Predator Versus Judge Dredd Versus Aliens: Incubus and Other Stories

Judge Dredd

by John Wagner

Dredd is the most lethal of the highly-trained and obscenely well-armed law enforcement agency known as the Judges, tasked with keeping the sprawling metropolis of Mega-City One from descending into chaos and anarchy. But now Dredd and the other Judges are all that stand between the universe's most efficient killing machines and the annihilation of every living being in the city--criminal or innocent.Dark Horse Comics and 2000 AD team up to bring you a collection of the classic stories Predator versus Judge Dredd and Judge Dredd versus Aliens in one handsome hardcover.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Aliens, Comic Book, Comix

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2014

About the author

John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[L. McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright so this review is going to be slightly different than usual, just really quick thoughts on the 2 stories in this book and the overall book.

I unfortunately have to start my thoughts on a bit of a negative note so those who haven’t read this understand my review better: the title is a bit misleading. I thought this book was a story about Dredd having to take on both predators and xenomorphs at the same time, that would be nuts. They’re actually separate stories, one about Predator, the other is an Aliens story. That being said it is still a fun book.

Judge Dredd vs Predator- This story is full of action and is surprisingly suspenseful. It’s also a fun story in general. The characters that aren’t named Dredd aren’t very interesting but other than that this is a solid comic.

Judge Dredd vs Alien- A great comic with lots of bloody action and fantastic art to show it off. The characters in this story are more interesting than the ones in the Predator story by far. The humor is also spot on (especially the “illegal alien” comments ) The only problem here is the story is a bit... I don’t know the right word... it’s not bad because it is fun but maybe a bit goofy (I’m not talking about the fun over the top stuff I expect from Judge Dredd) and has some problems in the plot.

Overall:
This book is great even if the title is misleading. This isn’t a masterpiece but it’s a great comic if you just want something fun and actiony.
If you’re a fan of any of these 3 properties, you will probably find this book to be fun. If not, you’ll just think this is stupid.
Myself, I’m a big fan of both Judge Dredd and Aliens (Predator seems pretty cool too) so I had lots of fun reading this. If you want something kind of mindless and actiony (what else would you expect from any of these properties) this is an excellent choice so yeah, I really like this.

4/5

[Alex Sarll]

Two crossovers which, on paper, shouldn't work except at the basic 14-year-old 'Who'd win a fight out of..?' level, given they pit one unstoppable killing machine without that much nuance against another, and are played resolutely straight. And indeed, the Predator one isn't much cop; it's hunting Judges, the Judges are determined to make the Predator prey, and we tick through the expected boxes (including Dredd admitting how much they have in common) without much spark of novelty or life beyond Arnie's gun-shy great-great-granddaughter, and even she hardly gets fleshed out enough to care about. But the Aliens one...oh, this was one of the stories that got me back into 2000AD, and it remains a fabulous piece of work, with the Henry Flint art and the inclusion of a rag-tag Verminator squad enabling it to catch much of the grotty, panicked flavour of Cameron's film, even as events spiral ever further out of control. Classic Dredd, and probably one of the top three Aliens stories, although I do also retain a soft spot for their meeting with the WildCATs.

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Law Means Nothing
29 June 2018 – Coffs Harbour

Well, I can’t say that I’ve been a big fan of the cross-over genre either. Well, I’m not sure if you can consider the Avengers movies to be cross-overs, but a part of me suspects that maybe they are, or maybe they are just a film franchise in their own right. However, a number of years ago they came up with an idea of seeing how aliens would fare against the predator, and then a couple of years later they decided that it might be a good idea to see what would happen if you crossed an alien with a predator. Well, I’m not sure if those films went down all that well, because it seems that they have since respectfully ignored them in the ongoing franchises, but honestly, I thought they rocked

Anyway, when I saw this crossover comic where they decided to pit Judge Dredd against these nasties then I was certainly intrigued. Once again, I’m not really a big fan of Judge Dredd (though I do remember playing a really cool Commodore 64 game back in the day, which is where I first heard of not only him, but all of his 2000AD buddies), but pitting him up against a Predator and aliens certainly seemed to have a nice shine to it, and shine it certainly did. Basically the comic is divided into two parts, the first where a Predator decides to come to Megacity One and start hunting people, namely judges because they happen to be the most hunt worthy opponents in the city, and the second one is where a hive of aliens are let lose in the city. Obviously, this is going to test the justice department to the extreme.

