Meet the Cast! (Jesus not present)
Ever wondered what Seinfeld would be like if its main characters were an Alien and a Predator and featured a lot of absurdist humor?
... yeah, didn't think so. Even so, it would look a lot like this webcomic.
Alien Loves Predator
is a photo webcomic created by Bernie Hou that revolves around the strange lives of Abe (the Alien) and Preston (the Predator), portrayed by Alien and Predator action figures. Contrary to the adversarial nature shown between the two species in a certain other franchise, these two are best friends and roommates living in New York City. Equally contrary to what you'd expect, their lives are amazingly mundane, causing several jokes to rely on observational humor centered around aspects of day to day life in NYC, which has granted the strip several comparisons to Seinfeld. Of course, every so often the inherent weirdness of the strip's universe kicks in, leading to stuff like a talking tattoo of William Hung, a sentient smell, time traveling Chinese takeout deliverymen, among others.
It stopped updating on June 2, 2011 and is currently on hiatus due to the writer dealing with another project before continuing the series. As of January 2019, the series is dormant, and likely will not continue.
The strip doesn't have much of a supporting cast, though they often play big parts in story arcs. This cast includes Corinne, a psychic whose "blurry second sight" leads to inaccurate predictions, Abe's mom, an (of course) Alien Queen that doesn't think much of her son and Jesus Christ...as a star baseball player for the New York Mets.
...yeah, it's a weird comic. Pretty funny, though.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Aborted Arc: The Alternate Universe storyline has been put on hold because the writer felt that it was sprawling too much.
- All Men Are Perverts: Weaponized by Abe and Preston's second landlord. He has a female friend do suggestive things while nude in full visibility from the apartment window Abe and Preston are checking out.
- Alternate Universe: The current story arc is set in one where extraterrestrials are persecuted due to the policies of the first black President of the United States: Will Smith.]]
- Amusing Injuries: It's played this way when Abe chops off Preston's arm for a halloween prank.
- Author Appeal: There are a lot of jokes about Chinese people scattered throughout the comic. Bernie Hou is Chinese.
- Berserk Button: Abe gets very sensitive when racism towards aliens is present.
- Big Applesauce: The setting, which is also where the author lives (he even adds pictures of places he visits regularly).
- Blue Oni, Red Oni: Abe's younger brothers Zeev and Boris, literally. Their mother painted them to indicate which is which. Boris is red, while Zeev is blue. However, Zeev is also a Manipulative Bastard and a Bratty Half-Pint, who frames Preston as a child molester and gets him thrown in jail before swindling Abe into giving him power of attorney.
- Boldly Coming: Corrina and Preston would have done this if their date worked out. Theo and Abe's mother
qualify. - Boomerang Bigot: This strip has Abe reject a potential roommate on the grounds that he is an alien, who Abe believes do nothing more than take up space and use up resources. Then the final panel has a Catholic Vatican member call Michael Jackson black.
- Brain Bleach:
- Abe reaches for a huge can when he finds out Theo and his mother are dating and any time their sex life is hinted at.
- The posters of pierced penises in the tattoo shop.
- While having a conversation with Jesus, Abe accidentally enters a search for Abe Vigoda on Firefox's nude celebrity search engine.
- Brick Joke: A strip has Preston having trouble with a sassy turnstile. Several strips later, when he has a near-death experience, he finds out that Heaven has a turnstile as well and spends considerable time having the same issues.
- Casanova Wannabe: Abe, big time.
- Character Catchphrase: "What a great idea! I can see no downside." Really, Abe?
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Abe
- Cluster F-Bomb: And thus, Preston's favorite word is revealed.
- Covert Pervert: Preston, in a guest-star comic. He keeps a Yautja pornographic magazine in his room. Naturally, Abe discovers it and reads it.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Preston reacts this way at first when he finds out Corrina is dating Bill Clinton.
- Destination Defenestration: Abe throws Theo out of a window when he makes a Your Mom joke to Abe. Abe then has a private chuckle about it.
- Dr. Zizmor throws one of his men out the window when he almost lets it spill that the assassination mission Abe will go on is a suicide mission. It's okay though, the resistance will just time travel a few seconds earlier to tell the guy to shut the fuck up.
- Dirty Old Man: Though "old" is a stretch, Bill Clinton when he appears in the comic as a comedic, non-villainous example.
- Preston: Great, the only guy in the world hornier than Abe...Bill Clinton: Presidential pardon... Presidental HARD-ON!
- Freud Was Right: When Abe wonders why he's failing at speed dating, Preston points out his very phallic-shaped head.
