Comic Review: Archie vs. Predator II (2019-) #1

Archie vs Predator II (2019-) #1

Archie Comics

Writer: Alex de Campi

Artist: Robert Hack

Archie versus the Predator from the Predator movies. It sounds dumb and outlandish and completely silly. And you know what? It’s pretty much all of those things, but I absolutely love it. I read Archie comics regularly now, in part because of that. Now four years later, we’re revisiting this version of Riverdale to see how Betty and Veronica are coping.

In Archie vs. Predator we see pretty much everybody die. All the regulars of Riverdale fell fighting the Predator, and the only two survivors are Betty and Veronica. Along with them is the Predator, but they’ve surgically changed him to look like everyone’s favorite redhead, Archie. With Riverdale gone, and everyone they know dead, the duo tries and leave town, but they find things are not as they seem.

I really like the general vibe of this comic. Everything just works together, from the story to the art. I was thinking that it’d be the same story premise as the first Archie vs. Predator, only with some slight changes. Instead, we’re getting an alternate reality/multiverse to explore in. But it’s not in a cheesy, “we’ll just re-do the original again” way. Betty, Veronica, and Predator Archie travel to a new universe. One where their friends and families aren’t dead.

In the original AvP story, the art style stayed pretty close to the regular Archie Comics style. That one is bloody and violent, and the art being cartoony gave it certain humor. I think the art in this issue is doing the same thing but in its own style. Robert Hack did the art for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and brings that style to this comic. We haven’t gotten to any violence yet, but the tone of the comic fits with this art. Things aren’t straightforward, and something bigger is at play, and the art carries that tone with it.

I’m realizing more and more I like stories that deal with alternate realities or multiple Earths. It may not be the main focus of this story, but it definitely is carrying elements of it. They also are embracing that Archie comics have a sort of fantastic element to them already. They bring up the time they summoned a devil and met aliens, and in a world where everybody dies at the hand of the Predator, it’s not too outlandish. This is definitely an issue worth reading. I think even if you’re missing the context of the first Archie vs. Predator story, you can easily pick this one up without any trouble.

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