Predator #1

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Dark Horse (1989)
1st Predator Comic Book

Predator #1 (1989, Dark Horse Comics) is a sleeper key that has grown in importance every year. What makes it special isn’t any one thing, but a mix of franchise history, comic-book significance, and the birth of an entire expanded universe.

 

1. First Ever Predator Comic Book

Before this issue, the Predator existed only in the 1987 Schwarzenegger film.  This comic is the first time the character, and the species, was ever explored outside that movie.  For collectors, “first comic appearance” is a major benchmark.

 

2. Dark Horse Expands the Predator Mythology

The movie gave us a taste of what the Predator is.  This comic expands it by exploring:

• Predator culture

• Hunting ritual

• Hierarchy

• Weaponry

• Interplanetary lore

• The idea that Predators visit Earth repeatedly

This is the beginning of the entire Predator expanded universe.

Much of modern Predator canon traces its roots to these early comics.

 

3. Starts the Long-Running Predator Comic Franchise

This issue launches a hugely successful Dark Horse line that includes:

• Predator: Concrete Jungle

• Predator: Bad Blood

• Predator vs. Magnus

• Predator: 1718

• Many others

The comics became a core pillar of the franchise—almost as influential as the films.

 

4. Foundation for Aliens vs. Predator

Dark Horse used the 1989-1990 Predator and Aliens comics to plant the seeds of a shared universe.  Without these early Predator books, we would never have gotten:

• Aliens vs. Predator (1990)

• The AVP movies

• The video games

• The shared lore beloved by fans

Predator #1 is one half of the “DNA” that created AVP.

 

5. A Major Milestone in Dark Horse Publishing

Predator #1 came during the rise of Dark Horse as a serious publisher.  It was part of the movement that made licensed comics:

• high quality

• cinematic

• mature

• commercially successful

This book helped turn Dark Horse into the premier home for sci-fi franchises (Aliens, Star Wars, Terminator, etc.)

 

6. High Demand From Movie & Nostalgia Collectors

Unlike superhero keys tied to continuity, Predator #1 has:

• crossover appeal

• movie fan demand

• horror/sci-fi demand

• monster collector demand

Because of this, the issue has evergreen value that doesn’t fluctuate wildly like superhero speculation books.

9.2 NM
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