Rick and Morty #21 Review

While we anxiously await the return of Rick and Morty’s adventures on television, we can tied ourselves over with Rick and Morty comic books! This time Jerry and Doofus Rick team for good times, but good times often lead to danger…

RICK AND MORTY #21
Writers: Kyle Starks and Marc Ellerby
Artist: CJ Cannon
Colorist: Katy Farina
Letterer: CRANK!
Editor: Ari Yarwood
Publisher: Oni Press
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Rick and Morty (via Wikipedia): Rick Sanchez is an alcoholic scientific genius who has moved in with his daughter Beth’s family. He splits his time between developing arcane projects and taking his teenage grandson Morty on dangerous and surreal adventures throughout the multiverse.

NEVER BRING A JERRY TO A FIGHT

When Morty comes home with a nasty head injury, everyone believe he got it in a fight at school. HA! You don’t read/watch Rick and Morty much, do you? Everyone knows Morty is too timid of a character to get in a fight – he just has a problem walking into doors. Anyway, all the talk about violence leads to some interesting insights into Jerry’s past as a tough guy… yeah… I’m joking with you again. Jerry is about as milktoast as you get.

Fortunately, Jerry Smith knows exactly where to go to be around people who actually like and respect him – the Doofus Universe. There Jerry and Doofus Rick have a wonderful time at Percy Puss Land, until security shows up to take Jerry away. Turns out in Doofus world, Jerry Smith is the richest man on Earth… because… you know, in a world with a doofus Rick there has to be a successful Jerry lurking around the corner. Successful Jerry decides to switch places with Rick, and as you might expect, he’s the villain of this story.

As far as predictability goes, the main story is pretty on the nose for the first act setup. Kyle Starks pens the characters perfectly inline with their television counterparts. And even if nothing major can occur that would disrupt the status quo of the television show, I did enjoy this story for what it was – an excursion into the absurd.

There is a back up story in the issue featuring Beth and Summer attempting to help a planet that is doomed to be consumed by an out of control star. When it is clear they can’t do anything, Beth resorts to getting drunk, and in the process gives the inhabitants a few more minutes to live. Yeah, it is a story that doesn’t have have happy ending if you are the alien.

CLOSE ENOUGH

The aesthetic of the television series isn’t at the level you’d find at Disney, or even Disney XD, but it is on par with what you would expect on an Adult Swim show. The art in Rick and Morty #21 is close enough to the show that I’m going to give it a passing grade. CJ Cannon really can’t make the characters look better than they do on the show for obvious reasons, and (thankfully) he doesn’t make them look worse than what we see on television. There is no other way to put it, the art in this issue is simply a comic book take on of simplistic animated style.

BOTTOM LINE: EH, AT LEAST IT ISN’T GARFIELD

There is still quite a while before the third season of Rick and Morty arrives to delight, entertain, and possibly disgust many of you out there. If you are a fan of Rick and Morty and want more of their adventures, then Oni Press is the place to go. The main story in this issue isn’t a game changer, but it is that morsel that will tide you over until March 2017.

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