Of course, we can’t kill Judge Dredd, since he happens to be the main character that the entire comic series are based around, however they are plenty of other, more expendable, judges out there that you can basically throw under the proverbial steam roller. Of course, there has to be a final showdown between Dredd and the Predator, but the aliens, well, they happen to be a completely different story. With the predator, the premise is pretty simple – he turns up at Megacity One, and starts having a lot of fun with the various Judges that are trying to track them down, that is until Dredd gets onto the case, and even though he is wounded, he does end up succeeding in the end.

With the aliens (or the incubi as they are referred to here), it is a completely different story. Obviously there are going to be some timeline issues, namely because I suspect that the alien movies occur concurrently with, or subsequent to, the Judge Dredd time lines. Oh well, this is a cross-over comic anyway, and we only want to see how they go up against the various alien beasties as they are let lose on the city. Obviously, there is much more of a plot here, starting with a lone alien lose in a hospital, to a whole horde of them being released onto the city. Not surprisingly, where there is a horde, there is also going to be a queen, and Judge Dredd is certainly going to be humbled in this regards. Mind you, where I’m concerned, Dredd really does need a bit of humility thrust into him, particularly since he does tend to be a very by the book type of guy and seems to have no compassion whatsoever. Then again, it also has a lot to do with the prison system simply perpetuating crime, and also being an opportunity for career criminals to start networking, but that’s a story for another day.

Yeah, these stories were actually pretty cool. Not really ones that I’ll be reading again, namely because I generally only read comics once and then move on to something more enlightening. While they don’t tend to be the deepest forms of literature, but they still have some charm about them, and sometimes they can be quite a lot of fun.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never a doubt about the outcomes but nice curio pieces anyway.

[Zack! Empire · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's basically what you would expect. it's the classic Who would win in a fight scenario. not sure that this was the best comic to start with for someone who's never read Judge Dredd though. you get little tidbits of information on what his world is like but it's not very much. I'm definitely interested in reading more though.
this book is a fun way to spend a lazy afternoon.

[Philip Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Grud in a basket this was fun. It's two stories, the first sees a Predator take on Mega City One's finest while the second has Old Stoney Face tackle a whole bunch of xenomorphs. So the cover picture is a tad misleading - he doesn't take on both at once (I mean that just wouldn't be realistic would it?). The first tale, written by Dredd co-creator John Wagner, has plenty of satisfactory action and doesn't outstay its welcome. Dutch Schaefer's ancestor pops up as a pacifist with a "pyschic link" to the Predator (look, it's not Shakespeare). She tries to convince Dredd to resolve the situation with communication - "there doesn't need to be any more killing." "Oh yes there does," replies Dredd. Classic.

The second story, "Incubus", dials it up to 11 with some terrific artwork by Henry Flint, reminiscent of the late great Carlos Ezquerra. The Aliens here fall into the "pawns of an evil mastermind" category, a mutant psychopath by the name of Mr. Bones - he's hiding in Mega City's undercity, much like Predator did in the first story. There's a nice "rookie comes good" subplot, nods to the "Aliens" movie and more trademark '2000AD' humour. I liked the TV newsreader's reassuring words to his audience:
"Do not panic. There's more chance of being attacked and killed by a member of your family than an alien."

[Flavio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art is flawless in both stories, but the script isn’t always justified.

Alcatena does an amazing work in the “Predator” crossover, but John Wagner doesn’t write anything as extraordinary as he has shown in previous Dredd stories.

In the “Aliens” crossover, however, Wagner writes a much more compelling story. Perhaps it was Andy Diggle assistance. Perhaps it was the fact it was longer than the first one, with more room for development. It was an overall better crossover, even with Henry Flint’s art not being as good as Alcatena’s.

[Komuniststar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prvo i prvo naslov. Jedan naslov za dvi storije. JD vs Oredator, JD vs Alien, incubus and other story bi bi tocniji naslov. Drugo i zadnje od mana. U ovakvim crossoverima u startu znas ko ce pobjedit pa fali onog uzbuđenja i napetosti zbog kojih se stranice gutaju.
Sad sve zabavno. Priče su dobro posložene, s dozom napetosti i puno akcije. Crtež je pregledan (osim jednog cudnog kadra sa nevjerovatnim nogama predatora) dobro odrađen i obojan, užitak za čitanje.

