16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A long awaited collection, July 1, 2007
This review is from: Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
Aliens vs Predator Omnibus Volume 1 is fantastically priced and features the original AvP comic that started it all and the following titles: Blood Time, Duel, War, Eternal, Old Secrets and The Web. Whether you're a hardcore fan like me or developed your interest after watching the AvP movie, you'll definitely love this must-have collection containing two of the galaxy's most feared species in a battle to the death!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM THAT'S FOR SURE!, November 9, 2007
This review is from: Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
With Marvel and DC Comics having enjoyed so much success with their Essentials/Showcase Presents Omnibus reprints, Dark Horse Comics has jumped on the bandwagon with their own massive tomes of reprint material. One of the things that really made Dark Horse a success when they started out over twenty years ago was the licensing of popular characters from film into comics format such as Aliens, Predator, and Star Wars. They continue to enjoy enormous success with these licensed properties today.
Aliens Vs. Predator Vol. 1 is one of the first of these omnibus editions presenting 456 pages of story and art. Now the Dark Horse Omnibus books are a bit smaller than their Marvel and DC counterparts, and they are also a bit more expensive. But, the Dark Horse books are the only one of the three being presented in color. The biggest complaints the people seem to have about the Essentials/Showcase Presents books is that they are in black and white. The material in this book was originally presented in the previous graphic novels: Aliens Vs. Predator; Aliens Vs. Predator: War; Aliens Vs. Predator: Eternal, as well as stories from Dark Horse Presents.
What we will learn is that the Predator race, known going forward as the Hunters, have been hunting the Xenophobes for a long, long time. In fact, the presence of the bugs on so many worlds, and in so many different climates, is basically the fault of the Hunters who have basically colonized worlds throughout the galaxy with the Alien's eggs for the sole purpose of hunting them when they've matured. Now that's quite a sport!
The best story in the book is Aliens Vs. Predator: War and the events take place directly following the Aliens Vs. Predator lead story. Machiko Noguchi is a human female who helped a hunter kill an alien and was accepted into Hunter society. Well, accepted is the wrong term...more like she's tolerated, but she is trained in Hunter lore and combat skills by the clan chief, Topknot, and even accompanies them on their hunts for the bugs, including the capturing of an Alien Queen. The Hunter's regular plans entail capturing queens and keeping her prisoner as they harvest her eggs and place them on various worlds. When the Hunters bring the eggs to a human outpost, Noguchi has to decide if her loyalty is to her new society or to her species.
Aliens Vs. Predator: Eternal is another excellent storyline, taking place on modern day Earth. A wealthy man has exploited the finding of a Hunter spacecraft, even unlocking the secrets of their cloaking ability. After many years his scientists have finally managed to open the ships cargo bay...that is filled with egg-like objects...
It's interested to note the difference in art styles in the book, or perhaps more accurately, the difference in printing. The earliest story dates to 1989 - 1990 and was still done in traditional panel style comic art. Moving up to the more recent stories where the art is printed right to the edge of the page and is without borders. It's really quite a difference when you have the two to compare side-by-side.
For 460 pages of full color material, these omnibus editions are a great value and present some of Dark Horse's finest work.
REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Collection of AVP, October 7, 2007
This review is from: Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
as a long time Aliens and Predator fan (not so much the first AVP movie), this collection is a great place to start. this is my first non-Star Wars DH title and i'm very pleased.
the ryushi storyline takes up a good portion of the TPB and well worth it. it has a couple different parts to the story and is broken up by some great short takes on AVP.
there's a great look into Predator culture with the concluding chapters of Ryushi.
the art and coloring are great, given the time period (mid 90s). it still looks very fresh.
this is a definate must for AVP and Predator fans...im not sure how the Aliens story arcs stack up to other Alien titles though...we see the inspiration for the last AVP movie and get a good look at the Hybrid in the upcoming movie.
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