Only the Savage Are Left #4
Writer: Zack Kaplan
Artist: Stefano Raffaele
Colorist: Thiago Rocha
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
As the infection spreads, Ryder finds himself making more of the hard choices. The question is, are they the infection talking, or has this been inside of him all along?
Survivalism
We open with what appears to be a glimpse into the future, as a heavily mutated Ryder has the wounded leader of the mercenary group at his mercy...
Stepping back in time to the end of issue #3, Ryder, Fionn, Oaklynn, and the mercenaries are faced with the absolutely massive monster first glimpsed at the beginning of the series. Everyone tries valiantly to take it out, but it is Ryder who manages to bring it down by hacking through a leg with a machete. Once it's down, Oaklynn is quick to finish it off with an assault rifle.
During the fight, Fionn disappears, and Ryder takes off after him. The mercenaries pursue the two men through a torrential storm, but of greater concern is the horde of monsters that have caught their scent.
Flashing back to the times before the outbreak, we see more of Ryder and Oaklynn's budding relationship—and the differences between the two that were obvious even then.
Back in the present, Ryder and Fionn soon find their infections nearing the point of no return, and realize that only one of them is going to survive...
I Watched You Change
Normally I'd say here that things took a darker turn in issue #4, but the series was already pretty dark. Instead, I'll say that Ryder took a darker turn this issue.
From the start of this series, Ryder has been a "pure" and "good" person in a world that literally makes monsters out of men. From the moment he set out on his quest to find Oaklynn, the question has been "can Ryder survive in this unforgiving world without becoming a monster himself?" At first, the answer was unclear. Now, it seems that the answer to that question is going to be "no."
As his journey has continued, Ryder has been forced to make one hard choice after another. Things that would have utterly paralyzed him in the past (and in some cases still do). But in this issue alone, he becomes quicker to act, more decisive—and more ruthless. And judging by the future glimpse at the start of the issue, he's not done changing just yet.
It's a fascinating character study, and one that really makes you think. I said back in my review of issue #1 that if I were in such a world and my family was at risk, I don't know what decisions I would make. Seeing how the world is slowly changing, Ryder, both without and within, has me thinking about this even more. If I were in his shoes, would I find the resolve to make the hard choices, even if they might eventually doom me? Or would I be paralyzed with fear and indecision?
It's the kind of question that I hope I never have to find an answer to.
Given the way events have progressed in this issue, and with the differences between Ryder and Oaklynn becoming ever more pronounced, I'm not expecting anything resembling a happy ending next issue. They say love conquers all, but I think there might be an exception in there for an apocalyptic hellscape where people turn into monsters.
The World I Know
Zack Kaplan made it obvious from the start that this series was a character study of Ryder at its heart, and the world itself was window dressing for his story. This issue makes that more clear than ever—even though it's fast-paced and full of action, it's Ryder's decisions and how they change him that are the real meat of the story. Interspersing the hard choices with flashbacks to earlier times with Oaklynn further emphasizes just how much Ryder has changed in a short period of time.
Stefano Raffaele's artwork fits Kaplan's world so well. Everything is so detailed—the people look incredibly real, and the world itself is dark and bleak. The various monsters are horrible to look at, and Ryder's slowly appearing mutations give a visual emphasis to just how much like those monsters he is becoming. There is plenty of action in this issue, and everything is kinetic and easy to follow. The rain-soaked scenes in the center of the book where Ryder and Fionn are being hunted by both mercenaries and monsters are especially effective.
The color work of Thiago Rocha perfectly sets the feel for this world. Everything is drab and brown, dark and dirty. The first half of the issue is spent in a cave, and it is as dark and claustrophobic as you'd expect. The previously mentioned rain-soaked scenes in the issue's center are a terrific example of how he uses colors to add atmosphere to the already moody artwork. And the way that Rocha blends the colors of Ryder's human and monster parts is incredibly effective at showing the infection's spread.
High Cost of Living
Only the Savage Are Left #4 is a strong penultimate issue of this miniseries where Ryder is forced to start making the hard choices. The core question quickly becomes "how much will these decisions change him, both physically and mentally?" rather than the earlier "how long can he be out in this world and still hold on to himself?" Given the flash-forward that we start this issue with, there is still further for Ryder to fall, but there remains time for him to come back to himself—before it's too late.