The Black, White & Blood imprint at Marvel serves a twofold purpose: it’s meant to spotlight the House of Ideas’ grittier characters (including Wolverine, Moon Knight, and Carnage), while also telling some visually striking tales in an anthology format. Predator: Black, White & Blood #1 shakes things up, not just because it finally gives the Yautja their turn in the spotlight, but for how it approaches the signature color format. Usually, Black, White & Blood goes for the simple colors of black, white and red for the aforementioned “blood”; however, Predator: Black, White & Blood #1 adds a new color to the mix – green, for the Yautja’s signature lime-green blood.
That shade of green permeates all three tales contained within Predator: Black, White & Blood. First up is “Bloodwood,” the initial installment of a four-part story by Joe Kelly and Alvaro Lopez. Taking place during the height of the Gold Rush, “Bloodwood” follows a girl named Millie, who moves with her parents to Australia to seek their fortune during the Australian Gold Rush of the 1860s. But after her parents die, Millie is forced to work in a brothel known as the “Red House”…where entertainment comes in the form of a captured Yautja.
Kelly flips the script by having the Predator as the captive instead of the hunter, which is something you don’t usually see in Predator stories. It’s also juxtaposed by the way Lopez depicts this Yautja; it’s missing an arm and is relatively emaciated, yet it’s still able to fight off a pack of rabid dogs with gory results. Equally gory is a throne made of severed human hands, which adds a different level of hedonism to the proceedings. Its plight runs parallel to Millie’s, who believes God is punishing her but sent the Yautja as a form of salvation.
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That’s followed by “Once and Future”, which, as its name suggests, puts a darker spin on the legend of King Arthur by involving a Yautja. But Eliot Rahal also taps into the history that’s influenced that legend, featuring Merlin as a druid and the Saxons as a lingering threat. Fans of the Predator can also expect plenty of bloody violence, courtesy of Brian Level. A Yautja plasma caster blows off one knight’s head, while its razor blade decapitates two colors. Once more, flashes of green cut through the blood-soaked art, creating an eerie effect.
But the truly eerie moments come in the final story “A Place of No Honor” by Sarah Gailey and Fran Galan. It features a Yautja warrior, Hishinde stalking the one place on Earth that would be a magnet for its strange code of honor: a gun show. Yet Hishinde being surrounded by weapons doesn’t mean these people are willing to use them. Galan keeps Hishinde shrouded in a sickly green glow, no matter if he’s cloaked or not, and Gailey provides narration that gives readers insight into what exactly drives a Yautja.
Predator: Black, White & Blood #1 puts its own unique spin on Marvel’s signature anthology, and delivers plenty of bloody Yautja action in the process. If you loved Predator: Killer of Killers or Prey, you need to pick up this comic.
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