Predator #1 (2022)

When Marvel's Predator was announced in 2020, there was every reason to be excited. The team was good, early Alien orders were promising.

We were all so very young then.


First, Alien came out, and it was problematic at best. Very few aliens, didn't follow alien mythology, art that was stolen from other, better artists. All not the best. Then there was the lawsuit. Predator, and all things Predator related, were put on hold for an indefinite period due to a potential rights issue. This happened after the book was announced, after we'd seen artwork, and after some snazzy Marvel vs Predator covers had been shown. To say it took the sizzle off the steak would be an understatement. Lastly, rumors started flying about a DIRECT TO STREAMING??? Predator movie. A franchise that put something as bad as 'The Predator' in theaters had a movie so bad it can't be put on the big screen. Maybe that's the end. Maybe the hunt really is over.


Jump to May of 2022. The rights issue has been resolved to everyone's satisfaction. A teaser trailer has been released for a movie called 'Prey' and it doesn't look like hot garbage, and Marvel solicits a Predator omnibus collecting some EXCELLENT material from the Dark Horse era.


Tip toe into June 2022. A full trailer for Prey is released, and it looks like maybe something really good is happening there. At the same time, we get the new solicit for Ed Brisson and Kev Walker's Predator book.


Final hop into August. You've all seen Prey right? It's bloody great, but a great movie isn't a great comic, and this is a comic review, right? It's a really long review though. I mean, would we really waste all this time if you weren't going to read that all the best of Kev Walker's 2000 AD work comes through in clean, crisp, focused art that almost has a twing of Jim Cheung to it? That Ed Brisson's script bounces back and forth effortlessly between two timelines to show us both where we are and how we got here? That there are characters to get invested in both visually and in the writing? That there are for sure going to be Predator goings-on in every issue?

If you're looking for that sort of dismissal, you're in the wrong spot. This is an EASY recommendation for anyone who likes good comics, not just 'good for licensed' comics. This is the first part of a six issue arc. Five more like this, please.