Writer: Marc Andreyko, David Lapham
Penciller: Guilherme Balbi, Gabriel Guzman
Inker: José Verissimo, Mariano Taibo
Colorist: Garry Henderson, Michael Atiyeh
Cover Artist: Paul LeeA team of Navy Seals is in the midst of a firefight when it suddenly goes dark. They awake to find themselves in a new and more deadly environment, stalked by a strange enemy. One by one these special-ops officers are killed by an unseen threat, until only one man remains. All alone in a strange world, he must do what he knows best-survive against all odds.
Robert Rodriguez teams with Dark Horse for an action-packed weekly prequel to his forthcoming Predators film!
Just in time for the film release coming July 2010!
Check behind the cut for my thoughts on the first issue!
I’m actually a pretty big fan of the Predators series, to be quite honest. I thought the first movie was a lot of fun, and I’ve always thought that the Predator was greater than the Alien. Granted, these movies aren’t the greatest revolutions of cinema by any stretch of the imagination, nor are they even films I’d recommend to everyone I know, but I love my special edition of Predator starring Arnold Schwarzeneger regardless.
That being said, I haven’t been following the movie at all. It’s not that I’m disinterested at all, I’m just a skeptic in my most basic of nature. It’s funny that I don’t follow it, too, because I like the cast a lot. I think that the film could be a lot of fun, and definitely a redemption for the Predator after Alien Vs Predator: Requiem, which was arguably the worst film to come out in that whole saga. This is probably where my skeptical nature for a new Predator movie comes from, in all honesty.
But then there’s the comic. The comic acts as a prequel to the film and runs along two story lines, both of which will supposedly have some kind of pay-off in the film or, at the very least, help illuminate character actions that may seem quite unfamiliar to the viewer. I’ve known quite a few comic movie prequels, such as with last summer’s Star Trek film, and although I don’t normally follow them, I still found myself generally intrigued by the dual nature of the comic book.
So it’s with this that I actually have to look at the comic book in two halves, if you’ll allow me a bit longer to discuss it.
The first half of the book is the actual Predator part, as in it’s the only one of the two stories to feature the titular creature. We are introduced to a brand new character who I assume won’t be in the movie, who – while fighting insurgents in the Middle East – is mysteriously transported into a jungle of which he has no recollection of entering. Immediately we are thrust into a life or death situation as, one by one, his friends are picked off.
The story, written by Marc Andreyko, is pretty good. It introduces all the core elements of the story in a short 14 page format with a twist ending that leaves me rather confused but definitely intrigued. In fact, if anything I feel like the movie might be accidentally spoiled by this revelation, but I obviously can not be too sure. It definitely changes the idea I had of where I thought the story would go, and Andreyko’s writing here is great. Coupled with Guilherme Balbi’s art, which is subtle at the important moments and intense at the best ones, the first story reads really well. I’m very curious to see what the resolution for this tale will be, and how it will have an effect on the movie, because I’m sure it’ll be the bigger of the two.
The second half of the book follows the main character of the movie, Royce, who is portrayed by Adrien Brody – both in and out of the comic book. Royce is hired by a small third world country to do some “house keeping”, so to say, which is a trait that he is known for. Royce is actually a goon for hire in so many words, and specializes in low key assassinations. Not only that, but he’s dangerously smart and used to the cut throat lifestyle he lives, which becomes evident by the actions taken at the end of the issue.
The first thing I have to mention is that Gabriel Guzman’s art, which actually has Adrien Brody playing Adrien Brody playing Royce, is great. I think I’d be rather annoyed if the main character didn’t actually look like his film counterpart, but Guzman does a great job with the art, as well as the jungle scene, and he never loses his characters tones and appearances in the smaller panels (which a lot of artists seem to sometimes do). As for the writing, the book seems perfect for Lapham – at least, as far as I know his writing. It’s a darker story, and much less sci-fi than the other half. It’s odd to me to see this because it doesn’t really seem like Adrien Brody could portray such a character, but if nothing else it makes me more intrigued to see his performance in the film.
My enthusiasm aside, I can tell already that this will ultimately be a love it or hate it book. I think that, for fans of Predator and the Predator series/stories, this book will be a lot of fun. It’ll also be interesting to see how it ties-in with the movie exactly, and to have writers like Lapham and Andreyko on the book, it’s in good hands. If you’re excited for the next cinematic entry into the Predator saga, definitely give this book a look.
