Schaefer, but this time he goes to Siberia and teams up with a Russian woman named Lt. Ligachev to deal with another party of Predators. I liked this one most of the trilogy featuring Schaefer, the setting is quite promising for a movie in my opinion, the drawing was very good and Ligachev was a great addition too. 

'Dark River' is definitely the weakest of Schaefer trilogy, despite having some delightful art. The story is just too similar in essence and execution of the previous two and the dialogue was a bit too cheesy even for the 80's action movies feel it was trying to achieve. 

'Rite of Passage' was the first of the two short pieces based in Africa. I really liked this silent short. It reminded me a bit of 'Prey', the latest movie in the franchise. 

'The Pride at Nghasa' was another enjoyable story, reminding of the hunting stories I used to love in my childhood, with a twist of the hunters being massacred by a Predator. 

'The Bloody Sands of Time' was a mixed bag. While I really loved the characters of Griggs and Gwen, the story relied too much on the horrors of war and mindless slaughter instead of focusing on the characters for my liking. 

'Blood Feud' was another story that had a promising beginning, focusing on a blind Samurai but rather failed to deliver later on. Despite being a short story this one seemed to drag a bit and lacked the action that I hoped for. 

All in all, a fine example of the early days of Predator comics that is essential reading for any fans of the franchise and anyone who likes cheesy action movies. 

My score - 4 out of 5 stars. 

New Comic Review - Predator #2

Name: Predator #2

Published by: Marvel comics

Writter: Ed Brisson

Artists: Kev Walker

Colorists: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: Clayton Cowles 

This issue slows the pace down quite a bit, after the action packed and plot enriched first issue. There is a distinct lack of visceral action sequences present on the first issue. There isn't much presence of the titular character of 'Predator' as well. 

Rather the author focuses more time building on the character of Theta, adding depth into both her inner struggles as well as her attempt of surviving the unforgiving and harsh conditions of the planet that she crashed on in the previous issue. The ending does set up next month's issue to have one intense battle though. 

Despite liking some aspects of the issue which make this an enjoyable science fiction story, my main problem is that this doesn't really feel like a Predator comic at all. The sense of horror and intensity characteristic of fictions associated with the unique hunter species is distinctly absent here. 

The drawing and coloring do the job admirably with depicting the desolate atmosphere of the planet as well as the desperation and turmoil the protagonist goes through. But I will be much more interested to see the action sequences drawn by these two in the future issues. 

Like the first issue, I will give this one 3.5 out of 5 stars once again.

New Comic Review - Predator #1

Name: Predator #1

Published by: Marvel comics

Writter: Ed Brisson

Artists: Kev Walker

Colorists: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: Clayton Cowles 

While the story of revenge for having your loved ones killed isn't definitely something new, Ed Brisson did reverse the role of the predator and prey to give the story a new twist with some bombastic art to boot. And this is a high time for the franchise with the new movie being a hit and Marvel starting to publish new comics. 

This first issue introduces us to the human protagonist, who might remind readers a bit of 'Naru' from 'Prey', but despite having the quite done and dusted background of being motivated by revenge her character was fleshed out quite methodically and her ships AI has its unique attitudes to be quite likeable. 

This issue had a fair bit of action sequences which were drawn with jubilant style and colors, giving a sense of action and urgency. The ship designs were quite delightful and the author did try to give us a bit of information about the activities of the Predators as a race of hunters. But I myself expected some more actions, specially knowing about the history of the franchise. 

Overall, any reader will fill invested in Theta after learning of her past and her mission and her dire predicaments after the ending of this issue. 

This one gets, 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.