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gothicteletubby's review
3.75
This was so funny to me. The first Predator story was confusing to understand in the action scenes, but the last story was the best of the three of them.
dozmuttz's review
3.0
After watching the newest installment of the Predator film franchise, ‘Prey’ (2022), I got the itch to check this collection out. The premise is as simple as the title insists. The alien race known as Predators has landed in Gotham and Batman must stop them. In this collection are the 3 mini-series where we see the caped crusader take on his most gruesome opponent. Part one is given to us by a stellar team of Dave Gibbons on writing, Andy Kubert on penciled artwork, and Adam Kubert on inks. In this first bout of the Bat and the Predator, we see a boxer becoming the newest champion of Gotham city. After winning and heading home for a night with his wife, he is slain by the Predator. GCPD investigates and notices the killing tactics to be new to them. It’s also very horrific stuff, as the spine and skull of the boxer have been completely removed and taken away from the murder scene. After Batman does some digging he eventually bumps into the Predator and gets completely mopped. He’s never faced anything like this. Him and GCPD have a lot to work with and the Predator continues its hunt on some of Gotham’s mob families.
This first mini felt really fun and creative. There wasn’t much else going on subplot wise so it made the story feel very streamline. Gibbons gives us awesome action and the overall pacing of the book was great. Partner that with the Kubert brothers on artwork and this whole idea starts off with a bang! The art style of Andy’s pencils is the perfect match for that grimy setting that Gotham is. There’s also great fight scenes through the read with an awesome climax. 4/5
The second mini-series is brought to us by Doug Moench on writing, Paul Gulacy on pencils, and Terry Austin on inks. This is the same team that gave us the ‘Prey’ storyline in ‘Legends of The Dark Knight.’ I quite enjoyed that read so it was cool to see them do this one. This 2nd part shows another Predator arriving in Gotham after the events of the first one. Its main objective is to kill Batman and it will do anything to do just that, even if it means killing its own kind. While it goes to Gotham, there is also a group of assassins targeting Batman. So the Predator makes sure to take care of some of those assassins as well, that way he is the only one that gets a shot at the Bat.
This 2nd part to the overall series wasn’t as good as the first one, however it was still pretty good. I do think the whole aspect of having some assassins involved to go against Batman, felt a bit cheesy. It added a couple of cool interactions between characters but the group of assassins were all new and nobody characters. So it never really added much for me. Moench brings the concept of having a more out of control Predator against Batman and I thought it was alright, as it did help add some of the horror aspects to the story. It helps the pacing for the read, however sometimes Moench does bore me, and I find the pacing to dull down a bit. Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin on artwork are once again a team I enjoyed, however this time around, I wasn’t as interested in Gulacy’s pencils. I felt his movement felt a bit stiff in this one compared to what I saw in ‘Prey’. I also hate how he draws faces haha. 3/5
The third and final mini-series is done by Chuck Dixon on writing, Rodolfo Damaggio on pencils, and Robert Campanella on inks. This is for sure the worst mini-series of the 3. In this one ONCE again the Predator is back only this time it’s two and they are running a muck against Gothams thugs and criminals. Batman is joined by Robin this time however doesn’t tell him anything that’s going on for “his own safety”. Yada yada they fight and yea yea. At this point I was kinda burnt out and Dixon’s turn on this premise didn’t help, cause it wasn’t good. The pacing was all over the place and super boring. There were subplots that dragged a little too much so I would honestly forget that Predators were involved. I also hated how Batman acted in this story. He doesn’t want to tell Robin who's going around ripping people’s spins out, and the reason is just the cliche “it’s too dangerous.” EVEN THOUGH HIM BEING ROBIN IN THE FIRST PLACE IS DANGEROUS. It's just a writing trope with Batman that is overdone and Dixon executes it very poorly. Damaggio on artwork is also just meh and very inconsistent. The big panels were where he’d give more detail but normal panels lacked detail and sometimes just looked lazy or rushed. It’s just a sloppy book that kills the whole mood for this complete collection. 2/5
Overall; do yourself a favor and only read the first part. Maybe the second if you really really liked the first, but even then just don’t waste your time. I should've finished this days ago but due to how downhill the read was going, I couldn’t keep the momentum.
