‘Savage’ #4 has a hell of a lot of fun as it reaches its end

It’s Savage vs. a world of monsters in this series finale.

May 12, 2021

Savage is the kind of series that’s filled with so much over-the-top action it’s hard to not get dizzy. The latest iteration of the character is by Max Bemis, Nate Stockman, and Triona Farrell, who have put the title character through the wringer. This week, he’s back to protecting and saving lives after being bored to death on an island he thought would be his retirement place. Turns out, he kinda likes civilization even though the social media and constant distractions are annoying as hell. In this finale, the creative team goes to town on dinosaur monsters, Savage’s brother confronts him, and shots are fired at bronies.

This issue opens with yet another great recap page told via Twitter feed. It’s well worth a read for the jokes and creative way it recaps the story so far. From there, Bemis gives us a full backstory of Savage’s brother, who lived a life of jealousy and growing anger. It all leads to Savage’s brother helping to open up a portal to allow monsters to invade England and the world. Seriously, figure out a better way to work out your problems, dude. For a single issue, the story arc focuses on Savage’s brother and his anger, but if you ask Savage, unleashing the beasts on Earth was a favor.

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Similar to the last issue, Stockman does a fabulous job with the mayhem and gory action. The opening flashback is well done, but you need to see the cartoonishly over-the-top action to believe comics can and will be more fun than anything else you can devour. You may never think of snipers the same way again, either. It’s incredibly fun, amped up by great colors by Farrell, and it’s well worth a flip through at the very least.

These monster dinos had it coming.
Credit: Valiant

Storywise, this issue wraps things up, inserts some pop culture references and some over-the-top relish from Savage, and gets the job done. It plays things pretty by the book — from the brother who wants revenge but might have second thoughts to the evil villain who swoops in to finish the job — but it’s self-referential enough so that it doesn’t feel cliched. Hell, it even tries a famous superhero one-liner and is smart enough not to go full cliche by using the word “cliche.” It does however wrap things up too cleanly, never really lets Savage grow from his brother’s choices, and even his sidekick has to get a few one-liners in before the book can give her a worthy finale.

If you haven’t noticed, this review uses “over-the-top” four times, and that’s for a reason: Savage is bonkers storytelling. It’s not taking itself too seriously and the story never goes too deep, but at the surface level, it’s a good time. Most importantly though, this book and the story arc as a whole is living proof comics like this can work and should continue on. Now, when do we get another arc of Savage, Valiant?!

‘Savage’ #4 has a hell of a lot of fun as it reaches its end

Savage #4

If you haven't noticed, this review uses "over-the-top" four times, and that's for a reason: Savage is bonkers storytelling. It's not taking itself too seriously and the story never goes too deep, but at the surface level, it's a good time. Most importantly though, this book and the story arc as a whole is living proof comics like this can work and should continue on. Now, when do we get another arc of Savage, Valiant?!

Reader Rating1 Votes

8.8

Way over-the-top fun with great art and bright colors

Wraps things up well enough and sets up a premise for more Savage

Wraps things up too quickly while juggling some familiar plot turns

7.5

Good

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