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Dark Horse Comics Announces New Predator Comic Series, Predator: Hunters 3!

For those of our visitors who haven’t read my previous reviews, or listened to our podcasts on the previous entries, I’m really fond of the Predator: Hunters comic series. But since Predator: Hunters 2 wrapped up in January this year, leaving us on the bombshell of Raphael Herrera’s return, we haven’t heard anything about a third series.

That changes today with the announcement of Predator: Hunters 3! Announced via SyFy, Chris Warner is returning as writer to continue the story of the Hunters and delve into Herrera with the four issue third series!

The extraterrestrial insanity kicks off with ex-drug runner Raphael Herrera reliving his worst nightmare. After that horrifying night when his men were slaughtered by an unearthly monster, Herrera joined up with the Predator Hunters crew. Now, years later, cartel soldiers are being murdered in the thick jungles of Central America, indicating to Herrera that the dreaded Predators have returned!

 Dark Horse Comics Announces New Predator Comic Series, Predator: Hunters 3!

Chris Warner isn’t the only returning creative working on Predator: Hunters 3. The artwork will be handled by Brian Thies, who previously provided the artwork for the Predator, Aliens vs. Predator and Prometheus: Final Conflict runs on 2016/2017’s Life and Death crossover. Wes Dzoiba, another returning talent, will be handling the colours for the series. (P.S we’re still waiting for a recolouring of the original Aliens vs. Predator from Wes, Dark Horse!)

The original Predator: Hunters was notable for it being a gathering of characters who had previously encountered the Predator, including encounters told in previous Dark Horse comics. Interestingly, Chris Warner and editor Randy Stradley are hinting at the return of characters from the very first Predator series!

“Bringing together characters (or their descendants) from Dark Horse’s many standalone Predator series is something I’d been wanting to do for a long time, and I think Chris Warner’s handling of the union has been great,” adds series editor Randy Stradley. “However, with Predator Hunters III, Chris went back to the beginnings of our Predator cycle and brought in a couple characters who haven’t been seen in thirty years or more. Longtime readers will be pleased, but even new readers will appreciate how these returning characters expand the Predator universe.”

 Dark Horse Comics Announces New Predator Comic Series, Predator: Hunters 3!

Is it possible we might be seeing the return of Detectives Schaeffer and Rasche from Predator: Concrete Jungle (Book One)?! Or perhaps General Phillips? The first issue of Predator: Hunters 3 is currently slated for release on the 5th of February 2020. Thanks to Katanu and DarthJoker45 for the heads up!

Make sure you stick with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien and Predator comic and novel news! You can follow us on FacebookTwitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!



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Comments: 31
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  1. Kailem
    Got the trade for Christmas and just read it earlier. I agree that it's probably the weakest of the three volumes, but I think I enjoyed it more than it sounds like most people here did.

    Spoiler
    It was cool seeing Detective Schaefer again after all these years and finally getting a first name, not to mention Ligachev! I knew ahead of time that the former was returning, but I had no idea she'd be back too, so that was a cool surprise since Cold War was one of the first Predator comics I ever read back in the day. I do think that another issue would have been nice as people have said, since I would have liked to have seen more interaction between her and Schaefer and just had the back half of the story fleshed out a little more (I actually checked at one point to see which how many issues I'd read as it felt like there wasn't going to be enough left to finish everything off), but it was cool to see them both back even if they didn't really end in a different place than they began.

    Certainly it would have been nice if there had been some update on Dutch now that Hunting Grounds has bought him back and given us the first official post-movie details on him since......ever......but I'm not surprised there wasn't any sort of cross-company coordination going on there. It does make Dutch seem like a bit of an asshole though. :P

    I agree that the ending portion was the weakest, which in part felt like it was because of the subversion of what we'd come to expect from the previous volumes, with one or more of the characters engaging in a big fight with the Predator(s) and ultimately beating them. We got that to start with, but then things got turned on their ear by essentially having the Predators deal with themselves without the main characters having to do all that much.

    So yeah while it did feel like a bit anti-climactic as a result, I appreciated that it went in a different direction, since as cool as the first two volumes were I was already thinking to myself "and this is the part where we see the Predator wrecking a bunch of guys and throwing one of their quotes back at them etc." at various points, so I liked that it mixed things up there.

    I assume Herrera's actual dialogue was unimportant in terms of the reader fully comprehending what he was saying, so that part didn't bother me too much either. I do think he somewhat disappeared into the background as the story went on so that Schaefer could take centre stage though, and that contributed a bit to the ending not feeling as strong as those of the first couple of volumes.

