''Alien Loves Predator'' (sometimes shortened as ''ALP'') is a

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be ...

written by Bernie Hou. It spoofs the '' Alien vs. Predator'' franchise. Reversing the adversarial relationship depicted in the comics, games, books and movies, ''ALP'' presents an Alien (named Abe) and a

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

(named Preston) as friends and

roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Briti ...

s in modern-day New York City.Robert Taylor
Mingling Species: Bernie Hou Q&A
''Wizard'' magazine, July 10, 2006 The first issue of ''ALP'' was released in 2004. On August 28, 2008, the author of the strip announced that ''Alien Loves Predator'' would be updated sporadically, abandoning its regular weekly format. After a short run of a different webcomic, ''If You See Something'', Bernie Hou announced that he would once again be running the strip and updating it weekly. It stopped updating in June 2011.

Style

The artwork of ''ALP'' is composed by juxtaposing photos of real-life

action figures An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually m ...

into backgrounds also primarily generated from photos. This style has alternately been called photocollage, photocomics or

fumetti Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...

. A reviewer has stated that ''ALP'' "sets the bar for this art style." ''ALP''s humor is often based on

absurdism Absurdism is the philosophical theory that existence in general is absurd. This implies that the world lacks meaning or a higher purpose and is not fully intelligible by reason. The term "absurd" also has a more specific sense in the context o ...

and non-sequiturs. Abe and Preston speak English and treat each other just as human friends do, and the specific mythology of the '' Alien'' and ''

'' franchises is not a primary focus. Although the New York City of the strip seems virtually identical to the one we know in real life, the humans we see are generally unconcerned by the fact that an Alien and a Predator are living among them. (An

alternate universe Parallel universe often refers to parallel universes in fiction, a self-contained separate world, universe or reality coexisting with the real world, which is used as a recurring plot point or setting used in fantasy and science fiction. Parallel ...

storyline tha
began in July 2009
has challenged this notion.) Along with the

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

humor of seeing alien races act just like humans, the strip simultaneously presents an observational brand of humor. Abe and Preston often are 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 Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...

. ''Transformers'' screenwriter John Rogers has compared ALP to ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' in this respect.

Recognition

''ALP'' was a finalist for a Web Cartoonists' Choice Award for outstanding photographic comic in 2008. Bernie Hou has been a featured guest at the MoCCA, ICON and UberCon comic conventions and has been interviewed by ''Wizard'' magazine. ''ALP'' received favorable mention in the March/April 2005 issue of ''Creative Screenwriting'' magazine, the February 2006 issue of ''Stuff'' magazine, and the April 2010 issue of ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

'' magazine.http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2664/4425917735_f8dc98bbcf_o.gif

References

External links

Official site

ALP review at Sequential Tart

Mind Pollution interview with Bernie Hou about ALP and his other works

Fleen essay about ALP
{{Alien vs. Predator (franchise) Alien vs. Predator (franchise) 2004 webcomic debuts Comics based on films American comedy websites Parody webcomics Photocomics