With Savage Brothers, Boom! Studios once again takes its readers on a journey to a post-apocalyptic landscape populated by zombies. Sure, zombies are popular in comics these days, but the book relies on the personalities of the hillbilly-esque heroes who serve as the title characters. If you want some sort of idea of what this comic book is like, think of A&E's Dog the Bounty Hunter meets Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead. It's over the top and raucous, a real romp of an action-adventure comic with a dark sense of humor. The art is sharp and angular in appearance, and it's also full of energy. It brings out the fun and black humor of the script with seeming ease. While Savage Brothers is far from high art, it's solidly entertaining without getting too low-brow in tone.
Dale and Otis Savage are more than just brothers -- they're business partners as well. They're bounty hunters, of a sort. You see, the world ain't what it used to be. Zombies roam the landscape, and the cities are the most dangerous places of all when it comes to them flesh-eaters. Dale and Otis, they hunt down particular zombies, usually on behalf of loved ones who either want to be reunited with their undead kin or want their once cherished family members put out of their decaying misery. Of course, Dale and Otis ain't always picky about bagging exactly the right zombies every single time. Folks gotta make a livin', after all.
Albuquerque's art boasts the kind of intensity and detail one might find in Leinil Francis (Superman: Birthright) Yu's artwork while also exhibiting the sort of dark, angular look and attitude of Phil (The Nameless) Hester's approach to comic art. Cris Peter employs warm but muted tones that capture the post-apocalyptic nature of the backdrop quite well. The action early on in the issue flows incredibly well, and the character designs are simple but playful, and they add a lot of personality to the various players.
the plot that slowly emerges in the latter half of this issue definitely piques my interest, but I have to admit that it's the banter and bumbling of the main characters that serves as the book's greatest appeal. Everything around them screams horror and despair, but they not only go about their lives but enjoy delving into the thick of things. The characters are mad, the sort of extreme characters one might expect Garth (Preacher, The Boys) Ennis to create.
Another great thing about the protagonists is that they're not good guys, per se. They're dishonest, rough and just plain nasty at times. They're rogues, not heroes, and that makes them even more interesting and entertaining. They're motivated by their baser desires -- greed, sex and thrill-seeking. Otis is the stereotypical reasonable yet less dominant brother. He's an obvious but effective balance and contrast to Dale's slick, silver-tongue, manic manners. 7/10