[Sebastian Song · Rating 2 out of 5]

The volume is a collection of two limited series, Predator Vs Judge Dredd (3 issues) and Aliens Vs Judge Dredd (4 issues). The classic who will win in a fight is all there is in the first series and it is the weaker of the two. The second series had potential but fell flat mid stream. A pity considering how cool all three characters are.

[Marth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens - 3.5/5

I mean, it's what you'd expect from the title. Good art, fun and silly fighting between Judges and alien menaces, and some great satire. The Dredd vs Aliens storyline was a bit stronger, leaning more into the satirical and into the general world of Dredd, but the Predator half of this collection isn't half bad either.

[Gabriel Armande · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent crossover between 3 of the most iconic sci-fi franchises that tells an excellently paced, action packed short story that pays respect to the lore and rules of each individual franchise/universe, while also presenting something new and interesting. Easy read for casual fans, and an even better sell for hardcore fans who will appreciate some of the finer details/easter eggs.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at what would happen if the deadliest extraterrestrials in the universe attacked Mega-City-One. Some portions of the story were interesting, but the stories did not produce anything particular new in either mythos.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some gorgeous art from Jock as always and some interesting storytelling, and even though as an antagonist I prefer The Predator to Aliens, I think the plotting was better in the Aliens story.

However, it's always fun to spend time with Judge Dredd so a good read overall

[Magnus Borg]

Excellent crossover

Been reading Dredd since forever, in love with the Alien movies and universe since dawn of time. This was everything that I expected and a bit more!

[Casey Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Kinda fun sometimes.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Dredd, Aliens or Predator then it goes without saying this is worth a read. That said though, crossovers are hard to pull off so it's particularly impressive just how great the Dredd vs Aliens story (Incubus) really is. It's fantastic. It manages to absolutely nail both worlds, pulling all the strengths of each together to create a brilliant confrontation where neither franchise feels like it's been crammed into the other. It hits all the beats you want from an Aliens story and a Dredd story, and there are a ton of highlights and great set-pieces making sure it's chock full of great moments. And the art. Oh man the art. Henry Flint is always amazing, and this is some of his best work, just jawdropping. I know I'm gushing, but I read this week on week when originally serialised, and it still stands as one of my favourite Dredd stories, and one of the very best Aliens comics. Very nicely done 2000AD, very nicely done.

That story takes up the second half of the book, with the first half being Dredd's face-off with Predator, and unfortunately while a lot of fun (I mean, it's Dredd fighting the Predator so obviously it's fun) it's not nearly as successful in bringing the two properties together. Oddly (considering it's written by Mr Dredd himself John Wagner) it's the Dredd side of things that winds up feeling a little compromised and inauthentic. Hard to put my finger on why it doesn't sit quite right, but a lot of it is down to the artwork. The designs and the look of the city just doesn't ring true, as if the artist wasn't all that familiar or comfortable with Dredd. It just never felt like Mega City One to me, which is a shame as the real thrill here would have been seeing the Predator stalking around in that iconic environment. The creature himself feels a bit clumsy too, and one story element (the handling of the Predator blood) comes across as a bit contrived and outlandish when a more realistic art still might have sold that moment better.

It's not bad, it's just winds up feeling like neither a great Dredd comic or a great Predator comic, which is a shame given how brilliantly successful Dredd vs Aliens is (and indeed other Dredd crossovers - check out the Dredd vs Batman collection for more fantastic franchise blending).

So my advice is to absolutely, definitely buy this book, and even if the first story (the Predator side of things) doesn't click, keep going for the Aliens half because it's tremendous.

[Shenanitims · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I shouldn't have come into this right after the Complete Case Files #5 with "Block Mania" and "the Apocalypse War." I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the Dredd character has changed over time, but I spent the whole time wishing it was more similar to the 2000 AD days.

Of the two stories, the opening one, Predator Vs. Judge Dredd, is the weakest. It's the typical Predator story (lands on a planet, picks a fight with the other apex predator, big show-down - TA-DAH!) with Dredd standing in for any number of other comic book personalities who have turned up before (Batman, etc.). It's a cookie-cutter story with Dredd filling in as the "variable."

