Mad geniuses Max Bemis and Nate Stockman take you to a magical place in Savage #3. It’s filled with sun, fun, and… monsters trying to eat you?!
Project Bizarre’s quest to unleash the creatures from the odd dimension known as the Faraway beyond the British Isles is ON — the Giant Dinos have gone GLOBAL! Can Savage save the tropics or will the dinos rule Earth again?
Full disclosure: I’m not entirely sure what to make of this comic. I’ve never really pegged Savage as being a comedy series, though Bemis’ writing has had comedic moments peppered throughout his run with the character, Savage #3 reads more like an actual comedy book that at times borders on the silly. And honestly, I’m not sure how well it works for me overall as the comic moves from a story with humorous elements closer to an actual comedy comic. As I said, it’s not what I expected from this iteration of Savage – even though I did enjoy the way Bemis played into the absurdity of the evil corporation in Savage #2 – but it wouldn’t seem as out of place in a Quantum and Woody or Archer and Armstrong story.
Perhaps because of the ratio of comedy to not that had me notice a few things that bugged me just a little (mostly dialogue choices) that I doubt I’d have picked up on at all had I been enjoying the story a bit more. The comic’s plot is also somewhat nonsensical; a month after the second issue, Savage has given up on humanity and now lives on a private island that artificially mimics the island he grew up on to get away from the hangers-on, meanwhile the planet is attacked by giant monsters and Savage’s brother rages at the news in a way that either indicates somebody is controlling the events or that it’s purely coincidental (and because of the comic’s tone to this point, I’m genuinely not sure which it is).
I’m going to quote myself from the previous review, because it’s still true.
Nathan Stockman, Triona Farrell, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou round out the creative team for Savage #2 as artist, colorist, and letterer respectively. Otsmane-Elhaou’s work is noticeably good in this issue, which is a rare feat for a comics’ lettering to stand out in a positive way, with his liberal use of colored fonts and upper and lower case becoming more than just a method to convey Bemis’ words. This book is an example of lettering as its own art form, a comic to show those who claim that anybody can throw words onto a page, which although that is a true statement, the same is also true; anybody can write a story or draw a picture – but there’s a difference between my pictures and Nathan Stockman’s pictures). Stockman’s art is great; there’s a very punky feeling to the comic, at times evoking Pushead’s art style, but almost consistently embodying the rebellious nature of the title character.
Review: Savage #2
Although the comic is still really interesting to look at, the humor strayed just a touch too far into the comedy and away from what I was hoping would be more of an exploration about the nature of fame and how easy it can be to lose yourself when people are pulling you a hundred different ways. Instead, we got a comic that had a lot of story (I’m genuinely surprised at how much story Bemis fits into the pages of the comic) with some comedic elements that just fell a little flat for me. Savage #3 is significantly elevated by the art and lettering, which goes a long way to balance the drawbacks of the comic. It might be that I’m a little tired, but I missed the balance of humor and social discourse from earlier comics
Ultimately your mileage will vary, but based on this issue, I really want to see Max Bemis take a crack at writing either an Archer and Armstrong or a Quantum & Woody series in the near future because although the level of humor may not have sat quite right with me in Savage #3, I think it’d be perfect for one of the duos.
Story: Max Bemis Art: Nathan Stockman
Colours: Trionna Farrell Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 6.9 Art: 8.4 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW
