Predator: Kindred

Rating:
Summary: Simply "okay" (or worse)
Review: I bought this trade paperback as my re-entry into the world of Dark Horse Predator (and Alien) comics, mostly based on the reviews here. Having been a long time fan of both franchises, I've read much of what Dark Horse has to offer, so I know what they are capable of. However, it is my opinion that Predator: Kindred falls far short of that mark.

The plot is readable, but I think it is far from riveting. As stated above, it's about a Predator in a small Oregon town that hunts the most violent persons within the community. I suppose there is a small amount of potential here, but the "boogie monster" in the small backwoods town is an overused cliché among the horror genre. There are only so many ways to present this sort of story before running out of material to make it fresh. So it is with Kindred. The Predator does not make much of an appearance before the fourth chapter, so that leaves you with the character development of the townsfolk. But these people are just as uninteresting as the plot; they too are all cliché. You have the wife in an abusive relationship, you have the man whose father tried to bully him into becoming a "man's man", and you've got the uninformed general populace who, at their leader's behest, blame an innocent scapegoat for the town's misfortunes. It all seems very rehashed.

Then there is the art, one of the most important aspects in a graphical medium such as this. To put it simply, it too left MUCH to be desired. The first thing one notices is a severe lack of detail in the pictures -- the people seem to be nothing more than outlines and many times there is not even a background drawn in a given panel. One would think they would put extra detail into the Predator, but he was just slightly more interesting than the townsfolk (and what's with the bird-like heel claw? I don't remember THAT in the movies...) His ship (which also only makes its appearance in the fourth chapter) seemed more like a white football with ridges than something deserving of a Predator. Aside from the lack of detail, the sloppy lines, and the characters' pupils which are rarely in line with the other (giving them a bizarre and unintended insane quality), the color was not well done. There is no shading given to ANY of the characters, just flat, pastel coloring. It is my opinion that if a comic just contains the "base colors", the pallet should at least be interesting. However, most of the coloring was very "soft," giving the story more the look of a Sunday "funny" than a horror story.

All in all, I have to say Predator: Kindred was not very entertaining (there is obviously a reason it is out-of-print as of 6/25/03.) The two things I can say for it is that the covers (shown in a gallery at the back) by Igor Kordey are amazing, and the design of the book (not including the actual comic), is very well done; those who are interested in Kindred will be happier looking at the cover art than actually reading it. So out of respect for Kordey and the person who had to compile this rubbish, I award Kindred a lonely one star out of five.

Rating:
Summary: Simply "okay" (or worse)
Review: I bought this trade paperback as my re-entry into the world of Dark Horse Predator (and Alien) comics, mostly based on the reviews here. Having been a long time fan of both franchises, I've read much of what Dark Horse has to offer, so I know what they are capable of. However, it is my opinion that Predator: Kindred falls far short of that mark.

The plot is readable, but I think it is far from riveting. As stated above, it's about a Predator in a small Oregon town that hunts the most violent persons within the community. I suppose there is a small amount of potential here, but the "boogie monster" in the small backwoods town is an overused cliché among the horror genre. There are only so many ways to present this sort of story before running out of material to make it fresh. So it is with Kindred. The Predator does not make much of an appearance before the fourth chapter, so that leaves you with the character development of the townsfolk. But these people are just as uninteresting as the plot; they too are all cliché. You have the wife in an abusive relationship, you have the man whose father tried to bully him into becoming a "man's man", and you've got the uninformed general populace who, at their leader's behest, blame an innocent scapegoat for the town's misfortunes. It all seems very rehashed.

Then there is the art, one of the most important aspects in a graphical medium such as this. To put it simply, it too left MUCH to be desired. The first thing one notices is a severe lack of detail in the pictures -- the people seem to be nothing more than outlines and many times there is not even a background drawn in a given panel. One would think they would put extra detail into the Predator, but he was just slightly more interesting than the townsfolk (and what's with the bird-like heel claw? I don't remember THAT in the movies...) His ship (which also only makes its appearance in the fourth chapter) seemed more like a white football with ridges than something deserving of a Predator. Aside from the lack of detail, the sloppy lines, and the characters' pupils which are rarely in line with the other (giving them a bizarre and unintended insane quality), the color was not well done. There is no shading given to ANY of the characters, just flat, pastel coloring. It is my opinion that if a comic just contains the "base colors", the pallet should at least be interesting. However, most of the coloring was very "soft," giving the story more the look of a Sunday "funny" than a horror story.

All in all, I have to say Predator: Kindred was not very entertaining (there is obviously a reason it is out-of-print as of 6/25/03.) The two things I can say for it is that the covers (shown in a gallery at the back) by Igor Kordey are amazing, and the design of the book (not including the actual comic), is very well done; those who are interested in Kindred will be happier looking at the cover art than actually reading it. So out of respect for Kordey and the person who had to compile this rubbish, I award Kindred a lonely one star out of five.

Rating:
Summary: PREDATOR - KINDRED : good comic book
Review: I enjoyed reading this one, though there isnt much of predator in the beginning, but the grand finale is great... Action and art is good.. and a really good story.. nice characters and of course a mean mother****** , the predator... Get this one!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Predator comic books!
Review: Wow! This is seriously cool. The artwork in particular is very atmospheric and draws you right into the environment. In this series (which ran from Dec 96 to Mar 97) the Predator has set up in Fleener Creek, OR and he's laying waste to rednecks, cops and a busload of escaped convicts. It's up to the spunky Sherrif's daughter to sort him out and send him packing. If Dark Horse kept up this standard of output regarding the franchise no doubt it wouldn't be dead in the water today. If you dig the Predator then go out and buy this 'un. It's way past cool.