A different kind of virus has destroyed the world in Only the Savage Are Left, turning people into ever-evolving yellow beasts. In the thick of it is twenty-something Ryder, who doesn’t want to hurt anybody, but in a world where empathy will get you killed, how long can you last? Add in that Ryder left the safety of his people’s fort for a girl and is now out alone, and things aren’t looking good for him in this second issue.
If you’re looking for monster action, Only the Savage Are Left #2 delivers in droves. The issue opens on a bumper sticker that reads “Human + Kind: be both,” which juxtaposes well against the burned-out landscape. Meanwhile, writer Zack Kaplan takes us into Ryder’s headspace via captions and discusses how, when we enter this world as babies, we are helpless, honest, and kind, but it’s not until we’re hurt that we hurt people back.
After a quiet cold opening page, we jump back to where we left off, with Ryder interacting with Fionn, a man also looking for Oaklynn who has left camp. Those opening lines about being hurt are tested fairly quickly when three strangers come upon Fionn and Ryder. One has a gun, and one of them is very sick and about to turn. It’s a standoff, and it ends in bloody fashion, putting into question whether shooting first is the right call in a lawless world.
I think he took too much off the top.
Credit: Dark Horse
From there, the story opens up to the man who captured Oaklynn, with Kaplan delivering a bit of a diatribe through this warlord-type leader, who talks about how few voted in elections, but even if you didn’t believe voting mattered, at least voting meant you wanted to do something and not be complacent. It might seem odd he’s talking about voting in this dystopian nightmare, but it actually helps give him a tether to the past, and maybe even a slight lunatic vibe.
Woven into the present scenes are flashbacks to Ryder and Oaklynn, building up the bond they shared and how close they came to a full-fledged relationship. The theme of Ryder being a man of inaction and fear is drummed up more than once, creating a kind of pressure cooker for him to stop being afraid and do something, especially in the moment. Only one of the flashbacks felt a bit awkward, as the transition wasn’t clear due to a red background and a lack of caption on when it took place.
And a moment he gets, which leads to a full-fledged attack on the enemy, a surprise attack from monsters, and a cliffhanger that puts Ryder and Fionn in a dangerous situation.
Art by Stefano Raffaele and colors by Thiago Rocha bring a realistic, cinematic quality. Most panels are the width of the page, creating a camera lens effect. The sky being drenched in yellow helps establish the dying world, and the violence backs that up with its quick relentlessness. We also get a new monster design this issue that adds a different layer of creepiness to the beasts we’ve seen before. There is a brief awkward moment where Ryder has enemies right behind him that seems hard to believe due to a lack of establishing shot, though. It’s brief, but it feels a touch random.
Only the Savage Are Left #2 successfully raises the stakes while giving Ryder meaningful development as he struggles to survive without abandoning his humanity. Zack Kaplan continues to build a dangerous world where every encounter feels unpredictable, while Stefano Raffaele and Thiago Rocha reinforce that danger with grounded, cinematic visuals. A couple of storytelling transitions could be clearer, but the issue delivers exciting action, strong emotional beats, and a cliffhanger that makes the wait for the next chapter easy.
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