    As for the Predators themselves, I just assumed that one of them was a jerk! :D It seemed like "Copper Head" as Hicks called him disliked that he went after that third diver and killed her when she wasn't entirely within the realms of "legitimate prey". Whether there was tension between them before that or not who knows, but it reminded me of Broken Tusk vs his "student" in the original AVP where one Predator was just an asshole and needed to be put in his place. So I had no problem with that.

    I also liked the twist that there were two. In retrospect it was obvious since the masks in the various covers weren't the same, but I just took that as down to artistic license, and I didn't notice the one that jumped out of the water originally being different, which it clearly is in retrospect.

    I also liked the artwork, especially any time the Predators showed up or we got an action scene. They got as close to an AVP movie nod as I would have liked them to get. A clear reference but nothing overt. And I dug the "King Willie" homage too.
    [close]

    I think like Hicks said, one of the main problems is just that this wasn't intended to be an ending, just the next chapter in an ongoing story that we're unfortunately more than likely never going to see now, which sucks even more because Hunters 4 would surely have been focused on Mandy, and that could have been something I'd have liked to have seen.

    So yeah overall I don't think it's as strong as either of the first two volumes, but it's still good, and if this is the end of Hunters as it unfortunately almost assuredly is, then I'm glad this turned out to be such a solid run overall.

    So yeah, come on Marvel! Hunters 4 if you wouldn't mind, please! :laugh:
  2. Corporal Hicks
    Quote from: Katanu on Nov 17, 2020, 08:34:16 PM
    So yeah, a sad way to finish Dark Horse's Predator comics, and also not a good conclusion to the Hunters series. I hope this isn't the end, and that Marvel continues with a fourth volume for this series.

    I think the problem is this wasn't intended or written as an end... It's very much another part in a longer story that we wont see played out.

    I also think it was a disappointment, but only because of that. Because they'll be no further pay-off, so much so that most of what was done within the series feels pointless, I guess. We get these legacy characters back and nothing really of note seems to be done with them here, other than reintroductions. I'm not sure what the point of Herera being brought back was, because it didn't feel like much pay-off either.

    Completely agree re: the Predator interactions.
    Spoiler
    At first I thought copper head was supposed to be a younger being trained, but that seems to flip around towards the end. I just didn't get what the intent was here? To show a divide that was going to be played on later? We didn't even get characters witnessing and speculating on the reasons (did Herera even see and mention the end? I don't think he did.)
    [close]

    That said, I continue to really love Brian Thies artwork, especially with Wes Dzioba on colours. Probably a 6/10 for me. It wasn't awful, it just feels a bit wasted.
  3. 426Buddy
    When I initially read it I only skimmed through the second half of the story. Now I've had time to sit down and do a full re-read and it isn't as terrible as it first seemed but its not good.

    Spoiler
    It starts out nice continuing on from the last story with Stargazer releasing Herrera for unknown reasons. We get a sweet predator in his backstory here. It brings in some old characters for a set up that seems like its going to have an explosive finale. It seemed interesting when the predators were arguing, at first I was thinking that one was becoming a bad blood perhaps? But it wasn't really coming across clearly and then seemed muddled by the end. The story just never pays off on any of the threads started in the setup. Really it falls apart in the last issue for me though. Schaefer runs out into the jungle and fights the bad blood in one of the weakest predator battles ever. The predator is literally only stabbed twice causing him to throw Schaefer out of frame. Then that's it, suddenly the fight is over and battle with the Russians is over. The other predator comes back and helps the wounded predator escape up a pyramid to wait to for rescue by their ship.Then the bad one tries to self destruct instead so the other predator just kills him. I just felt this whole portion made no sense, why would they try to escape after two stabs with a knife. I mean look at what the predator in Hunters II went through, now that predator was epic.

    In the end Schaefer and the Russians didn't do much and neither did the rest our predator hunter team.
    [close]

    The one thing I did love was the art. There are some just fantastic predator panels in this and that helped elevate the story a little. But in the end I was really disappointed in this one... By far the weakest of the three.

  4. Voodoo Magic
    Quote from: Katanu on Nov 18, 2020, 12:21:28 PM
    Honestly, I think the lenght of the series didn't allow for the story to be properly fleshed out. Everything feels rushed. It really could have used a fifth issue.

    Well, I thought Hunters II was fantastic and that was only four issues I believe.  I just think Warner had no clear direction on where to take the next chapter. That's how it felt to me at least. Not the way I hoped we go out. :-\
  5. Xiggz456
    Finally read it! I had fun with it but I think it could've used one more issue to further flesh out the narrative. I loved the art though especially any panel with a predator.

