A few things to talk about from the House of Ideas this week, so I figure I’ll be writing a listing more random than usual.
First up is the news that Marvel is shuttering their Marvel Comics App, the place where for the last decade you could read and purchase digital comics. The app, run by ComiXology has been my main method of reading Marvel since I purchased my first generation iPad when it came out, and I have to admit, I was bummed to see that all good things do indeed come to an end. There was also the instant fear that I was going to lose all my Marvel comics; however, those are being migrated over to the Marvel Unlimited App, the House of Idea’s subscription service, so I’ll still have my books (and won’t need a sub to access them.)
People will still be able to purchase digital comics via Amazon, and I assume they’ll appear in both the (lacklustre) ComiXology app and your Kindle app, but I don’t know if your Marvel books will still be available. I’m not exactly sure why this decision was made, though I imagine the way that Amazon has gutted their ComiXology staff and is now treating the service as an afterthought is a big reason.
If you’ve used the Marvel Comics App, you’ve got make sure you have a Marvel account so that your digital collection will make its way over to Marvel Unlimited. You can get all the details here, so get cracking on May 2 before the Marvel Comics App shutters for good June 2.
Of course, I did read some comics as well this past week, and the one I wanted to make note of was Predator by Ed Brisson: Day of the Hunter, a trade paperback collecting the first six issues of the series marking the creature’s official Marvel Comics debut. Written by Ed Brisson with art by Kev Walker and Frank D’Armata, Predator is a canon series that ties in with all the previous films, though set significantly in the future where space travel and other life forms are now part of existence.
For me, all Predator series are judged by the original written by Mark Verheiden all the way back in 1989, which is a hard mountain to top. I will say that I quickly read through Predator: Day of the Hunter, and loved the story and art. Brisson and company introduce a human protagonist named Theta, who is pursuing the Predator who slaughtered her family when she was young. You’ve got to suspend your disbelief (at least I did) that Theta grows up into a Predator killer, but I was invested enough in her story that I kept reading.
Predator by Ed Brisson: Day of the Hunter is full of the blood and guts anyone would want from a Predator, and is worth checking out for fans of the franchise. Now, bring back Dutch!
Collects PREDATOR (2022) #1-6. Hunt. Kill. Repeat. In the near future, a young girl sees her family slaughtered by the deadliest and most feared hunter in the universe: a Predator. Years later, though her ship is barely holding together and food is running short, Theta won’t stop stalking the spaceways until the Yautja monster who killed her family is dead – or she is. And when she crash-lands on a tundra planet, her odds of surviving are looking slim! Her only hope is to trek through the wilds to the nearest outpost. But the cold isn’t the only thing she has to worry about: A Predator watches in the shadows, ready to strike! Ed Brisson (IRON FIST, GHOST RIDER) and Kev Walker (DR. STRANGE, DOCTOR APHRA) forge a violent, heartbreaking and unforgettable new chapter in the PREDATOR saga not to be missed!
