Predator: Demon's Gold was a comic book short story that was first published by Dark Horse Comics in the anthology series Dark Horse Presents, Vol. 1 #137, in November 1998. Published in black and white, the story was written by Ron Marz, illustrated by Claudio Castellini, lettered by Gary Kato, and edited by Randy Stradley. The issue if Dark Horse Presents also featured a Predator cover by Dan Norton. The comic focuses on a Nazi unit fighting a Predator in South America during World War II.
In Dark Horse's Predator comics line, Predator: Demons' Gold was preceded by Predator: Captive, and was followed by Predator: Homeworld.
Publisher's Summary[]
A Nazi commandant will risk anything to locate a hidden cache of gold, but when he finally finds it he also discovers that the treasure has a guardian... Ron Marz and Claudio Castellini put a new spin on Predator.
Plot[]
During the Second World War, a squad of Nazis have burned a small Ecuadorian village to the ground, leaving only a young boy alive. Intent on finding the Treasure of the Langanatis for war finance, they have the boy escort them through the mountains to the cave entrance to the treasure. They are met with hordes upon hordes of gold, dubbed "Sweat of the sun, tears of the moon."
Content with the findings, the Nazi commander orders one of his subordinates to execute the boy. Just before he is killed, the squad is ambushed and swiftly slaughtered by a Yautja, whom the boy presumes is protecting the treasury. Ultimately, the boy is spared and the creature vanished, leaving the secret of the sweat and tears in the hands of the child.
Reprint History[]
Dark Horse Comics[]
Predator: Demon's Gold was eventually reprinted as part of Predator Omnibus: Volume 4 in September 2008.
The comic was released digitally through Dark Horse Digital on May 15, 2013, collected with Predator: No Beast So Fierce and Predator: Bump in the Night and reusing Chris Warner's cover art from Predator: Big Game #4, recolored by Dan Jackson.
Marvel Comics[]
Following Marvel Comics' acquisition of the rights to Predator comic books, the comic was supposed to be collected as part of Marvel's Predator: The Original Years Volume 2 collection, alongside many other early Dark Horse stories but was removed along with Predator: Hell Come a Walkin'.
Behind the Scenes[]
Demon's Gold is notably one of four black and white Predator comics that have never been reprinted in color, the others being Predator: God's Truth, Predator: No Beast So Fierce and Predator: Bump in the Night. In fact, the only black and white Predator comic story that has ever been reissued in color is the Predator: Race War short story, which was colored when it was complied as issue 0 of the Race War series.
Trivia[]
- Demon's Gold is the last Predator comic story to feature in Dark Horse Presents. To date, the franchise has not returned to the long-running anthology.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
AVP Zone - the official AVP page at the Dark Horse Comics website.
Dark Horse Presents #137 at the Dark Horse Comics website.