In SAVAGE #4, available from Valiant Entertainment on May 12th, 2021, Savage returns to London to fight off the dinosaur swarms flooding through the interdimensional gate.
The Details
- Written By: Max Bemis
- Art By: Nathan Stockman
- Colors By: Triona Farrell
- Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Cover Art By: Marcus To, Rico Renzi
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: May 12th, 2021
Was It Good?
One of the rules we pride ourselves on here at ComicalOpinions.com is sticking through a series to the very end, for better or worse. We consider reviews a public service, so that means we’ll continue to give every issue the fairest attempt at a review because some readers enjoy a certain title while others utterly loathe that same title. You never know who likes what, therefore, we’re going to do our best to critique this issue on the merits of the quality of the book, not whether or not we liked it.
The art is consistent from the first issue until now. It’s a cartoonish, caricature style very reminiscent of a skit magazine such as MAD or CRACKED. If you’re familiar with those satire publications, the style will look very familiar.
The writing in this issue relies on heavy action, violence, and non-stop humor. Different types of humor appeal to different types of readers, so for us, this issue read like a 22-page stream of unending Dad jokes. If you like being peppered with a tsunami of corny Dad jokes, this issue may work for you.
What about the plot? If you strip away the nonsensical action, cartoonish gore, and outlandish personalities, the plot is fairly straightforward.
To answer the initial question purely from one person’s point of view, this reviewer would not consider this book good by any reasonable definition of the word. It was painful to get through.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
Kevin “Savage” Sauvage returns to London from his private island, renewed in the realization that he feels most alive when he’s hunting dinosaurs (read our SAVAGE #3 review to see how he arrived at that realization). Savage’s brother, Henry, monologues his rationale for helping create the dinosaur invasion by explaining his deep-seated resentment for Savage ever since they were children. Henry is a sociopath who wants to rule the world, and he’s perfectly happy to sacrifice his brother to do it.
Back on the mainland, Savage slices and dices his way through the modified (meaning semi-intelligent and armed with weaponry) dinosaurs, collecting their bones and skulls along the way to use as armor and stabbing weapons. All the while, Kevin keeps making joking 90s references to everything from Stargate to the Spice Girls or hinting references to other comic book characters such as Batman’s Alfred
The pop culture and superhero references flow endlessly. You get the impression Bemis finds the jokes hilarious in their self-awareness because the issue is practically bursting with them.
Finally making his way to London proper, Savage is met by Mae who’s riding a flying dinosaur. Savage expresses his feelings for Mae, but she promptly shuts him down as, in her own words: “I Literally Couldn’t Be Gayer.” Okay, let’s move on.
Henry visits Professor Nealon in his lab to demand he get the dinosaurs under control before they destroy everything. Nealon proclaims he has everything under control, and all he needs to complete world domination is Savage’s brain, which Henry is obliged to provide per their agreement. Henry calls Savage to meet and get Nealon’s prize.
Henry meets with Savage at a pre-arranged location near an abandoned London intersection. Savage is ecstatic to see Henry is alive, but Henry doesn’t return the good feelings. Instead, he unloads years worth of resentment and hard feelings on Savage in a final tirade before Nealon’s hidden snipers kill Savage.
In a last moment of clarity, Henry wants to believe Savage really does love him. All too late as Nealon orders his snipers to fire. The snipers miss Savage but kill Henry.
Enraged, Savage climbs up the building walls and kills the snipers. Suddenly, Professor Nealon arrives in flying medieval armor to finish what his snipers failed to do. Both Savage and Mae go on the offensive against Iron Knight Nealon and bring him down on top of the portal still spewing out dinosaurs.
The portal is damaged but not disabled. Attuned to Savage’s DNA, the portal tries to pull Savage into itself. Savage must decide to give in so he can go home to the Faraway or destroy the portal and remain permanently on Earth. He chooses the latter.
Savage crushes the circuitry the runs the portal, and in the explosion that seals the rift, Iron Knight Nealon and a nearby dinosaur are sucked through the rift before it closes. We close the issue, and this current arc, with Mae and Savage partnering up to hunt the dinosaurs remaining on Earth.
How Does It End?
Mae gets a sidekick name, and she hates how much she loves it. The Faraway gets a new resident that’s neither man nor machine nor dinosaur. “I Will Destroy Kevin Sauvage If It’s The Last Thing I Do!”
Final Thoughts
SAVAGE #4, available from Valiant Entertainment on May 12th, 2021, is brimming with cartoonish art and over-the-top gore and violence. The rapid-fire jokes and pop culture references will either make you giggle or make you cringe so hard it’s painful.
Score: 5.5/10
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