Mark Schultz is an American writer and illustrator of books and comics. His most widely recognized work is the creator-owned comic book series Xenozoic Tales, which describes a post-apocalyptic world where dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures coexist with humans. In 1993, Xenozoic Tales was adapted into an animated series titled Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and a video game of the same name. Schultz's other notable works include various Aliens comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse and a four-year run on the DC Comics series Superman: The Man of Steel. In 2004, Schultz took over the scripting duties of the Prince Valiant comic strip.
We had Batman vs. Predator (awful), Batman/Aliens and its sequel (both surprisingly decent), Superman vs. Predator and Superman/Aliens (which I haven’t read) - so obviously now let’s smoosh them all together into one book for no reason! With this many characters in one book, Superman and Batman vs. Aliens and Predator sounds like the hottest of all hot messes… but it’s not bad?!
The plot for something like this is, as you’d expect, incidental but writer Mark Schultz somehow manages to make it both coherent and sensical which is a bonus to readers who care about that sort of thing but also seems above and beyond expectations for this particular book. All of these disparate characters in one place? Yeah, I bought it.
That said, it’s almost like a Catch-22: in making all the pieces fit, Schultz sacrifices pacing and excitement as you have to wade through the exposition that Batman conveniently uncovers because neither the Aliens or Predators speak English. It’s almost like it’d be a better book if it said “fuck making sense!”, embraced its trashiness and just went for cool set-pieces instead.
But Schultz overreaches and the plot craters towards the end. Like Superman’s Fortress of Solitude: I’ve never seen it depicted as a mobile mini-Death Star before; I’m pretty sure it’s always been a giant pile of crystals! But needs must so we get this contrived thing. And the Predators arbitrarily fighting Superman and Batman after spending pages making them sympathetic and establishing their plight and that Supes and Bats are gonna help them was stupid.
The Aliens are underused and don’t really figure much into the plot so if you’re a fan you might be disappointed. But then with this many characters in such a relatively short book, one of them was bound to be neglected and it may as well be the most one-dimensional ones. This comic’s definitely geared more for Batman/Superman fans.
While throwing the fifth group in as well as the nukes might seem like total overkill to some, I liked it - that ridiculous over-the-top plotting totally fits a story this bonkers! Ariel Olivetti’s art is very strong too. Dude draws a great Superman and Batman and his Predator/Aliens aren’t too shabby either.
It’s not the most memorable or gripping story, nor is it a must-read by anyone’s standards, but Superman and Batman vs. Aliens and Predator is a surprisingly decent comic - and finding decent comics featuring any one of these characters is tough so what’re the odds that throwing them all together like this would not only work but be readable?! If you can find a copy, check it out if only to witness that minor miracle!
I seem to have enjoyed this for the very reasons others didn't.
Here's the deal: yes the Predators and the Aliens are somewhat ineffective here. Having Superman go up against them is like swatting a fly with a Ford Mustang: overkill.
And even although I love both the Alien and Predator franchises (I'm slightly partial to the Xenomorphs), I still enjoyed this silly little outing. It will appeal more to lovers of the DC characters than to fans of the films (or Dark Horse readers), because, like another reviewer rightly claims, the Aliens and Predators do put in a somewhat lackluster performance. They even believe Superman is a god, or sun spirit, because of his powers.
At only about a 100 pages you really can't go that wrong if you're looking for a Superman/Batman fix peppered with some fun. At least the threat level here is good enough to carry both characters. I even liked the art (a lot), where others didn't.
If, however, you're more of an AvP fan, and will be offended if these particular beings have their posteriors handed to them on a platter. Reconsider.
A bonus for me was the Fortress of Solitude sequence that seemed like a bit of a blowback to the Superman comics of the 80s.
Perhaps I'm overly forgiving because I'm smack-dab in the middle of a graphic novel / superhero reading spree, but hey...
C'est dommage que la gestion des divers enjeux aït été aussi mal gérée, et qu'on flippe à aucun moment, parce que le comics est pas si mauvais. Par contre, ça manque d'Aliens.
