THE HUNT CONTINUES
Dark Horse’s Chris Warner on the new Predator comic book
Having Drawn 1989’S
inaugural miniseries, Chris Warner knows just what it is that makes Predators so scary and formidable. now Dark Horse’s senior editor is penning a sequel to 2017’s five-parter Hunters for artists Agustin Padilla and neeraj Menon.
“The Predator is just flat out cool as all hell!” he laughs. “It’s one of the greatest monster designs ever. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate Predator as metaphor. In a real sense, we are the Predators as we hunt for sport without giving it a lot of thought to what our target species think about it or what the repercussions are. Let’s not forget that humans almost wiped out the American bison in less than a century. To be honest, I kind of root for the Predators!” Mostly set in Afghanistan,
Hunters II focuses on Tyler Swain, who has fatefully misrepresented his first encounter with the Predators in the original series. “Good stories need to be about something more than just monsters and guns and stuff blowing up. Hopefully we’re providing that,” says Warner, who reveals that Hunters II shares some themes with Shane Black’s new blockbuster.
“There’s some serendipitous common ground, but I’ve had this Hunters idea rattling around in my head for many years,” he explains. “I prefer not to get wound too tightly into established continuity, so I like to use the first film as my touchstone.”
While Black has stated that he wanted there to once again be a sense of mystery to the Predators, Warner believes that their unknowable alienness is essential to their appeal. “The mystery is what makes the Predators interesting,” he says. “Since day one of Dark Horse creating Predator comics, the main premise we’ve hewed to was that you don’t get into the Predators’ heads.”
The fact that the Predators don’t really speak also enhances their shadowy qualities. “Humans always have the fear of the other, and their inability to directly communicate doesn’t help,” reasons Warner. “From a writing standpoint, having the Predators not speak is far easier, since their speaking would almost certainly sound ridiculous.”
Predator: Hunters II #1 is out now.