Alien Loves Predator
Abe (left) and Preston (right), of Alien Loves Predator Summary
Alien Loves Predator (ALP to fans) is a web comic written by Bernie Hou. It spoofs the Alien Vs. Predator franchise. Reversing the adversarial relationship depicted in Alien vs. Predator, ALP presents an Alien (named Abe) and a Predator (named Preston) as friends and roommates in current-day New York City.
The first issue [1] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=1) of ALP was released in 2004. New episodes were released every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Recently, the author changed the release dates to just Monday and sometimes Thursday (although there have been no thursday strips yet).
Characters
Abe
Abe the Alien is normally the impulsive member of the duo. He is socially inept, rarely thinks anything through, and is far more concerned with his libido than with the reality of the world around him.
Preston
Preston the Predator usually plays the straight man in the comedic duo. He is normally rational and a calming influence. Oddly for a member of a race bred to hunt and kill, Preston is nearsighted. [2] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=100)
Jesus
In the world of ALP, Jesus Christ is a pitcher for baseball's New York Yankees. Needless to say, he is the best player in the game. Unlike most American League pitchers, a designated hitter is not used to bat for Jesus. [3] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=127)
In issue #85 [4] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=85), Jesus moved into Abe and Preston's apartment as their roommate. Recently, he has been suspended from baseball and he has now left the duo though he has said he will return someday. [5] (http://www.alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=150)
Corinna
Corinna is Preston's current love interest. Preston met this bespectacled lovely at the optometrist in issue #106. [6] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=106) Corinna is a medium, and her "vision" problem is actually not an unclearness of eyesight, but an unclearness of psychic visions. e.g., issue #112, in which she wonders of Preston, "He's either going to ask me for my number, or axe me while I slumber." [7] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=112) Recently, after telling Preston she was a Mets fan on the end of their first date, their relationship might falter. Recently however, Preston questions if he rejected her too fast and might try to keep their relationship going. [8] (http://www.alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=147)
Boris and Zeev
Boris and Zeev are Abe's even worse-behaved younger brothers. They debuted in issue #46 [9] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=46), and were last seen in issue #50. [10] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=50) They are color-coded red and blue, respectively. Zeev is colored-coded blue because he is well-behaved, while Boris is red because he is not.
Abe's Mother
Abe's mother, naturally, is an Alien Queen. No name has been given her in the strip as of yet. She is very disappointed in Abe (she wanted a girl) and hates him, though she supports him with money. She appeared in issues #43, #44 and #145. [11] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=43), [12] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=44) She has made a reappearance in #145. [13] (http://alienlovespredator.com/index.php?id=145) She is now in a relationship with Abe's friend, leaving Abe disgusted.
Style
The art of ALP is done by juxtaposing photos of real-life action figures into backgrounds also primarily generated from photos. This style has alternately been called photocollage, photocomics or fumetti. A reviewer has stated that ALP "sets the bar for this art style." [14] (http://korsil.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=153)
ALP's humor is often based on absurdism and non sequiturs. After all, although the New York City of the strip seems virtually identical to the one we know in real life, none of the humans ever comment on the fact that an Alien and Predator live among them. Abe and Preston speak English and treat each other just as human friends do, and in fact, the mythology of the Alien and Predator franchises is rarely even mentioned.
However, along with the surrealist humor of seeing alien races act just like people, the strip simultaneously presents an observational brand of humor. Abe and Preston are often depicted going through the same frustrations that real-life modern-day New Yorkers encounter as they try to do such things as rent apartments, eat out at restaurants and ride the subway. One prominent writer has compared ALP to Seinfeld in this respect. [15] (http://alienlovespredator.com/mailbag.php)
The Forum
The ALP Forum, while small, numbering little more than a thousands members, with less than a couple hundred regular members, is one of the most open forums ever conceived. Bernie Hou runs many contests and events in the forums, such as a haiku contest, and currently a contest to see who can create the best conversation with the therapuetic program ELIZA, which has already accumulated almost 100 entries in the first 24 hours alone. The forums cover a wide range of subject matters, but generally acts more like an online lounge than anything else. People are encouraged to visit the forums and participate with the rather colorful members, who sometimes begin to role-play personalized characters. Such as Aramor, who plays a facehugger, and Simon_Says, who plays a Panda Samurai who makes a generally concidered great brew (or recently respelled Brüe).
Contests
Bernie Hou often hosts contests in his forums. These range a diversity of subjects and methods and prizes can be won in some.
- The Eliza Contest: Members are asked to provide discussions between them and the therapeutic program ELIZA. The contest had generated more than 100 entries in it's first twenty four hours. A winner has not been declared.
- Guess Thier Names: Members were allowed to post their guess for the names of Bernie Hou's new children. There were no winners.
- ALP Art Contest: Members submitted thier own fan comics based around a set dialogue made by Bernie Hou. The winner was a member aliased Summer.
- ALP Haiku Contest: Members were to submit any haiku of thier creation. The winner was one of the forum regulars Holly with:
- I will volunteer
- as Abe's girlfriend for the week
- and Preston can watch.
- ALP Dialogue Contest: A reverse of the Haiku Contest, members would submit dialogue for a preset comic. The winner was Lando, and Bernie released the comic as an official addition to the archives.
External links
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