Predator Versus Magnus Robot Fighter

Predator Versus Magnus Robot Fighter

Dark Horse / Valiant Comics

1992

During the Great Comic Book Boom of the early 1990s crossover storylines between companies was a common practice. So it was that in November, 1992, Dark Horse comics, which owned the rights to produce comics based on the 20th Century Fox ‘Predator’ character, teamed up with Valiant comics, which owned rights to the 'Magnus, Robot Fighter' character originally published by Western / Gold Key, to produce a two-issue miniseries, ‘Predator Versus Magnus Robot Fighter’.

The series was written by the then-head of Valiant, former Marvel Comics editor in chief Jim Shooter, with assistance from John Ostrander. Art was provided by comics veteran Lee Weeks, with colors by Rachelle Menashe, and lettering by Pat Brosseau.

There was a considerable delay between the appearance of issue one and issue two (which didn't arrive on shelves until May, 1993) which likely was caused by the Shooter's dismissal from Valiant later in 1992. 

[ For an interesting account of the founding and dissolution of Valiant, from Shooter's point of view, readers are directed to this 1998 interview, conducted by Joe Petrilak. Much Corporate Sleaze going on.............! ]

As a mashup of two iconic pop culture franchises from the 1960s (Magnus first was published in 1963) and the 1980s (Predator), 'Predator Versus Magnus Robot Fighter' is an entertaining comic. Shooter was smart enough to know that a two-issue series lacked the space for the complicated plotting then commonplace in the comic book world, and focused on telling a simple and straightforward story that would be coherent to those readers who were well acquainted with the Predator franchise, but for whom Magnus was not a well-known character. 

Shooter's plot moves swiftly in terms of providing a backstory and setting up the confrontation between Magnus and the Predator, and throws in enough ancillary characters and action sequences to keep the comics from being just 48 pages of punch-trading between the two adversaries.

Where the books suffer is in the color scheme, which reflects the limitations of the color printing processes used for most comics in the early 1990s. There are some eye-straining magenta hues in the pages of 'Predator Versus Magnus Robot Fighter'...........

Summing up, if you're a Baby Boomer who remembers Magnus from the Gold Key days of the 1960s, or a fan of the Predator franchise, then you're going to want to get 'Predator Versus Magnus Robot Fighter'. While there is a trade paperback, published in 1994 by Dark Horse, that compiles both issues, copies in good condition have exorbitant asking prices from speculators (one guy at eBay is asking for $239). 

My advice is to pick up the original comics, which sell for under $5 each.