A two-issue short tale of -- you guessed it -- Batman and Superman, when they stumble upon an isolated, marooned colony of Predators high in the mountains. Predators who raise Aliens to hunt.
Solid 3-stars for the story -- I enjoyed it, but it was not the slugfest spectacle I was expecting, with reference to previous encounters. I believe the Batman-Predator encounters exist in comic form, but not sure if the Superman encounters are retconned or not.
Artwork -- FIVE STARS! WITH EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!! This is the kind of comic art that I love; rich, portrait-level portrayals with light and shadow and real-world colors.
Per quanto abbia apprezzato Schultz e le sue Xenozoic Tales, Volume 1: After The End in questa mini mi sembra che abbia mancato molte cose. In primis la caratterizzazione di Superman e anche un poco di Batman; poi molti, troppi elementi della trama. A partire da quanto tempo i Predators sono sulla Terra prigionieri di quel vulcano nelle Ande, con gli aliens da allevare e cacciare. Come li allevavano se non ci sono prede da catturare lì? Come mai non sono mai usciti a caccia?
Vabbè, solo i disegni di Ariel Olivetti migliorano una storia abbastanza sconclusionata. 2 stelle
Since its founding as the adapter of some movies and other dark, gothic stories in the '80s and '90s, Dark Horse Comics has become an extraordinarily successful comic book company. Its ties to DC Comics were pretty good. It is so good that they created several stories between DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics crossovers that have become extraordinary. Walking through comic stores in the '90s fascinated me as I watched some of these stories walk past my eyes. After both Superman and Batman have faced each of these particular creatures at some point in their lives in the Dark Horse Comics spinoffs, this adventure sees both of them tangle with each other in another epic confrontation.
A group of Peruvian mountain climbers notice a volcano on the verge of eruption when an invisible force brutally kills them, while Superman and Batman take on the invisible made visible with several Predators. Superman faced Predators long ago in a jungle adventure, and Batman has faced these dangers three times before in his own Gotham City. As Clark Kent, Superman learns of the Peruvian volcano and believes it to be something related, the same with Batman, but as they arrive, they do not just encounter Predators but also the alien Xenomorphs, another creature that both men have tangled with. These humans intend to send them away from Earth, but a defensive space group is out to kill all of them. It's up to Superman and Batman to race against time.
This was cool as it further developed the World's Finest, taking on these two epic creatures. But it was way too short. I would have liked more references to their previous adventures, as well as much greater stakes in facing off against these two beings.
Okay, I didn't really expect much from this one, but I've usually liked Schultz's work so I figured I'd give it a chance.
It's really not good. The Aliens are barely in the book, and have little to do with the outcome or plot. They get a few token scenes to justify their cover billing, but that's about it. Batman himself feels out of place, flying around the Fortress of Solitude in a rocket pack. So, essentially, this is a Superman/Predator story. Superman and Batman each find a hive of Predators living in a volcano crater in South America, and they've apparently been trapped there for 14,000 years! They brought Alien eggs with them for some ritual hunt, but their ship is disabled and they can't escape. Superman puts everybody inside the Fortress (the Loeb/Kelly/Schultz-era Fortress, a floating globe with a tesseract inside it - gag!) until the ship can be repaired. Then chaos ensues inside the Fortress, allowing Olivetti to draws lots of aerial combat action and bizarre landscapes. Superman simply makes the environment inhospitable to the Predators, thus avoiding unnecessary conflict, sticks them all into their ship and eventually tosses them toward home. Unfortunately, I hate Olivetti's current plasticine mannequin people, how posed and unnatural they look. He does manage a gorgeous image of a volcano crater, but it's not nearly enough to justify the overall approach. Yech.
Schultz's script is goofy quip heavy, with Superman and Batman constantly making silly comments to each other, and debating the morality of saving the Alien and Predator lives when a secret government org. plans to nuke the volcano crater.
