We’ve had Aliens, Prometheus and AVP, but now it’s time for Joshua Williamson to put them all to shame with the glorious “Predator” #1. This debut issue pulls no punches. No one is safe and death lies in wait around every corner. The tension is palpable and the action is visceral; this is the Predator comic we’ve been waiting for since ’87.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Chris Mooneyham
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: October 22, 2014
Reviewed By Torin Chambers
Williamson quickly sidesteps one of past Predator comics largest potholes, introducing the Predator. We don’t spend issue upon issue following bumbling protagonists trying to figure out what mysterious creature is hunting them. Predator is in the title. There’s no need to treat each one like it’s the first time, and that’s exactly what Williamson avoids.
The protagonists here are smart and crafty, they know there’s something onboard with them and they’re going to find it. Our ‘hero’ Galgo is one slippery, slimy, greasy son of a bitch. He’s beyond cocky and looks out for himself above all else. You’d never want to be his friend (or even in his proximity) but he’s insanely fun to read. It’s an absolute joy to watch him work people, pushing the right buttons and conning others into early graves. He’s an incredibly strong protagonist in his own right, he could carry a story sans-predator — easy.
But this isn’t Galgo: Fire & Stone, it’s a god damn Predator story. More specifically it’s the story of Ahab, an old Predator who’s on his last great hunt. I won’t spoil what he’s hunting here, although if you were at Dark Horse’s NYCC panel, like me, then you know where things are going. Trust me though this, Ahab is definitely hunting his own white whale and when it comes to pass, it’ll be a spectacle.
It’d be a crime if I didn’t praise the hell out of Christopher Mooneyham’s gritty and detailed art. He was born to draw a Predator comic. The way Mooneyham works with Ahab’s heat vision is brilliant, I’ve never seen it used in such creative ways. This creative attention to detail extends to all of Ahab’s arsenal and I have no doubts it’ll just get more and more fun as the series continues.
The days of calling an okay Predator comic a blessing are over. Once this 4 issue series has concluded it will become what all Predator comics are compared to, I can feel it in my bones. Williamson and Mooneyham expertly sow the seeds for the Predator epic we’ve all wanted, and Predator has deserved, for years.
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Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter @TorinsChambers