Creative Staff:
Story: Alex de Campi
Art: Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski
What They Say:
As casualties continue to mount, it’s up to Betty and Veronica to put aside their differences if the gang hopes to rid Riverdale of the Predator menace—but can the girls keep their claws out of each other long enough to keep the Predator’s claws out of everyone?!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
ARchie vs Predator comes to a close with this installment and I can only reinforce my desire to see this done as a big budget film sometime in some form because it would be an absolute blast. Though it started slow, in order to set the tone and introduce the gang to folks while slipping in the Predator here and there, the second and third installments definitely upped the ante and things got crazy fun as the “curse” became more integral and bodies started dropping. With some familiar locales used, blood everywhere and chaos making its way out, the book definitely moved forward in a very fun way. And it separated itself from the Afterlife with Archie by showing you can do the characters in different forms without being the same.
This issue deals with the fact that the cast has been whittled away effectively and we’re down to what really makes up the core trio of the property. With Archie knocked out after what happened and dying from his wounds, that has Betty and Veronica doing what they can to save him while also figuring out how to try and survive and defeat the Predator. With the kinds of crazy things that Veronica’s father gets involved with, upping the ante to have his Manor have a panic room due to bad dealings with some weapons sales really does make sense. That it also has a reconstructive surgery bed that’s automated is certainly cute though. It does bring into play the idea of Archie as the rescuer in the second half, after he gets bulked up, but truly the series sticks to our two lead heroines doing the heavy work here.
These two against the Predator definitely works well, though it’s got the weirdness mixed in with the Predator basically liking both of them and wanting to get closer in its own violent way, at least through some of the speech icons we get. While it does play to the old school character traits with Ronnie focused on how she looks while surviving and killing and Betty totally focused on Archie and how he’s doing, the two do come together well to fight the Predator and win out over him. It’s not a hugely complex sequence, but it works well and lets both of them stand tall. Of course, it goes back to some really weird angles afterwards when it comes to their Archie obsession, but it also feels like it hits up the vibe and tone of the old books in a very fun way.
In Summary:
This series has been an absolute blast for me from start to finish. I’ve grown reacquainted with the Archie characters in the last few years and the simplicity of the main books but I’ve also really enjoyed the various serious interpretations that have cropped up along the horror line. This one takes that blending and runs with it in a really fun way. The series reads very well while sticking to the characters quirks and well known traits and it takes the Predator and puts it in Archie style form, which is pretty cute even when it’s all grisly and ripping bodies apart. This is certainly one of those unusual pairings that exists from time to time and it’s easy to be derisive about it, but it works perfectly and left me thoroughly loving each installment right up to the end.
This issue also has a two page Josei & the Pussycats segment, but I’m far less familiar with them and it didn’t really connect with me.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 22nd, 2015
MSRP: $3.50
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