REVIEW: ‘Predator,’ Issue #2

Predator #2 is written by Ed Brisson, illustrated by Kev Walker, colored by Frank D’Armata, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. It’s published by Marvel Comics. Following the cliffhanger ending of the debut issue, Theta Berwick finds herself on the snowy planet of Tusket. With her ship heavily damaged, she must trek for miles to find an outpost with the supplies she needs. But the snow isn’t the only thing that’s hostile about Tusket; her path is laden with thieves and ghosts of the past. Not to mention that she may cross paths with yet another Predator.

The first issue of this new Predator series surprised me, especially with how it flipped the script on the usual “Predator hunts a human” dynamic. That continues in this issue, as a Predator doesn’t show up until the final page. But the buildup to that moment is insanely tense, as Brisson builds up the dread and the danger for Theta. She’s stuck in a hostile environment, with little more than the clothes on her back — and she’s also dealing with a great deal of trauma. Like Alien writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Brisson realizes that the people matter as much as the monsters hunting them. “You’re trying to survive,” Theta tells one of her would-be robbers before taking his hoverbike. “I’m not going to kill you for that.” After all, she knows a little something about survival.

But the suspense also draws from Walker’s art and D’Armata’s colors. As this is a Predator series that takes place among the stars, Walker has the chance to draw all manner of alien beasts, and not all of them are friendly. There’s a massive white-furred beast that resembles a feral version of Appa from Avatar: The Last Airbender and a pair of alien thieves whose heads are throbbing mounds of reddish-pink muscle. But the most horrifying moment comes from a nightmare Theta has about her parents, with her mother slowly transforming into a human/Predator hybrid. Walker slowly builds up to that reveal, keeping Mrs. Berwick’s face in shadow until the very last moment and then springing it on the reader. Simply put, Theta won’t be the only one having nightmares.

And speaking of shadows, D’Armata uses them to his advantage, concealing dead bodies and giving off an overall atmosphere of dread. The other prominent color is white; Tusket is trapped in a perpetual blizzard. Heavy flurries of snow pepper an entire page, and mountains of ice rise from the ground. The lettering from Cowles really puts the cherry on top of the terror sundae, with text going small to indicate whispering and the ever-present voice of Theta’s navigation system Sandy flickering in and out. But there are long stretches of silence where Theta’s left with nothing but her thoughts, which weighs heavily on the reader.

Predator #2 is a master class in building tension, as its protagonist fights to find supplies and survive in an icy wasteland of a planet. The next issue promises to deliver on the Predator fight that’s usually associated with the franchise. The question is: who will walk away?

Predator #2 is available now wherever comics are sold.