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By Mark Schultz & Ariel Olivetti (DC Comics/Dark Horse)
ISBN 1-84576-578-8
Commercial instincts seem to override all other considerations in this beautifully illustrated but just plain daft Battle of The Brands from DC and Dark Horse.
Apparently a colony of Predatorsâ„¢ have been living on Earth since the last Ice Age, complete with a stock of Aliensâ„¢, inside a volcano in the Andes. Via various routes Supermanâ„¢, Batmanâ„¢ and the clandestine Terrestrial Defense Initiative all become aware of them at the same time as the volcano shifts into blow-up-very-soon mode.
What follows is a race against time as the heroes try to rescue the assorted monsters from the lava before they’re all nuked by the hasty humans. If this is supposed to be a tribute to all-action summer blockbuster movies then the usually excellent Mark Schultz has nailed it, for this slim tale has holes you could steer an aircraft carrier through. As a comic book though all it has to recommend it is the spectacular art of Ariel Olivetti.
I fervently hope that this is the last of these ill-advised mismatched Brand Fests.
© 2007 DC Comics, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Dark Horse Comics. All Rights Reserved.