Predator: Life and Death #1
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Brian Albert Thies
Dark Horse Comics
March 2, 2016
Reviewed by Jess Landry
With Predator: Life and Death #1, so begins a new chapter in the never-ending saga in the intertwined Aliens, Predator, Aliens vs. Predator and Prometheus worlds.
This particular story begins aboard the rapid response combat ship, Hasdrubal, and a crew heading into an uncertainty (which, if you’re playing along at home, is basically how all of these mission-gone-bad stories begin). The infamous Weyland-Yutani Corporation is looking to terraform and colonize planet LV-797, a.k.a. Tartarus, so the Hasdrubal’s primary objective is to investigate the planet. Now, it wouldn’t be much fun if things didn’t go terribly, horribly, spine-rippingly wrong, so needless to say, that’s exactly what happens, but seeing how this is only the first issue of three, readers get a mere taste of what horrors await.
Life and Death #1 sets up what’s sure to be a bloody good time by offering a little hint of the bloodshed to come, and has a refreshing cast of characters that one comes to expect from this world including the usual suspects: macho white guy, tough-as-nails chick and surely sinister representative of the Weyland-Yutani Corp (who also happens to be a person of colour).
Colorist Rain Beredo’s earth tones complement illustrator Brian Thies’ heavily shaded drawings beautifully, giving a realistic, gritty feel to the overall tone of the images. Even when the recon crew makes their way on foot through Tartarus, the gritty tone remains, with the brightest implements coming from gunfire, the Predators fluorescent blood and its signature heat-vision.
Predator: Life and Death #1 is off to a good start, although every comic in this universe seems to begin the same way. Issue #1 is out on March 2nd, 2016, with #2 following in April and #3 in May – it’ll be interesting to see if the story goes into uncharted territory or if it follows the same path as others before it.
