Alien vs. Predator: Thicker than Blood

Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood #1-4

by Jeremy Barlow

Dans l'espace, un luxueux vaisseau de plaisance menant des centaines de touristes en croisière est devenu le terrain de chasse d'une tribu de Predators.Un jeune garçon et sa grande soeur sont les témoins de l'atroce massacre et tentent de s'enfuir... sans savoir que des Aliens vont leur barrer la route !

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction, Horror, Graphic Novels, Action, Aliens, Book Club

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2020

About the author

Eisner Award nominated writer and editor—and your only hope.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

USSC Double Down private luxury cruise starship leaves charted space because of a greedy crew member bad decision and ends invading Yautja territory.



It's not going to end well.



Storyline was just a rushed mess, but great action scenes and phenomenal artworks, probably best ones ever published on a Dark Horse comic book, made this insane horrific and gory read a solid four stars for me.



'Nuff said.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Predators acted out of character in the beginning. There's no reason they would start attacking a space liner full of tourists. But once you get past that, this is really good. It's about a brother and sister trying to survive trapped on a space cruiser with 2 Predators and an Alien. The art in this was fantastic and the gory action sequences terrific.



This is the first time the whole story is in print. Due to the pandemic, Dark Horse never published the last 2 single issues.

Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extreme rarity for the AVP universe- this story ends on a high note! The kids live (in fairness their family, friends and coworkers are ripped apart). I liked this story, a quick little story about diverting from your path and crossing into the AVP war. The predators are honorable and have a clear code- the aliens are vicious killing machines.

A fine read.

[Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustration is fantastic. The storyline between the siblings was good. The xenomorph was kick ass. But I gave it 3 stars for the sheer fact that unless those were BadBloods they’d have no reason to hunt humans on a pleasure cruise. No fight. If there’s not a worthy opponent to be had then there’s no honor to gain from victory.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wheatley's art is great and the kids' relationship is pretty good, but the overall story is very average.

[Jorge Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, excellent art with a pretty simple story. I wish we could get more Dark Horse AVP but I think this is the last.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like this story is a far cry from the dark, claustrophobic events I always found in movies and comics featuring Aliens or Predators. It's still a story of survival, the aliens and predators are still blood-thirsty, but now the protagonists are a spoiled girl and her resourceful android. Their close relationship will help them find solutions to strike back at their hunters.

A private luxury ship called Double Down becomes the target for predators for traveling through the area of space they control. The android Tyler is tasked with helping the young Maria escape. One of the predators kills Maria's parents right in front of her. She and Tyler barely escape and even manage to fatally wound it through sheer luck. The predator ship prevents them from reaching their getaway, so they have to move it out of the way by boarding it.

Tyler tries to unhook the predator ship from the luxury ship, but is attacked by its software. In a panic he releases the alien that was imprisoned by the predators. It stars killing left and right, making Tyler and Maria's job a lot harder.

Maria starts off as a spoiled brat, but more of her personal traits are revealed during times of crisis. She is stronger than she looks, both physically and emotionally. She doesn't weep for her parents and fully intends to hurt the predators in revenge. She also has a soft side - she is in love with Tyler, even though he is an android. The two convince the only remaining predator, the one they hurt previously, to hunt down the alien and save themselves. Again Maria proves both strong and skilled when she creates a make-shift artificial leg to replace one of the predator's missing limbs.

The plan to blow up the alien fails when they find that the ship wasn't restocked with bombs. Tyler is destroyed while Maria and the predator fall back. It's the predator's turn to protect Maria - this proves that their truce wasn't a ruse as far as it's concerned. Predators are honorable, it seems. They kill the alien, then the predator takes Maria to safety. She even brings Tyler's remains to her and then departs. Maria intends to repair Tyler and keep him by her side always.

[Yoshiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akcja AVP: Krew nie woda przenosi nas na pokład USSC Double Down. Luksusowego wycieczkowca, na którym zamożni urlopowicze oddają się relaksowi. Czas beztroski kończy się jednak w momencie, kiedy jednostka wkracza w niezbadane regiony kosmosu. Miejsce należące do Predatorów, którzy niespecjalnie lubią gości. Nie zabraknie więc krwi, odciętych kończyn i wyrwanych kręgosłupów. W tej brutalnej rzeczywistości udaje się jakoś przetrwać nastolatce i jej młodemu syntetycznemu towarzyszowi. Unikanie kosmicznych łowców nie jest jednak ich jedynym problemem. Wystarczył bowiem jeden błąd, jedna nieprzemyślana decyzja, aby na pokładzie pojawił się nowy groźny przeciwnik. „Obcy” zdolny zabić wszystko, co tylko stanie na jego drodze.