    Spoiler
    I'm guessing it was a father son dynamic going on with the preds. We haven't seen that since Batman VS Predator 3. Also there seemed to be some nods to AVP's Mayan connection which I found cool! Wish the Hunters team had to face off against the preds but the second half of the series really became Ligachev's story (although I guess technically she's a Predator hunter as well).
    [close]

    All in all I've thoroughly enjoyed following the Hunters team through the three volumes (13 issues). Here's to hoping we haven't seen the end of them!
  6. SuperiorIronman
    Non-spoiler review verdict (despite spoiler tag): Wasted potential.

    Spoiler
    I don't feel this story follows through on any of its premise. The Humans don't contribute anything for a group who are Predator survivors, the Predators are baffling towards the end, and I have no idea the reason why Herrera is even here. Nobody really contributes anything to the plot which means that the narrative essentially goes nowhere. Even Schaffer still has no idea what Dutch is doing. I guess that can't be helped given we didn't know anything as a community until earlier this year..., but it's November and Dutch returned in May, we could've gotten at least a line of dialogue.

    The art is..., alright. I don't love it but I don't hate it either. I like the design of these Predators being very Jungle Hunter but having unique details. That all being said the Humans look a bit too young for older combatants. The side mouth also looks bad. This isn't Sonic, put the mouth in the right place.
    [close]

    Really is a shame this is how the solo line goes out. C-
    It's passable but for the last Predator story under Darkhorse its disappointing especially given its premise.
  7. 426Buddy
    Wow what the hell was that? Got mine in today.  :laugh:

    They really dropped the ball in the second half, such a waste. The art is pretty great and the  story starts out good but it completely tanks by the end.
  8. Katanu
    Ok, folks, I've read it. Sadly... I'm with Voodoo on this one.

    Spoiler
    I couldn't understand sh*t of what the Predators were doing when they interacted with each other. Why the hell did they fight each other so much? Why did they hunt together if they would behave like that? And near the end one the Predators wanted to blow himself up after taking a couple of knife wounds... you can easily survive that, buddy, use your damn medkit.

    And the humans... John Schaefer and Ligachev! They're back! And they don't add much. John is at the same place he was at the end of Dark River, he doesn't know what became of Dutch, he is still trying to find out. I guess he learned nothing from General Phillips after all. It was nice to see him, but that was all. Ligachev is there as the opposing force also after the Predators, so Stargazer is out of this one. But nothing ever comes out of the story. I feel they could have used an extra issue for this one.
    [close]

    So yeah, a sad way to finish Dark Horse's Predator comics, and also not a good conclusion to the Hunters series. I hope this isn't the end, and that Marvel continues with a fourth volume for this series.

    Edit: I forgot to mention the good stuff. It's not all bad. I liked the art, and the action scenes were pretty cool overall. The setting of the story is also very nice, with the Mayan ruins and underground caves. The story also starts good, but the second half is just out there.
  9. 426Buddy
    Pretty bummed by your take voodoo, I was expecting this one to be the best of the three, and I loved the first two.

    Guess my expectations were too high, hopefully my copy arrives soon.
  10. Voodoo Magic
    Okay, got to read it again and tried to look at it with fresh eyes and remove expectations, especially the expectations with our old returning characters and what I'd hope to happen considering this was the last Dark Horse Predator release.

    Going back again, it was better the second time around, but still not up there with Hunters I and II. I'd maybe call Hunters III the "Godfather 3" of the series. Some great stuff in there, but not so great too.

    I'd revise my statement and say the first three issues/chapters of the story are the good stuff and it falls apart for me in the fourth for the reasons already stated in my previous post.

    I'll be real interested in discussing spoilers. I'm really curious everyone's take on Predator behavior, etc. Until then, I wait.

    Quote from: Local Trouble on Nov 11, 2020, 05:27:16 AM
    Do the artists ever depict them as crabators?

    Ha. No. Thankfully my crustacean sense didn't tingle that much. Thies' Predator face art comes across 20% abstract anyway, so with him it's hard to guage such things. Twas fine I think.

    I felt little love towards this spidery version of the Predator though, in this variant cover.

    https://www.previewsworld.com/SiteImage/MainImage/STL148996.jpg

    Quote from: Gr33n M4n on Nov 11, 2020, 05:49:02 AM
    Not the feedback I was hoping for. I assume the artwork was good, though? Sometimes I just flip through comics for the artwork, like a kid.

    Well art is subjective but I overall liked it. I fell in love so much with one of Thies' splash pages in Predator Hunters III issue one that I purchased the original art early this year. Thies really has a gift for Predator bio-masks! The only thing I'm not a fan of really in the Hunters III art is the more the story progresses, the more sideways mouths we see.

    https://i.ibb.co/Y881MC3/3004484p2-1.png

    But again, it's subjective.  :)

    Quote from: Katanu on Nov 11, 2020, 01:34:14 PM
    Damn, sad to hear that  :-[
    I'll thrown in my two cents after I read it. Still waiting for my amazon pre order.

