Dark Horse announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego its latest adventure in the "Aliens vs. Predator" universe. Titled "Three World War," the six-issue miniseries kicks off in January and is fittingly written by "Aliens" and "Predator" scribe John Arcudi with art by Rick Leonardi. Raymond Swanland will be providing covers, as he does for both the current "Aliens" and "Predator" series. CBR News spoke with editor Chris Warner, who helped originate the "AVP" concept, about the new miniseries.

"I don't want to give away too many specifics, but there are key threads from the new 'Aliens' and 'Predator' books that are tied together in 'Three World War,'" Warner told CBR. "Suffice it to say there will be lots of Predators, lots of Aliens, and lots of Colonial Marines in close proximity, acting very unpleasantly toward one another. It is a distinct possibility that some characters may not survive the series."

Since both of the individual "Aliens" and "Predator" franchises have just come off fresh comic book relaunches, CBR asked Warner why this is the right time for them to come together in a new "Aliens vs. Predator" mini. "Well, they've all been offstage for awhile, been given a bit of a rest, and now they're ready to come back ready for action," the editor said. "In some senses I think all characters or series have a shelf life, but the best of them have enough appeal for multiple go-'rounds. Our 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' comics are a good example of this, as is the 'Conan' series. Both had been very popular in their day, both sort of ran out of steam. But being gone for awhile gave both the chance to come back fresh, and readers got a chance to remember how cool they were, and the books came back more popular than ever. I'll still watch 'Predator' or 'Alien' any time they're on TV, even though I've probably seen each at least fifty times by now. They're just that good, and you can't say that about every character or franchise. It's hard to believe we started doing 'Aliens' and 'Predator' comics over twenty years ago and to me they're still vital, kickass vehicles for great stories and amazing art. Probably always will be."

While fans are regularly clamoring to see their favorite unstoppable bad guys square off, "AVP" has been one of those few movie monster mashups that has actually done well and endured, having inspired several comic book miniseries and even a series of movies, with the third film slated for release in 2010. "To me, the Aliens represent the horrors of the natural world, and the Predators represent the horrors of which Mankind is capable, and those are interesting magnetic poles for any story," Warner said of the concept's lasting appeal. "'Aliens vs. Predator' on some level calls up the struggle of Mankind to tame the Wild, and the instinct of the Wild to stay wild. I think the themes and subtext become even stronger as the untamed world dwindles. And no matter how advanced we become, it seems that the natural world continues to fight back against us, to mock our arrogance, to strangle us with our own hubris."