Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Splice and Dice (Comics) | Review

Picture this: the galaxy's most disciplined lawman facing off against its most skilled hunters while both scramble to survive its most perfect killing machines. Sounds impossible to pull off without turning into a mindless slugfest, right?

Writer John Layman (Army of Darkness/Xena: Warrior Princess, Red Sonja/Claw, Scarface: Scarred for Life) takes up that challenge head-on with four-issue crossover limited series "Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Splice and Dice", published jointly by Dark Horse Comics and IDW Publishing from July 2016 to June 2017.

Here's the thing about ambitious crossovers: they usually collapse under their own weight. Too many franchises, too many expectations, too many ways to disappoint hardcore fans but Layman understands something crucial about these properties.

Each one works because of discipline, not despite it. Dredd's rigid adherence to law, Predators' strict hunting codes and Aliens' pure biological imperative for survival. When you crash them together properly, the result isn't chaos but controlled devastation.

The story kicks off when a Predator gets captured by animal-human hybrids and dragged to a mad scientist, while Judge Dredd and his partner Anderson are hunting down a robot cult leader on Mega-City One's outskirts. What starts as separate storylines quickly converges into something much nastier and more dangerous.

Dredd and Anderson track their criminal cult across the wasteland but they stumble into something far worse than religious fanatics. Meanwhile, the captured Predator becomes the unwilling subject of genetic experimentation that goes exactly where you'd expect it to go.

The scientist's lab contains more than just hybrid creatures– there are Alien specimens too. When everything predictably goes wrong, the story becomes an uneasy alliance between the Judges and a small group of Predators, dispatched to rescue their missing comrade.

The mad scientist's experiments have created something worse than standard Xenomorphs– hybrid creatures that combine Alien lethality with unpredictable mutations. These aren't your typical hive-minded drones, making them exponentially more dangerous for everyone involved.

The laboratory setting becomes a pressure cooker where every corner could hide death and every alliance feels temporary at best, with trust dissolving faster than acid can burn through reinforced steel plating and personal survival instincts overriding any sense of co-operation.

What this really means is that Layman gets to play with each franchise's strengths without diluting them. Dredd remains uncompromisingly brutal. The Predators stick to their honor-bound hunting traditions. The Aliens stay true to their hive-mind survival instincts but when these forces collide, survival tactics get creative fast.

The plot doesn't waste time on elaborate setup or forced character development. Instead, it throws everyone into an escalating nightmare where each group's core nature drives the action forward, creating tension that feels earned rather than manufactured.

Dredd's determination to uphold the law even in impossible circumstances, Predator honor demanding they retrieve their fallen warrior and Alien biology turning every encounter into potential reproduction make for genuinely tense moments.

The beauty lies in how each faction's weaknesses become apparent when stripped of their usual advantages. Dredd can't simply arrest his way out of biological horror or impose law on pure instinct. Predators find their advanced technology challenged by creatures that adapt faster than their weapons can compensate.

And the Aliens face opponents who understand tactics beyond simple survival, creating a three-way chess match played with claws, guns and pure determination where strategic thinking becomes as deadly as razor-sharp teeth and advanced weaponry.

This crossover sits as the third in the Judge Dredd/Aliens/Predator trilogy. Following "Predator Vs. Judge Dredd" (1997) where a Predator hunted Judges in Mega City One and "Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus" (2003) where Xenomorphs overran the city, Splice and Dice completes the circle by bringing all three franchises together.

Artwork by Chris Mooneyham (Nightwing: Bleeding Edge, Predator: Fire and Stone) serves the story rather than trying to steal the show. His style captures the industrial brutality of Mega-City One, the organic horror of Aliens and the technological precision of Predator gear. 

The color work by Michael Atiyeh keeps things appropriately grim without going full grimdark. The palette shifts effectively between the sterile laboratory settings, the urban decay of the city outskirts and the claustrophobic encounter spaces where most of the real action happens.

Layman's writing balances fan-service and storytelling perfectly. He doesn't bog down the narrative explaining each franchise's mythology to newcomers but doesn't assume everyone knows every detail. The dialogue stays true to each property's tone. Dredd sounds like Dredd, not like someone doing an impression of him.

Splice and Dice succeeds because it respects what makes each franchise work rather than trying to reinvent them. It's not the deepest story told but it's exactly what it promises: a violent, well-executed collision between three sci-fi icons that maintains logic throughout the mayhem.

At roughly 45 minutes reading time for all four issues, it's pure action-packed entertainment full of blood and satisfying confrontations. If you're looking for profound character development or innovation, look elsewhere but if you want to see these legendary franchises throw down without pulling punches, this delivers completely.

The crossover earns its place as a worthy conclusion to the Judge Dredd/Aliens/Predator saga. It's the kind of comic that reminds you why these franchises became icons in the first place and why sometimes the best crossovers trust their source material enough to let it speak for itself.

You can read Predator Vs. Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Splice and Dice in collected editions available in both trade paperback and digital formats. The trade paperback collects the full limited series and is widely available through Amazon, comic shops and major online retailers. Digital readers can find it on ComiXology, Kindle and Dark Horse Digital.