This first mini felt really fun and creative. There wasn’t much else going on subplot wise so it made the story feel very streamline. Gibbons gives us awesome action and the overall pacing of the book was great. Partner that with the Kubert brothers on artwork and this whole idea starts off with a bang! The art style of Andy’s pencils is the perfect match for that grimy setting that Gotham is. There’s also great fight scenes through the read with an awesome climax. 4/5
The second mini-series is brought to us by Doug Moench on writing, Paul Gulacy on pencils, and Terry Austin on inks. This is the same team that gave us the ‘Prey’ storyline in ‘Legends of The Dark Knight.’ I quite enjoyed that read so it was cool to see them do this one. This 2nd part shows another Predator arriving in Gotham after the events of the first one. Its main objective is to kill Batman and it will do anything to do just that, even if it means killing its own kind. While it goes to Gotham, there is also a group of assassins targeting Batman. So the Predator makes sure to take care of some of those assassins as well, that way he is the only one that gets a shot at the Bat.
This 2nd part to the overall series wasn’t as good as the first one, however it was still pretty good. I do think the whole aspect of having some assassins involved to go against Batman, felt a bit cheesy. It added a couple of cool interactions between characters but the group of assassins were all new and nobody characters. So it never really added much for me. Moench brings the concept of having a more out of control Predator against Batman and I thought it was alright, as it did help add some of the horror aspects to the story. It helps the pacing for the read, however sometimes Moench does bore me, and I find the pacing to dull down a bit. Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin on artwork are once again a team I enjoyed, however this time around, I wasn’t as interested in Gulacy’s pencils. I felt his movement felt a bit stiff in this one compared to what I saw in ‘Prey’. I also hate how he draws faces haha. 3/5
The third and final mini-series is done by Chuck Dixon on writing, Rodolfo Damaggio on pencils, and Robert Campanella on inks. This is for sure the worst mini-series of the 3. In this one ONCE again the Predator is back only this time it’s two and they are running a muck against Gothams thugs and criminals. Batman is joined by Robin this time however doesn’t tell him anything that’s going on for “his own safety”. Yada yada they fight and yea yea. At this point I was kinda burnt out and Dixon’s turn on this premise didn’t help, cause it wasn’t good. The pacing was all over the place and super boring. There were subplots that dragged a little too much so I would honestly forget that Predators were involved. I also hated how Batman acted in this story. He doesn’t want to tell Robin who's going around ripping people’s spins out, and the reason is just the cliche “it’s too dangerous.” EVEN THOUGH HIM BEING ROBIN IN THE FIRST PLACE IS DANGEROUS. It's just a writing trope with Batman that is overdone and Dixon executes it very poorly. Damaggio on artwork is also just meh and very inconsistent. The big panels were where he’d give more detail but normal panels lacked detail and sometimes just looked lazy or rushed. It’s just a sloppy book that kills the whole mood for this complete collection. 2/5
Overall; do yourself a favor and only read the first part. Maybe the second if you really really liked the first, but even then just don’t waste your time. I should've finished this days ago but due to how downhill the read was going, I couldn’t keep the momentum.
ryanjaeger's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
echoes01's review
4.0
The first story was the best but I enjoyed the whole book. It was a fun read with great action sequences and as odd as the premise is, worked rather well.
Huntress’ costume was ridiculous though. It was entertaining seeing the retro designs for some of the characters.
The first two stories set up that Batman had beaten their warriors and was off limits so the third story didn’t make a lot of sense with the two Predators hunting him again but it was still entertaining and I loved seeing Tim doing civilian things with his friends and talking to Oracle.
All in all a solid read. Recommended :)
Huntress’ costume was ridiculous though. It was entertaining seeing the retro designs for some of the characters.
The first two stories set up that Batman had beaten their warriors and was off limits so the third story didn’t make a lot of sense with the two Predators hunting him again but it was still entertaining and I loved seeing Tim doing civilian things with his friends and talking to Oracle.
All in all a solid read. Recommended :)
saif42's review
2.0
One of the better 90's comics, but still not a great one. Not a huge fan of Predators or Aliens but this was cool to see. Its got some of that awesome classic Kubert art but its painful to read at times.
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