Marvel Comics acquired the comic book rights to the Alien and Predator franchises when Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, and the company originally planned to get a new Predator comic book series started last June. It was going to be a big deal, as Marvel had even unveiled twenty “Marvel vs. Predator” variant covers that would promote the Predator series by showing the iconic creature crossing paths with popular Marvel characters. Then one year ago, we heard that Marvel had cancelled all orders for the Predator ongoing series and the variant covers. That was due to a lawsuit that original Predator screenwriters Jim and John Thomas had filed in an effort to gain the copyright to the 1987 film. Thankfully, the Thomas brothers and Disney / 20th Century reached an amicable resolution to that lawsuit, so now the Predator Marvel series is back on track. AIPTcomics reports that Predator issue #1 will be reaching store shelves on July 6th.
Coming from the creative team of Ed Brisson and Kev Walker, Predator #1 kicks off when
a young girl sees her family slaughtered by a Predator. Years later, though her ship is barely holding together and food is running short, Theta won’t stop stalking the spaceways until the Yautja monster who killed her family is dead… or she is.
Brisson had this to say about the comic book series:
I’ve been obsessed with Predator since first seeing the film at the drive-in theater as a kid. I can still remember sitting there in horrified fascination and then acting out the movie for my classmates the following week at school. I bought the VHS and wore the hell out of the tape. Getting to write the characters launch for Marvel is a dream come true. When they offered me the gig, I already had a million ideas ready to go. Not only am I excited to write a Predator book, but I’m doubly excited to be working with Kev Walker on the series. The pages he’s turned in so far and mind-blowing. He’s delivered awe-inspiring alien planets; huge, blood-pumping action scenes: and devastatingly emotional beats all in the space of the first issue. I really think we’re making something quite special here.”
Are you glad to hear the Marvel Predator series is finally going to be published? Will you be collecting the series? Let us know by leaving a comment below.