AVP: Krew nie woda to dzieło, od którego nie można wymagać „niezwykłości”. Jest to bowiem mini seria składająca się z czterech zeszytów, zamykająca całą opowieść na zaledwie 96 stronach. Scenarzysta Jeremy Barlow doskonale zdawał sobie sprawę z tego ograniczenia i nawet nie próbował on wymyślać czegoś nadmiernie „innowacyjnego”. Od samego początku postawił on na prostą sprawdzoną widowiskową akcję, w której nie ma czasu i miejsca na zbytnią fabularną „głębię”. Już pierwsze strony komiksu dość dosadnie pokazują, że tempo opowieści będzie szybkie i mocno krwawe. Nikt nie powinien więc tutaj narzekać na nudę, a całość czyta się błyskawicznie.

Miłym zaskoczeniem jest to, że twórcy udaje się dodatkowo w co najmniej dwóch momentach popchnąć historię w ciekawym i niespodziewanym dla czytelnika kierunku. Z kolei malutką łyżeczką dziegciu jest obsadzenie w głównych rolach „młodych” bohaterów. Taki wiek oznacza pewne niekoniecznie przemyślane decyzje, które co niektórych czytelników mogą delikatnie irytować. Na całe szczęście wpadki te szybko są zastępowane przez dawkę krwawej akcji.

Cała recenzja na:

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...

[Mykhailo Gasyuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Для історії у всесвіті Чужого проти Хижака атмосфера взагалі не відчувається. Нульове занурення. Був потенціал у вигляді великого круїзного корабля та відомих космічних монстрів на борту - і це все вилилося у спробу шокувати відірваними кінцівками та невеликою кількістю бойових сцен, які дуже швидко закінчувалися. Еліену для чогось додали ефектну позу після вбивства ворога. Хижаки поводяться дивно: то місять всіх, то страждають від людей, то крепко страждають від чужого, то йдуть на контакт з людьми. Чужий не лякає, бо бігає собі по кораблю, не ховається ні від кого. Коротше, навіть не комікс на один раз, а шось такоє…

[seif · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comic with a paper thin plot with predators acting wildly out of character that still manages to be a decent read above all that, the artwork is stunning and genuinely had a really fun time reading this even if it was rather short. Would rate a 3 and a half if I could (used to to the letterboxd rating system) so it’ll have to sit at a 3 as I think a 4 may be a little too high :(

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

As AvP stories with humans go, this one was fine. I was looking for something light to go to sleep on and it works nicely.

The characters are only as deep as they need to be and the Alien and Predator behavior as expected. Not much more to ask for, really.

[Sally the Salamander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art is great. Plot is pretty sparse. I see a lot of reviews complaining that Predators wouldn't hunt unarmed civilians on a pleasure cruise, but one of the characters explicitly states that the cruise has ventured into the Predators' territory and they're retaliating.

[Xavier Marturet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Romano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inocuo e intrascendente.

[Kavinay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good way to end the Dark Horse run.

[Mike Jozic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty solid book for Dark Horse Comics' FOX licenses to go out on. Barlow and Wheatley deliver the goods.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore the art in this. The story, uh... Look, the opening is so far out of canon profile I think I sprained my think meat, and the rest is passable, I guess, but...

I adore the art in this.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, a great tale

[Jean-Francois Boivin]

This volume collects the Dark Horse comic book series Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood #1-2, originally published December 2019-January 2020, and the previously unpublished issues #3-4.

[Stéphane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing art, very cool story.

[The Smoog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and original story, fantastic artwork. This is one of the best of the Aliens/Predator comics to date.

[C.E.C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 - 2.25 stars
Don't really have much to say 'bout this one, but I do love the cover and the variant cover like art.

[Stim sio · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good first issue. The art and colours pop and the story is fast paced yet engaging. Can't wait for the next issue.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was extremely good! The art was fantastic. The protagonists–a child and her android “brother”–are well-written and have a great relationship that we learn more about as the story goes on in an emotionally satisfying way.

This is legitimately one of the best Alien vs. Predator comics. Maybe not the most dramatic note for Dark Horse’s time with the license to end on, but a really nice, short but not-too-short, self-contained story. I kind of super wish more of them had been like this.

---

Check out my compilation review of the Alien and Predator franchises on my blog, 24,000 Miles to the Moon! https://24000milestothemoon.com/2022/...