With Predator: Killer of Killers reminding me of just how much untapped potential there is in Predator lore even now, almost 40 years after the first movie was released, I thought I’d revisit the original direct sequel to Predator, which emerged the year before Predator 2 hit the big screen.

Dark Horse Comics made a big splash in the late 80s with their licensed Aliens titles, and it didn’t take long for them to follow with a Predator series (of course, they’d soon make history by smashing the two series together, in the amazing Aliens vs Predator).

In this first issue, of a four issue mini-series, a heatwave has hit Los Angeles, and there’s a war brewing between rival gangs. In the midst of this, something is killing people and leaving behind skinned corpses; Detectives Rasche and Schaefer are soon thrust into the deadliest of situations, against a terrifyingly well equipped foe.

The similarities to Predator 2, which was released in 1990, in this first issue are startling; the urban setting, the heatwave and the tension between rival gangs being elements which also strongly feature in the movie. The reason this happened seems to be that at least the first issue was based on a then-unfilmed Predator 2 script, which spent a good amount of time in development hell for a variety of reasons, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lack of interest in being in a sequel.

That’s how we ended up with Danny Glover in the movie, and it’s how we end up with the brother of Schwarzenegger’s character (Major ‘Dutch’ Schaefer) in the comic too.

In fact, that may be the biggest misstep here; though it does allow for some continuity between the first film and this comic book sequel, it doesn’t make sense that the military know about the Predator on the streets of New York at the beginning, nor is it particularly plausible that they know about its connection to Dutch at this stage. Even less believable is the fact that Dutch’s brother just happens to encounter another Predator.

However, if you can suspend your disbelief at those few plot points, this is a really solid and action-packed continuation of the Predator storyline. Even more of a badass than his brother, John Schaefer takes on the Predator in hand to hand combat in this issue too, leading to a pretty cool cliffhanger.

It’s all good, violent fun; Dark Horse nail the perfect tone and content for a Predator follow-up, and despite its somewhat dated colouring, for the most part it holds up pretty well.

I always enjoyed this first Predator series (also known as Predator: Concrete Jungle), and it’s a joy to reacquaint myself with it, 36 years after it first emerged!

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