Predator: Dark River

Predator: Dark River is a four-issue limited comic book series that was first published by Dark Horse Comics from July-October 1996. The series was written by Mark Verheiden, illustrated by Ron Randall, inked by Rick Magyar, colored by David Nestelle, Steve Mattsson and John Hanan III, and edited by Bob Cooper and Philip Amara, with cover art by Miran Kim. The comic follows Detective Schaefer as he returns to the site of the first Predator film to try and find answers as to what happened to his brother Dutch.

Dark River is the third part in a trilogy of Predator comic featuring Detective Schaefer and is a direct sequel to Predator (series 1) and Predator: Cold War. It features the same lead characters of Detective Schaefer, his partner Detective Rasche, and secretive Army Major General Homer Phillips. These three comics are now referred to as the "core Dark Horse Predator graphic novels" by the publisher.^[1]

In the Predator comics line, Predator: Dark River was preceded by Dark Horse Classics - Predator: Jungle Tales, published concurrently with Predator: 1718, and was followed by Predator: Strange Roux.

Publisher's Summary

#1: Schaefer joined NYPD to "serve and protect." It's a bug in his blood or a chip in his brain. But as bad as things get in the drug-infested concrete jungle there's something worse out there, something that really needs stopping. The last time Schaefer faced it down was three years ago, in Russia. Now he's got another chance to stop that evil. He's heading down to the jungles of South America, and he'll come back with the head of a Predator... or he won't come back at all.

#2: Detective Schaefer has traded the concrete jungle of New York for the sweaty hell of its South American counterpart. He's on a mission to find his missing brother, but he's going to be hard pressed to do that. Someone is luring Shaefer into an inevitable confrontation with a Predator. One that he's faced before. One that he thought he killed. One that wants revenge.

#3: Though Predators are natural-born killers, one theory suggests they have a code of honor. Leave it to NYPD Detective Schaefer to find a Predator that doesn't share that theory. Deep in the heart of South America, Schaefer is hunting for a piece of his past — his lost brother Dutch — while another piece of his past — a Predator he thought long dead — stalks him through the dense, sweltering jungle. And when they finally lock horns, the "dark river" will run red!

#4: Detective Schaefer has been having bizarre nightmares of a nasty-looking, seven-foot-tall, alien headhunter. One big problem: Schaefer is wide awake. And though he's been hardened by the atrocities he's experienced as a NYC cop, it won't prepare him for his fateful, savage confrontation with the Predator he thought he'd destroyed years ago. Now his search for his brother Dutch may end with no answers, more questions, and a lot more bloodshed.