Thin story and lousy art leave me no reason to recommend this.
This is downright terrible. If anything should indicate they should stop making such crossovers, this is it.
A half-decent idea (Predator throwbacks, confined inside a volcano since 14,000 years ago) is executed in a completely nonsensical way, with forced dialogue and bad characterization. For instance, the guides of Lois and Clark are decapitated in front of Lois, but Superman spouts some rhetoric about how the murdering Predators are living beings and entitled to life. He then doubles down with the xenomorph Aliens, saying they serve a purpose, even if people on Earth do not know what it is. And when it comes to other decisions, he is truly depicted as a complete moron.
And this is just the heavy stuff. There are many more inconsistencies and bad dialogue. As for Olivetti's art, it can hold its own in close-ups and action sequences, but it is monumentally, clueless-photo-edit-level bad when it comes to landscapes.
I have had this on my shelves for a few years (I purchased it at Borders, so there is that) but never gave it a read. I am not impressed with it, there are too many recycled ideas from other DC/Dark Horse comics with Superman and Batman (among others) that have fought against the titular creatures. to just have a throw away line "Yes, the brought Aliens with them" is weak as was the whole TDI portion of the story.
I didn’t love the weird painting art style but idk, it’s just a matter of personal taste. The writing on this one was just kinda bland, and it needed more Aliens and more versus.
This book has some complicated times were it takes some time to understand but the plot is very interesting and it hooks the reader with action suspense and explosions! That is why i give this book a 4/5!
This is more like 2.5 straight down the middle. There is no real script, despite it being written by Mark Schultz and the whole ultra-humanitarian (pro-xenomorphian-life?) thing Superman has going is rather ridiculous under the circumstances and the history of the hero's contact with the Aliens.
However, it's nice for once not to have Batman and Superman at complete odds like schoolchildren and most of the art looks great.
It is sort of a fun, painless read, but you are really not missing out on anything.
Superman/Batman vs. Aliens/Predator was not what I hoped it would be. The story occurs after both Batman and Superman have previously encountered these beings. If you are a fan of these characters it may be worth a read, but as a fan I was disappointed.
There wasn't anything really wrong with this story, but there wasn't a lot right either. It was a romp; it was fun. However, for being inside Superman's home, we saw very little of his home. And, for being Superman and Batman vs. Alien and Predator, we saw very little "versus"; the predators were bad house-guests that never seemed a credible threat. The aliens, even the queen, scored barely a hit against the heroes. The big reveal of how long these predators have lived on earth seemed to have no consequences. Perhaps all these things played out in a later story, but within this one, there was little payoff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Dull comic that rehashes the story from Alien Vs Predator the movie this time guest starring Superman and Batman. No excitement or chilly scenes like Aliens and/or Predator should be. Only mindless action and silly dialogue, all easily forgettable. Why do they sometimes draw Superman with a grotesquely large chin and neck? Aside from the fact that he looks ridiculous, it only stretches the credibility of him blending in as Clark Kent further than it already was. And I won't even go into the idea of him willingly saving the Aliens.... ugh.
Not sure how people think this artwork is good. A better illustrator could have made the Aliens and Predators so much more menacing and threatening to our favorite heroes, which could have slightly saved the book. Imagine Saturday morning cartoon versions of Aliens and Predators fighting some of the most poorly written Batman and Superman characters ever, in a lackluster story that would be better served with fill-in-the-blank panels and speech bubbles.
Sucked the big one. The story was weak, the art was only so so. The Preds didn't kick ass. The Xenomorphs didn't kick ass. :( Don't waste your time on this one. Move on to the next in your Batman/Supes queue.
What a bore. I didn't think it was possible to to take two of the greatest monsters of movie history and place them into such lackluster trash. And the art work was horrible and there was no real plot to the story to begin with. what a waste!
Well as you can see I am currently reading this thing and ... yes! It is ridiculously entertaining... I will not say 1 more word, this is going to be a short review of mine.