- From Bad to Worse: Abe's incessant Tempting Fate leads to Preston losing his wallet and glasses in the aftermath of their apartment burning down.
- Groin Attack: Abe gets one from police sniffer dogs when he mocks the police during a random bag check; when he says he has lip balm they thought he said lip "bomb", so he states he has a scrotum bomb as well. Squick and hilarity ensue.
- Also Bill Clinton due to a pill that makes him ejaculate acid if he climaxes, which his wife gave him as a precaution against/punishment for adultery and an acid-proof condom.
- Abe's mother wants a daughter and threatens to cut the penis off of "...the next boy that dares to be born."
- Heh Heh, You Said "X":Abe: Get out of our apartment! We don't need any deadbeats who can't even— hehe you said "bush" —meet the simplest goddamn requirements —hehe you said "meat"Interview: No I didn't.Abe: Someone said "meat."
- Invisible Streaker: Played with — Preston's cloaking device doesn't affect his glasses or clothes, but he fails to realize this, and doesn't understand why people can see him.
- Jesus Was Way Cool: Subverted. Jesus is a Nice Guy, but everyone around him really test his patience.Jesus (as reporters at a press conference question his sobriety): Look, you're making it very hard to love you right now!
- Jewish Mother: Abe's mom, despite being an Alien Queen without her religion being mentioned, has all the characteristics. Hey, his name is even Abe!
- Killed Off for Real: Abe's Mom, Theo, and B.O.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Preston despises wearing glasses. Upon hearing someone compliment his glasses he disagrees until he sees it's Corrina and says "galoshes" instead of "glasses".
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Abe, though he has yet to succeed.
- Major Injury Underreaction: When Preston has his hand chopped off by Abe he's coherent enough to call Abe out on it and take himself to the emergency room.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: A conversation between Abe and his mother reveals that he has over a thousand brothers.
- Mundane Fantastic: Surreal elements aside, the comic's world is identical to ours, with the same politicians, products, etc.
- Mundane Utility: Cheng uses Faster-Than-Light Travel (specifically, a hyperspace engine) to deliver Chinese food in the blink of an eye.
- Noodle Incident: Plenty of this involving Abe.
- Abe was the one who turned the Central Park Lake green, but not without help.
- Strip #74 is the last time Abe will moon Katie Couric through the Today Show window.
- Chicago being America's dirtiest city was Abe's fault.
- Not Me This Time: Oddly, Abe doesn't realize what's going on when his brothers try to get him to inadvertently help them peep on Corrina showering.
- Not So Above It All: Preston really tries to keep straight but sometimes the sheer insanity of events overwhelm him.
- Old Shame: The internet is the one invention Al Gore is not very proud of.
- Pals with Jesus: he even shares an appartment with the two protagonists in the first chapters.
- The Peeping Tom: Abe ogled an attractive nude woman doing yoga from a window when he and Preston were apartment-hunting, and eagerly shouted to the real estate agent that they'd take it just because of this which was a set-up by the real estate agent That time Preston joined in on ogling her as well. Surprisingly averted when Corrina lives with Abe and Preston by Abe himself. His brothers Zeev and Boris eagerly try to spy on her.
- Photo Comic: The medium of the pages, except for a few guest comics.
- Political Overcorrectness: "Asian-American in your armor."
- The Pornomancer: Arguably B.O. He gets four out of ten women saying "yes" to him at his first Speed Dating seminar. Notable because that's "his" first attempt at dating, and he smells terrible (being a body odour so foul-smelling it gained sentience and is classed as a biological hazard). Also Abe does everything he can to try and be this.
- Power Incontinence: Corrina's ESP is near-sighted, meaning she has trouble seeing the visual details in her visions of the future.
- Power Perversion Potential: Abe lampshades Preston's cloaking device by saying he would love to use it to peek in Girls' locker room:Preston: You already do that.
Abe: How long do you think "Sorry I am an alien I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be there" will work again? - Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Do not- Smoke- The Christmas Tree!
- Running Gag: Abe's disastrous attempts at speed dating.
- Straight Man: Preston, for the most part.
- Special Effect Failure: Invoked with the Central Park Zoo's exhibit of Photoshop Disasters.
- Take That!: "More like Suckquiem"
- Movie Fun Fact: "You could've bought a fucking yacht but instead you decided to see Fat Albert"
- This Is Going to Be Huge: Back in the 90s, Abe had the unfortunate idea to invest his college textbook money in shares of Pets.com
- Your Mom: One of Abe's favourite insults. It no longer works on his friend Theo, who is in a sexual relationship with Abe's mother.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Abe gets a pretty good one for shoving his mother's boyfriend off the Empire State Building.
