PREDATOR BLOODSHED #5: The Great Escape!

The tournament has become a blood-soaked burial ground as Kai, Abigail, and Sara are plotting their last-ditch, desperate attempt at escaping. The epic finale is here as the survivors must square off against the Yautja if they hope to escape with their lives!

Creative Team: Jordan Morris, Roland Boschi, Ruairi Coleman, Roberto Poggi, Dee Cunnifffe, VC’s Travis Lanham, and Ken Lashley.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Story:

Jordan executes this finale in such a fun and creative way that it doesn’t turn into one big, convoluted fight fest. The action is still there; Sara steps up to the plate and takes on the Yautja one-on-one, and their fight is a lot of fun. Morris has the two come to blows, with each landing their respective hits, and pays homage to the Predator fights of old. An underrated aspect of this run was spending time getting to know the key players, and this issue we get to know Kai a bit. Having a child changes your life forever, and seeing where Kai came from and how he craved fighting and needed that dopamine hit, to a place where having Cody and Maxine and finding his peace. It shows depth to these characters and how multifaceted they are. In the end, I love how Morris has everyone take damage in some way, and the book is left open-ended while still getting a happy ending.

The Art and Letters:

The coloring work done by Dee is some really fine work, especially in terms of the action. The way Dee colored and shaded the panel where the Yautja is ripping out a spine was one of my favorite moments. Having the Yautja darkened out while the metallic spine gleamed against the dark blood and darker background highlighted the ferocity of this battle. The art team manages to give the Yautja personality and various expressions despite it being one big ugly son of a gun. As the issue and this run end, the art team, along with Travis, changes up to brighter colors and a happier tone, giving us a great feeling to leave on, as well as foreshadowing something ominous as the issue ends.

Final Thoughts:

Predator Bloodshed is a fun mash-up of Street Fighter meets Predator. This run was full of beautiful homages to this classic franchise while introducing blood-soaked, action-packed moments. Jordan and the team did this franchise justice and I hope to get to see more from them down the road!

Overall Grade: 9/10

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