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Rating: 
Summary: Predator: Race War
Review: Andrew Vachss doing a Predator comic--it's either an absolute natural, or the weirdest combination possible, depending how ya look at it! The whole thing started when Dark Horse's Randy Stradley planned a storyline involving a Predator hunting a serial killer. Since the Predator's victims are _de facto_ reps of the human race itself, this came down to the *human* killer, in his battle with the *alien* killer, becoming The Good Guy. As Stradley tells us--and as one would expect--Vachss didn't think much of that idea. But that was Ok, because he had an idea of his own. Thus was "Predator: Race War" conceived and, eventually, born, as a five-issue series, collected together here. The cover is, natch, the first thing one sees, and this one, by Ray Lago, is a winner. The Predator, a heavily-armored intergalactic Rastamon, crouches on a prison walkway, menacing and indestructible. It's a thing of beauty, and I'm *not* being facetious. Stradley's adaptation is clean and tight, as it the artwork throughout--pencils by Raskin & Pelle, inks b Rick Bryant, and colors by Matt Hollingsworth & Pamela Rambo. "They say that when you kill a killer, all his kills belong to you," the back cover informs us. "Well, Predator's looking to rack up the big numbers." What better place to do so than the most maxed-out of maximum security prisons in the country? Who could possibly stop this dude? Who else but Cross & Crew, familiar to fans of Vachss' short fiction and Dark Horse's _Cross_ series? Be aware that Cross & crew's depiction is a bit different than fans might expect. Tiger has no stripes, fer-instance, and she's drawn a bit...err, *heftier*...than we'd expect. Cross, Fal & Rhino are more in line with the rest of the series, and the Predator is nicely done, especially in "camoflauge" mode. The "Race War" is a double theme: first, the tension and violence along racial lines familiar to those of us who live in The Real World(tm), second, the war of the *human* race in its various shades against the Predator's alien race. The "Gallery" section at the end features the series' covers, paintings by Dave Dorman, which are quite simply *damned* cool. IMNSHO, the covers alone are well worth the price. Do yourself a favor and order this one. It's a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: Crime novelist Vachss gives his own take on the Predator
Review: From the Arctic Circle to the equatorial jungles - from the most isolated
wilderness to the overpopulated city - any place can be a hunting ground.
It all depends on your choice of game. For Predator, that game is man, so
he heads to the grounds with the biggest trophies: the Paloverde State
Penitentiary. They say that when you kill a killer, all his kills belong to
you, and Predator's looking to rack up the big numbers.
By Andrew Vachss, Randy Stradley, Jordan Raskin, Lauchland Pelle, Rick
Bryant, Bob Wiacek, and John Beatty; cover gallery featuring Dave Dorman
and Jordan Raskin; cover by Ray Lago
Rating: 
Summary: Great book!!
Review: I totally "enjoyed" the storyline. I have been a fan of Mr. Vachss for many years and I was very happy to see him involved in a project like this (I am a big fan of the Predator!).
I did not recognize Cross though (for those of you who know Mr. Vachss' work, you know what I am talking about). He looked so unlike the cross I had pictured in my head. He kind of looked a litle bit goofy. Anyway, enjoyed the comic. Mr. Vachss is a great story teller.
Get this book! It might be hard to get it or to find a copy of it, but its soooo worth it!!
If you have never read any of Mr. Vachss' work, go ahead and start reading. You are going to be shocked!!! Bye. Zaida
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!
Review: I totally "enjoyed" the storyline. I have been a fan of Mr. Vachss for many years and I was very happy to see him involved in a project like this (I am a big fan of the Predator!).
I did not recognize Cross though (for those of you who know Mr. Vachss' work, you know what I am talking about). He looked so unlike the cross I had pictured in my head. He kind of looked a litle bit goofy. Anyway, enjoyed the comic. Mr. Vachss is a great story teller.
Get this book! It might be hard to get it or to find a copy of it, but its soooo worth it!!
If you have never read any of Mr. Vachss' work, go ahead and start reading. You are going to be shocked!!! Bye. Zaida
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!
Review: I totally "enjoyed" the storyline. I have been a fan of Mr. Vachss for many years and I was very happy to see him involved in a project like this (I am a big fan of the Predator!).
I did not recognize Cross though (for those of you who know Mr. Vachss' work, you know what I am talking about). He looked so unlike the cross I had pictured in my head. He kind of looked a litle bit goofy. Anyway, enjoyed the comic. Mr. Vachss is a great story teller.
Get this book! It might be hard to get it or to find a copy of it, but its soooo worth it!!
If you have never read any of Mr. Vachss' work, go ahead and start reading. You are going to be shocked!!! Bye. Zaida
Rating: 
Summary: Pathetic
Review: Which is sad considering how great the beginning was. The story just completely falls apart and is only slightly redeemed by a pretty cool ending. But, as a whole, it fails sorry. The main reason is that the artwork is just plain horrid. In the opening chapters it's competent enough but as the story progresses it becomes more and more ugly. I could do better than this. It's a shame considering how brilliant other Predator comics looked. The Predator is a truly awesome and iconic character. He deserves better than this. And so this is one to forget. Check out Predator: Dark River or Kindred instead. Those are really cool. This is not.
Rating:
Summary: Awful graphic novel: bad story, bad art
Review: While I've only recently started reading graphic novels, I've already had the opportunity to read through virtually every book in the "Aliens" series, "Judge Dredd" series and many of the fabled cross overs "Aliens vs. ________" (superhero or other creature), "Predator vs. _______", etc...
Of all the series I've tried to catch up with, "Predator" has been one of the more difficult. The crossovers are easy to find, but the stand alones, like "Race War" have been harder to locate. After finally getting this book off Amazon (I should note this is my 42nd graphic novel) I was excited. So far only a handful of the previously mentioned series had been disappointing.
Well, "Race War" manages to be one of the worse I've read.
The story is chalk full of badly written characters, major plot holes and a stupifying amount of terrible dialogue. The book attempts to play up racial differences among humans, but its clear that the authors have no concept of what they're portraying: people in gangs talk and dress in stereotypes that no self-respecting "gansta" would ever do. The writers' own naviete is also painful in its portrayal of a lesbian character. Never in any previous graphic novel have I seen such a trainwreck of tacky writing. As I mentioned, the plot, as such, is a complete mess: the authors, in an attempt to make the story interesting, try to keep the audience in the dark until the story is under full steam. Unfortunately, they forget to actually fill in many of the questions they ask and leave the reader befuddled as to why the characters do what they do (other than to heavy-handedly move the plot).
Of course, all of this could be mitigated in some way if the Predator-related action was top notch. But amazingly enough, the Predators themselves aren't seen around very much, so we're left reading about these completely uninteresting characters.
As was mentioned in another review: the art in this graphic novel is atrocious. It starts out at a reasonable level, but by the mid-point it starts to become haphazard and unpolished. Proportions on the characters start to lose cogency and I was left with the distinct feeling that the team working on the novel was in a rush to get it done.
Again, after reading a number of related graphic novels, many including the Predator, I must give "Predator: Race War" very low marks for its sheer incompetence. 1.5 of 5.
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