ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR #4 (OF 4)[This review first appeared on Patreon.]
WRITER: Alex de Campi
PENCILS: Fernando Ruiz
INKS: Rich Koslowski
COLORS: Jason Millet
LETTERS: John Workman
COVER: Andrew Pepoy with Jason Millet
VARIANT COVERS: Faith Erin Hicks with Chris Peter; Joe Quinones
MISC. ART: Fernando Ruiz with Anwar Hanano
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2015)
“Guess Who's Coming to Dinner”
Eternal comic book teenager, Archie Andrews, was created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana and first appeared in Pep Comics #22 (cover date: December 1941). That was almost a half-century before sci-fi movie monster, “The Predator,” (created by the sibling screenwriting team of Jim and John Thomas) first appeared in the still-popular, 1987 science fiction film, Predator.
Dark Horse Comics, in conjunction with Archie Comics, has set the Predator against Archie and his pals and gals in the four-issue comic book miniseries, Archie vs. Predator. The series is written by Alex de Campi, penciled by Fernando Ruiz, inked by Rich Koslowski, colored by Jason Millet, and lettered by John Workman.
Archie vs. Predator #4 (“Guess Who's Coming to Dinner”) opens at Lodge Manor. It's and the final chapter! Archie is down for the count, and now only Betty and Veronica are left to face the killer alien monster (The Predator) that followed them from Costa Rica. Veronica has set the mansion to explode, and she thinks she can save Archie's life. Meanwhile, Betty learns that she has an admirer...
I read Archie vs. Predator #1 because I received a PDF review copy of it. I enjoyed that first issue so much that I decided to follow the series. And guess what, dear readers; I am not disappointed, and I am sorry the series has come to an end. Writer Alex de Campi proved that two wildly different media franchises can be brought together for great affect. She was clever in the way that she stayed true to the classic Archie milieu of rivalries and friendships, while keeping the Predator a killer.
The art team of Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski (an Archie Comics writer-artist), and Jason Millet proved that the classic Archie graphic and art style can work with and be welcoming to foreign visitors, meaning the Predator. John Workman's killer lettering gives the story such energy. Encore! If you haven't yet read Archie vs, Predator, the hardcover collection is due in November.
Wait! There's more. This issue includes a two-page bonus story, “Josie and the Pussycats Meets Finder,” by Alex de Campi, Carla Speed McNeil, and Jenn Manley Lee. This trio is the art team behind one of the most exciting miniseries of the year, No Mercy (Image Comics). Finder is the long running comic book series, webcomic, and comics serial written and drawn by Carla Speed McNeil, which won an Eisner Award. Josie and the Pussycats is a classic, mini-media franchise from Archie Comics.
I am a fan of Josie and the Pussycats going back to my childhood. I love this two-pager. Jon Goldwater (publisher of Archie Comics), in regards to your “new direction” comics; de Campi, McNeil, and Lee are your dream team for a Josie and the Pussycats revamp slash relaunch.
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux
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