    Maybe my take will lower your guys' expectation / anticipation level and you'll end up loving it. Can't wait to discuss it with you all!
  11. Voodoo Magic
    It pains me to say this, and I have to give it a second read, but my first impression is not good.

    The first half (first two issues) is a great start, but the second half just falls apart. Sometimes confusing Predator behavior. The conclusion requires two pages of Google Spanish translation. No payoff with certaincharacters. Emulates Predator 2 and AvP a bit.

    Not thrilled that this is how we concluded Dark Horse Predator comics. Hopefully a second read will dull my initial disappointment, because I just adore Hunters I and II. A little bummed. :-\
  12. Xiggz456
    I called around a couple of local comic shops and they're all getting it and AVP on Nov 18. They also said Dark Horse's website is often wrong on release dates. I'm so impatient!!!
  13. Voodoo Magic
    My physical copy hasn't shipped yet. My Amazon pre-order is still waiting to be filled.

    I recall going through the same things with Predator: Stalking Shadows where Mark Morris said it was out a week or so before Amazon said it was being released.

    It's on sale here:

    https://www.tfaw.com/predator-hunters-iii-tpb.html?qt=dhprofile1-3004488&utm_source=darkhorse&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=darkhorse_buy&utm_term=buy%2BPredator%253A%2BHunters%2BIII%2BTPB

    Time to cancel my order with Amazon.



    Edit:
    ORDERED with Tfaw!



    Another edit:
    It shipped today! Tracking says I'll have it Monday the 9th, while Amazon still says it will be available on the 17th.

    Thank you Brian Thies!
  14. Russ840
    My understanding is that the physical trade is out in the direct market, but the digital and other physical outlets are in a couple of weeks.

    Dark horse's site list it a buyable.
  15. Kailem
    Yeah I'll just get it from the US Amazon if it comes to that. It's just a bit concerning to me that the UK one has been listed as out of stock for several days now when it seems like things don't tend to be listed as "temporarily" that way for more than a day or so in most cases (at least that I've seen in the past).
  16. Kailem
    Has anyone else in the UK been able to pre-order the trade from Amazon at all? It's been saying it's "temporarily out of stock" for a while now and I'm getting a little worried that they just might never get it in at all, given that it's supposed to be out only a month from now and Dark Horse aren't going to be able to sell any more of their comics from just over a month after that.
  17. 426Buddy
    Quote from: SuperiorIronman on Jun 16, 2020, 02:46:55 PM
    Quote from: 426Buddy on Jun 15, 2020, 10:14:40 PM
    Does anyone know whats going on with the release schedule for alien and predator comics? Are they just going to forget about the single issues and only release the tpb's?

    Most people go through Diamond distribution and due to the pandemic they've had to shut down (people getting sick and being non-essential) so you can't really ship anything especially if where you're shipping there's nobody to even receive product.

    I personally don't know what Darkhorse's release schedule is but this is a problem right now across the board with publishers trying to figure out release schedules even if tentative.

    We really wouldn't be having this issue right now had the industry been digital. But since Diamond has such an iron grip on things and every time we peek into digital the shop owners throw a fit here we are. Now few can get product out and it's hurting if not killing the industry despite the fact that creatives can work from home.

    Yeah thats what I thought but now I'm seeing new comics being released. I assumed that thing were moving again but nothing on the A/P series.
  18. Xiggz456
    My local comic book store told me they think things will start to get back on track come July. We'll see what happens but I am dying for the final two issues of both AVP and Hunters 3
  19. SuperiorIronman
    Quote from: 426Buddy on Jun 15, 2020, 10:14:40 PM
    Does anyone know whats going on with the release schedule for alien and predator comics? Are they just going to forget about the single issues and only release the tpb's?

    Most people go through Diamond distribution and due to the pandemic they've had to shut down (people getting sick and being non-essential) so you can't really ship anything especially if where you're shipping there's nobody to even receive product.

    I personally don't know what Darkhorse's release schedule is but this is a problem right now across the board with publishers trying to figure out release schedules even if tentative.

    We really wouldn't be having this issue right now had the industry been digital. But since Diamond has such an iron grip on things and every time we peek into digital the shop owners throw a fit here we are. Now few can get product out and it's hurting if not killing the industry despite the fact that creatives can work from home.
  20. molasar
    An update from Dark Horse Comics website.

    They removed pre-orders for following issues but its TPB version is still available for pre-order with October 14, 2020 release date.
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