Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens Review: Surprisingly Good

“Alien vs. Predator” stories have been around for years. One of the weirdest things anyone can do is add another element into that mix. That other element is “Judge Dredd.” Yes, that “Judge Dredd.” “Predator VS Judge Dredd VS Aliens” mixes all three franchises in two comics that are surprisingly well done.

The first story has a Xenomorph hatching from a lowly criminal. What the judges of Mega-City One think is just a normal pest that can be eradicated turns into a much bigger problem. Now Dredd, along with new recruit Sanchez, has to figure where these Xenomorphs came from and stop the infestation.

It’s the typical “Judge Dredd” story except it has Xenomorphs. Which also makes this a typical “Aliens” story. It’s a well written story at that. The writing does take you in and keeps you in until the very end. There are some corny comic book tropes (Dredd narrating his moves, one liners, made up foul language) but they are not a deterrent.

The art by Henry Flint is mostly nice. The character designs, especially the Xenomorphs, are nicely done. The only major complaints are the faces look weird and the building look like they were drawn by somebody with no grasp of geometry.

The second story sees a Predator crash land near Mega-City One. Here, it sees its sights on the judges. Judge Dredd hires a psionic who’s a descendent of Alan “Dutch” Schaefer to find the predator. While that’s going on, the Predator is busy collecting judge badges as trophies.

This is a much stringer story than the first. The conflict is much more interesting and better thought out. The tension is also much better written. You can feel the worry in Dredd’s dialogue and by his actions. The whole Schaefer descendent thing is a bit of a cop out though. It seems like Wagner wanted some connection to the movies so he came up with this character. Take that background away and the character will be same.

The art by Alcatena is much stringer here than in the previous story. The characters are more defined, the faces look like actual humans and Mega-City One looks a lot livelier. A lot more care was put into the art here and the quality overshadows the art of the last story.

“Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens” sounds like a wild idea, but it’s a wild idea done right. Both stories are interesting in their own rights, almost nothing is phoned in and “Judge Dredd” is always fun. The art may be better in the second story than the first, but that will not deter your enjoyment.