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It’s the last week of 2017 and with many folks off, it’s the perfect time to read comics! Oni Press is releasing the latest issue of Rick and Morty this week. Tini Howard writes the main story and Magdalene Visaggio continues her backup series. Let’s get rigidy-wrecked son!
So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:
One Experimental Summer. It’s the hottest, most boring part of the year–so can you blame Summer for going exploring in Grandpa Rick’s garage for a dimension where she gets what she wants? She’ll learn a little about science, a lot about life, and a whole bunch about having a crush on a girl.
Why does this matter?
It’s the only way to get a consistent fix of Rick and Morty. Seriously, it could be years before we get another season! Plus Tini Howard is hilarious and Visaggio is delivering an interesting body switch story.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Gosh, Morty is pretty gross.
This series delivers its second Summer story in a row. This time, Summer is bored and goes on an adventure of her own. This leads down a dark path which Howard exploits wonderfully. If you were sent to another dimension where you were popular would you attempt to replace yourself to live your best life? This story offers a moral challenge for Summer and comes with a surprise twist that’s delectably dark. Rick knows how to lay down some hard truths, son.
CJ Cannon draws the main story and like a broken record, I must say Cannon’s art is very similar to the cartoon. There’s good detail in environments and the giant Ricks and Mortys that eat with their butts are well done. There’s some good use of anime eyes to make Summer’s joy really sparkle too.
The backup by Visaggio features a hilarious alternate Rick joke. I won’t spoil it, but she keeps the humor up when Morty must decide which Rick is the real one. This plays into the plot of Summer inhibiting Morty’s body and given her confusion about her own identity Visaggio plays up the ridiculous choice she must make to kill the wrong Rick.
Uh oh.
It can’t be perfect can it?
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The backup is only four pages long, but I’m not sure the joke is strong enough to last for so many pages. It’s more of a two-page joke stretched.
The main story is good, but it’s a bit weird to get two Summer stories in a row, and is more sentimental than laugh out loud hilarious. There’s a strong message here about identity and being gay, though.
Is It Good?
This is another good installment. It seems like cartoons adapted into comics have a mediocre at best past, but this series has been running full steam ahead from the very start. If you’re a Rick and Morty fan, consider yourself lucky a comic series this consistently good exists.
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