REVIEW: Savage #4

In my review of Savage #2 I was a little harsh on the book, but I have to say that this last issue of the series really turned me around. I’m not sure what did it. I think that because in this issue the past and present finally merged and there wasn’t the time jumps that dominated the past books. Because in this issue we no longer need to know what made Kevin heartless. All of the past has been laid bare.

B. Clay Moore’s (Hawaiian Dick, JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skull) plot really shines in this issues as it ties up the disparate elements and gets Kevin for the next adventures that Valiant has ready for him.

Alone, he needs to defeat the primitive tribe that guards the gateway home and the carnivorous dinosaurs in between. Whatever softness Kevin once had as a child is gone. He is the predator that the other savages fear. And this issue proves that they have plenty to fear from him.

Because despite losing the sense of wonder that he had as a child, he held onto his parents’ lessons of learning to think a problem through. It is this gap that give him an edge over the savages who are willing to take what comes through the gateway as gifts, but never examine them.

The art of Clayton Henry (Harbinger, Suicide Squad) and Lewis Larosa (Amazing Spider-Man, Bloodshot Reborn) really continues to shine and is the reason to pick up the entire series. They make everything look so lush and alive. The the Sudden change to the art on he final page really sells the ending.

This series had real ups and downs for me, but I think that the second half of the series really improved on the set up in the first two books. If you skipped this series for some reason, it really pays off to see if you comic book dealer still has the back issues on the shelves. If not, then there is always the inevitable Valiant collection of the series.

[yasr_overall_rating]

Writer: B. Clay Moore
Artists: Clayton Henry and Lewis Larosa
Color: Brian Reber and Andrew Dalhouse
Publisher: Valiant

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!