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Rick and Morty #15 Review

Comic Books

Rick and Morty #15 Review

It’s a bittersweet thing reading this series, because it reminds you how awesome the show is and how much we’re missing it. The comics offer a short episodic opportunity to delve into the world, but is it just as good without the sound effects and animation?

Rick and Morty #15 (Oni Press)

Rick and Morty #15 Review

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So what’s it about? The official Oni synopsis reads:

After being goaded into an argument with Jerry about the ‘noble nature’ of sport, Rick takes Jerry and Morty to the biggest game in the Galaxy, where parents bet on their children as they fight to the death in a giant murdertorium! And Morty gets a front row seat! Will Rick save Morty in time to prevent him competing? Will Jerry manage to elude the space mob? Will Morty find love in the bowels of the arena before it’s too late?

Why does this book matter?

While the series certainly has had its high and low points, there have undoubtedly been some outstanding issues as well. With a few multi-issue story arcs and quite a few done in one issues, this one offers the latter story type. It’s always worth checking this series out simply because a one-shot type story has a 50/50 chance of being great.

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

Rick and Morty #15 Review
Solid points Rick.

Writer Tom Fowler opens this issue with a fantastic argument about the pointlessness and sad nature of sport. The argument is so damn strong it got me thinking that, yes, in it’s pretty obvious sports are a circular, pointless endeavor. Morty’s dad Jerry demands to watch his favorite sports team only to be lambasted by Rick and when the argument gets heated Rick proves his point via example on a far away planet. The argument and setup of this adventure is solid and honestly just as good as any episode of the show.

From there the hijinks ensue and Fowler certainly delivers a great science fiction story. Rick gets Morty into mortal danger, Jerry proves he’s actually good at something, and through the use of scientific genius Rick saves the day again. It might be a formula we’ve come to expect from this series, but the big science fiction ideas are fun to see play out.

Rick and Morty #15 Review
Gotta love sports!

The art by Fowler (and colors by Ryan Hill) is fantastic and it’s my favorite art of the series so far. It’s not identical in style to the show as other artists have brought to the comic, but that’s okay, because the detail–and there’s a lot of detail here–is quite good. There are panels chock full of aliens of all sorts and delectable gore to soak in and, unlike the show, there’s so much detail going on it’s easy to find yourself lingering on a page longer than you expected. In one sequence, when Morty loses his shit, Fowler manages to capture the rage and fear so damn well there’s no question this is a comedically traumatic moment.

It can’t be perfect can it?

Comedy wise I didn’t find myself laughing all that much. Much of the humor was the usual spiel we’ve seen from these characters and there wasn’t much of any visual gags either. The science fiction elements all worked splendidly, but if you’re expecting a laugh out loud comic this isn’t it.

Is It Good?

Rick and Morty consistently offers great science fiction stories. Whether you laugh isn’t a guarantee, but if you’re a fan of the genre it’s worth checking out.

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