SAVAGE #3: The Plot and Silliness Thickens (Spoilery Comic Book Review)

SAVAGE #3 from Valiant Entertainment not only continues the silliness of the previous issues, but it also takes it up to 11.

Warning: Spoilers not only for SAVAGE #3, but for all previous issues as well. If you have any desire to read this comic book, stop here, and then come back when you’re done.

But first, a recap from the previous 2 issues of SAVAGE. The first issue introduced us to the protagonist: a Mr. Kevin “Savage” Sauvage. Sauvage is just a normal teenaged boy who survived on a dinosaur-infested island for pretty much his entire life. He’s basically a teen Tarzan. After returning to civilization in modern London though, he begins to miss his island and the hungry dinosaurs. Fortunately, the dinosaurs then come to him. Unfortunately, they also begin wrecking London, so he has to kill them.

But while he’s doing so, some weirdoes in lab coats then kidnap him and then hold him prisoner in their secret lab. Fortunately, a female weirdo in a lab coat decides to set him free, because she realizes that being that weird is probably bad. So Sauvage escapes, but he’s even more disillusioned than he was before. So much so that he quits being the hero of London and runs off. And that’s where the third issue of SAVAGE picks up from.

All issues of SAVAGE are by writer (and singer) Max Bemis, artist Nathan Stockman, colorist Triona Farrell, and letterer Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou. Marcus To is responsible for Cover A above, Joe Quinones drew Cover B, and Paco Diaz provided the art for the preorder variant cover. SAVAGE #3 is available on April 14, 2021 for $3.99; but not directly from Valiant Entertainment for some reason. If you want to buy the digital version, Comixology has it.

SAVAGE #3: Plot Summary

As it turns out, our young Kevin “Savage” Sauvage is rich. Really rich. Rich enough to build his own artificial island retreat just off the coast of Miami. Complete with his own crack team of butlers and a private submarine. I mean, we know that he was a celebrity, but it looks like those sponsorship deals and social media earned him way more money than we’d realized. So now that he has a place with no people in it, he must be happy as a clam, right?

Well, as it turns out for Mr. Sauvage, going from too much people to no people is really hard on the psyche. When you start drawing a face on a soccer ball and talk to it like it can talk back, you know you’ve gone a bit loopy. Fortunately, a giant monster interrupts Sauvage’s self-imposed isolation, making him realize that he likes people after all and that he wants to head back to civilization. In direct contradiction to that one Danny Kaye song, funnily enough.

And just in time too, because the monsters and dinosaurs that attacked London in previous issues of SAVAGE? Yeah, turns out, they’re now attacking the world. Worse, Sauvage’s brother decides to join up with the lab coat weirdoes to rule the world. We don’t know if he knows that they’re responsible for the attacks, but either way, it looks like he needs punishment? How? Well, we’ll just have to find out in SAVAGE #4.

SAVAGE #3: The Good

If you’ve been reading the past 2 issues of SAVAGE, then you know why this comic book series is worth reading: the humor. Sure, the humor keeps the drama from getting too tense. But, the humor is also what makes the characters and setting engaging. I like light-hearted stories like this, and the humor is genuinely funny. The absurdity of the comic book only adds to the humor, like the plasma rifle-armed dinosaur at the end. Yes, that’s really happened.

Although, even in the midst of humor, SAVAGE still manages to be dramatic. The character drama is actually quite fascinating, especially when it comes to Mae Nealon. So far, it looks like she’s all set to become the female lead to the series. In a way, I’d almost call her a genius action girl variant of Jane from Tarzan. Which is rather fitting, given how the story is basically a modern day Tarzan story.

SAVAGE #3: The Bad

Honestly, there’s not much I can say that’s bad about SAVAGE #3. The only thing I’d nitpick is the decision to make Kevin Sauvage’s brother a villain. Honestly, that came out of left field. The guy came off as selfish and self-centered, but he never seemed like he was actively evil and megalomaniacal. It doesn’t really make much sense when you think about it, and the characters were one of the few things that did try to make sense in this comic book. Sort of. Discounting the lab coat weirdoes. Maybe they’ll have a better explanation in SAVAGE #4 to explain this…hopefully.

Conclusion

SAVAGE #3 continues the story of a teenage Tarzan in a modern world. And then throws in absurd fighting scenes involving giant dinosaurs into it. If you like light-hearted and funny comic book stories, or if you’re just a fan of Max Bemis, check out this comic book from Valiant Entertainment.

Source: Valiant Entertainment