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens' sole weak point was the heavy-handed name-dropping. The way they stressed "well it must be an... ALIEN" is eye-roll bad. We've already bought the book with "Aliens" in the title, we get that they're aliens. I'd figure Dredd's super-cops would have a better name for them at that point. Such moments will take you out of the story for a second, but then there's another chest-burster and what can I say? Sometimes I'm easily annoyed and then amused.

[Zac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite bearing the subtitle 'Incubus and other stories', this book only collects 2 stories in total.
The 'Predator vs. Judge Dredd' match-up is not interesting at all. The Predator arrives in Mega-City One and targets Judges, but the Judges kill it. That outcome was always predictable, but not much more happens in the story than that.
The 'Judge Dredd vs. Aliens' story was much better. It could just be that Alien is more inherently interesting than Predator, but I think also that this story does pretty well in explaining the lifecycle of Aliens for Dredd fans, and the politics of Dredd's world for Alien fans. (I probably fit more into this latter category). The action is better, the story has a few turns, and I even found some humour in the Mechanismo's dialogue. If only the art had been a bit more interesting, I would have quite enjoyed this book overall. But honestly, the first story was pretty bland, and the whole crossover thing is just a blatant moneygrab if not much thought it being put into it.

[Elwyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This trade paperback has two stories: Predator vs Judge Dredd and Judge Dredd vs Aliens.

Predator vs Judge Dredd is 2 stars. It's an unremarkable barebones story that is almost entirely uninspired, trite and devoid of innovation. The only interesting new character barely does anything despite an unfulfilled potential for an interesting backstory. The only thing she does is identify where the final showdown will be. Also, how did the angry truck driver know that weird fluorescent green liquid in a broken test tube was blood?

Judge Dredd vs Aliens was slightly better. At least it had an interesting human antagonist but that needed more fleshing out. The new support characters needed more backstory too.

[Chris Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, the crossover: one of the ways the comics medium is able to trump movies. It would be impossible to stage a combined Marvel/DC movie event, but comics have pulled it off several times. Always with mixed results, though: this volume is no different. The Predator story has potential, but falls flat with a cookie-cutter plot and wonky art. The Aliens one is actually pretty good, if a tad rushed. One to check out from the library if you can. Now, if they had combined all three like the title implies..... Wow, THAT would be a crossover.

[nooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had hoped that this would actually be Aliens vs Dredd vs Predator, but rather it was two separate stories, one Dredd vs Predator and the other Dredd vs Aliens. Still, it was awesome even from the point of view of someone who really doesn't know Dredd well!

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing cross over. Knowing more about Dredd and Mechanismo and all that really added to the story (though I wouldn't consider it necessary to pick it up). Fantastic set of stories with great art, what more could you ask for?

[Glenn Curry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed. i thought this was as the title suggest P v JD v A. but it is two separate stories. the artwork is very good in both stories but the Alien story winning overall.
the stories are simple plots.

[Paul Porry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book compiles two stories, Predator vs Judge Dredd and Jidge Dredd vs Aliens. Classic Judge Dredd put together with two other classic characters.

[Yuiko · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright could have been better

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judge Dredd is pretty bad A$$.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three of my favorite IPs together in one trade. There are two stories contained in this book: a predator seeking vengeance against all of the judges in the opening story followed by all out infestation at Mega City One pitting Judge Dredd and company against the aliens and a group of mutants living under the city.

Both stories are outlandish, but they are fun reads. I was not worried about how the stories fit into the cannon of any of the IPs, but read more for the sheer enjoyment, reminding me of the "verses" conversations in which two individuals are matched and then a debate ensues of who would win. This book is essentially a verses dialogue.

In the aliens story, one has all of the key alien elements and even though we all know about the face huggers and the chest bursters, the use of those story aspects doesn't get old. If anything, I wanted to go back and revisit the original Predator and Alien films.

The writing is all Judge Dredd, which is no surprise because you have John Wagner and Andy Diggle penning the stories. The stories pull together well and are seasoned with familiar aspects from all three IPs. There's some nods to the Predator and Alien IPs, which is a nice touch. The art is fantastic. The opening Chapter 1 cover by Brian Bolland of a predator in a judge's uniform with a speech bubble stating "I am the law" -- well, you just know you are in for a treat.

Fair warning, this book is gory and violent because that is the nature of the IPs. This content is not appropriate for teens and younger; it is best suited for adult or late teens.