Rick and Morty #27

What can be said about Rick and Morty that hasn’t been said by Youtube channels and stoners for the past three years? Yes, it’s one of the most original and clever shows to have graced animated entertainment since Futurama. Yes, the humor of the show does speak to the human experience while pointing out the absurdity of our lives. Yes, those fan theories you came up with are most likely valid considering the titular duo’s frequent trips in other dimensions. And yes, fuck Tammy. But, if you’re like me and hate waiting for the “maybe they will/maybe they won’t” possibility of Season 3, Oni Press has your back! The comic adventures of Rick and Morty have been running strong since 2015 and at issue #27, they show no signs of slowing down. And OOOOweeeh, is this a solid comic. The latest issue has Morty dealing with not one, but TWO, dates to the school dance followed by a tale where Rick, once again, goes about proving Jerry wrong.

The comic is basically an expansion of the show’s universe (though knowing the show, it’s probably an alternate dimension where everything exists only in comic form). In the first story, Rick and Morty have just saved the world from an interplanetary war by using a meteor gun given to Morty to stop a kaiju and save an alien princess. Unfortunately for Morty, his crush Jessica is definitely not down with his whole weird scene and turns him down for a dance. But woaaah, what’s this? Now the princess wants to go to the dance? Well alright Morty! Of course, when Jessica comes back to ask if he’s still interested, Morty is suddenly in the middle of an odd prospect. Thank goodness for clones! What can go wrong? In the second story, Rick and Jerry are arguing if the government is actually controlled by alien lizards or not. Rick, always eager to prove that Jerry is an idiot, takes him on a trip through the US government’s underground facilities, but what they find is a whole lot worse.

While I’m not the die-hard fan of Rick and Morty that others are, I have watched every episode and find myself struggling not quote it at importune times, so I get it. This comic, though; this comic totally gets it. The dialogue, the jokes, the mannerisms, everything about the comic is spot on. Even the timing of the jokes, which is pretty hard to pull off in a static form, is perfectly done. Rick still has his random burping and Morty still stutters through his lines like a techno remix, living up to a name that sounds like a Jewish comedian. The story is really fun. I loved that the writers decided to forgo a large, ridiculous adventure and focused on the 80’s-esque teen rom-com problems that can only be solved by weird science. It harkens back to the other end of the Rick and Morty genre roots; not just the wacky sci-fi, but the really dumb teen problems that never happen to anyone ever.

While I don’t believe Dan Harmon has contributed to the comic series, the writers and artists who have contributed to it have done an exemplary job of keeping true to the show. The art doesn’t stray too far from the show’s design, and while it struggles a bit from going to moving to static animation, it’s not so awkward that it takes away from the work. A lot of original characters debut in the comic along with show originals as well, but don’t get too attached, they probably get killed off later in the same story. That being said, Rick and Morty the comic is a great addition to the collector’s shelf, and with each issue being more or less stand alone, new readers can pick up and start anywhere they like. So why not issue #27? Also, check out the graphic novel collections of the previous issues, also on sale everywhere comics are sold! Wubba-lubba-dub-dub!