Predator (1989 comic series)

Predator, also known as Predator: Concrete Jungle, is a four-issue limited comic book series that was first published by Dark Horse Comics from June 1989-March 1990. It was the first comic in the now extensive Predator comics line. The story was written by Mark Verheiden, illustrated by Chris Warner and Ron Randall, inked by Warner, Randall and Sam de la Rosa, colored by Chris Chalenor and edited by Randy Stradley, with covers by Warner. The comic was later adapted as the novel Predator: Concrete Jungle by Nathan Archer.

As a sequel to the film Predator, the series was originally intended to feature the character of Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, now serving as a police officer, in an urban battle with a new Predator. However, the lead character of the comics series was ultimately changed to Detective Schaefer, the brother of Dutch Schaefer from the first film. The comic was followed by two direct sequels, Predator: Cold War (1991) and Predator: Dark River (1996); these three comics are now referred to as the "core Dark Horse Predator graphic novels" by the publisher.^[1]

The comic series proved to be a success for the company and spawned an extensive line of Predator comic books. It was followed by Predator: God's Truth.

Publisher's Summary

#1: The Predators are back, only this time their hunting ground isn't the tropical jungles of South America — it's the concrete and street jungles of New York City! It's the hottest summer on record, and Detective Schaefer suspects that his brother's disappearance is somehow tied to the wave of gruesome murders plaguing New York!

#2: New York City's Detective Schaefer has seen it all, from domestic murders to drug-gang executions. but Schaefer's never seen the Big Apple awash in so much blood as tonight, with flayed bodies hung like meat being cured for mealtime. When Schaefer has a close encounter with one of the murderers, he realizes he's run into something much bigger than the police suspect. Can even the toughtest cop stand up to the ultimate hunter?

#3: Things get worse for Schaefer and his partner, Detective Rasche, as Rasche discovers the existence of a whole fleet of Predators ready to invade and Schaefer comes face-to-face with the Colombian drugs lords! Also, general panic continues in New York as the Predators hunt for Schaefer and kill everyone in their path!

#4: Schaefer and Rasche are reunited at last, but it's just in time to fight the battle of their lives! It's all-out war against the Predator army, and since the army and police want Schaefer and Rasche out of the way—the two must turn to one of their enemies for the manpower they need! Will anyone — or anything — be left standing when the smoke clears?

Reprint History

The series was collected in a trade paperback released in September 1990 under the new title Predator: Concrete Jungle, with a new painted cover by airbrush artist Den Beauvais.

In the United Kingdom, the series was serialized and reprinted in 7 parts in Aliens magazine, Vol. 1 #1-7, from February-August 1991.

It was collected again as part of Predator Omnibus: Volume 1 in August 2007.

The complete comic was released digitally through Dark Horse Digital on January 9, 2013, reusing Beauvais' cover art from the trade paperback release.

Behind the Scenes

In the original release of the first Predator series, it is clear that the story is supposed to be set in the near future — similar to the film Predator 2, which was loosely based on concepts from the comic series. Evidence of this can be seen in the introductory narration by Detective Rasche, during which he refers to the year 1991 in the past tense (stating that it was hotter than it had been "back in '91"). However, with the release of the sequel series, Predator: Cold War, the date of the original incident was changed, as events in Cold War are said to take place in 1990, while the events of the first comic are said to have taken place "five months ago" and "last year", placing them in 1989, contemporary to the publication of the original comic book. This change in date was solidified in reprints and new collections of Concrete Jungle, which change the year mentioned in Rasche's narration to 1987 (incidentally, the year the original Predator film was set).

In 2009, the artist on the original series, Chris Warner, was named editor for both of Dark Horse's restarted Aliens and Predator comic book lines.

In a recent interview with the website AvP2Daily, Warner said the first Predator comics series "absolutely" had some influence on the film Predator 2: "The basic plots of the film and comic series are almost identical. When Dark Horse created the first Predator series, plans for a Predator sequel had stalled, since Arnold Schwarzenegger had declined being in it. The series showed how you could use other characters in the lead. Probably the first time that a comics series actually had an effect on the film franchise that inspired it," said Warner.^[2]