Title: Savage (2021) #1
Publisher: Valiant
Words: Max Bemis
Art: Nathan Stockman
Colors: Triona Farrell
Published: February 17, 2021
Publisher’s Summary: “From the mad minds of international superstar Max Bemis and powerhouse artist Nathan Stockman comes the craziest action book of 2021. Teenage heartthrob. Feral social icon. Dinosaur hunter? Born and raised on an uncharted island full of prehistoric dangers, Kevin Sauvage has a taste of home when a mutant dino threat invades England!”
Review
Kevin Sauvage is essentially a modern teenage Tarzan. Having returned from an interdimensional Lost World, he now has to deal with international stardom. He’s cute, he’s rich, he’s single and was raised in the jungle. Oh, the stories he could tell. Lucky for him some giant lizards drop out of the sky, so he gets to kill them, which is great, because he enjoys the action and is really good at the stabbing part.
In Savage there is a noticeable self-awareness about the writing style of Max Bemis. His approach to this century old property does homage to the source material, yet gently makes fun of it. Bemis gets to have both without sacrifice to the narrative. There is a reason why the characters of Edgar Rice Burroughs endure and also why they are often successfully adapted and updated, Savage is another great entry in that list of triumphs.
I do have a couple of criticisms, though. For one, the kid’s last name is way too on the nose. “Sauvage” is rather cringeworthy, honestly, I think a stiff sounding British surname would have been the way to go. My other minor complaint is that the book is way too short. The story should have been fleshed out for at least another ten pages.
The Bottom Line
Savage is a bit of a tongue in cheek riff on the Tarzan legend, updated with an interesting twist. It definitely looks like a lot of fun.
