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Only the Savage Are Left #1
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 6 reviews
June 7, 2026
So I went into this book without having read the synopsis and I have to admit that my biggest gripe is that they don’t explain the plot well at all. This entire time I was pulled along by the romance and piecing together the displaced order of events, not even realizing until reading the description afterwards that the rule that sets this apart from other zombie stories is that you can cure yourself by killing another infected person…that’s wild! I love that concept. I hate the idea of having to hold the audiences hand, but literally every time they were about to explain that plot point they cut the dialogue off. Or they would show a scene that makes sense with that context, but you don’t actually see the infected being cured after breathing in the smoke of the dead being burned. Literally just a few more words or a panel showing people no longer infected would make a world of difference, lol. But even without realizing that, I found this story really compelling. They throw a lot at you in a short amount of time so you can piece it together, and the love story at the center of everything really ties it all together.
The book opens with the love story seemingly complete, with our main characters, Ryder and Oaklynn, together after knowing each other before the outbreak and finding each other again 5 years into it after having completely different experiences. But this could just as easily be insinuated as a moment from the past, as the drastic sign of this being the present is not on display and we are immediately taken into what happens after as the virus spreads world wide instantaneously. No one knows where it came from or if it’s even a virus, only that after three days past infection you revert back to the animal instincts from our ancestors to develop yellowish skin, strange protrusions, and a desire to maul living things. There was a brief moment where humanity could have come together to fix this to truly contain it and pull through…but then they found the cure and that ruined everything. As people would rather kill others and breathe in their ashes to cure themselves than ever facing the infection. “The failed experiment of civilized society was screeching to an end.” Ryder and his mother were in a city when everything came burning down, and they left on their mopeds without an infection to seclude themselves from the world.
Five years go by and all that is left are the monsters “and the things that men had become.” We find a hunting party on the lookout for a redhead girl (no doubt Oaklynn) and a man (probably her father, but hey maybe we jumped around and they are looking for Ryder?). They are interrogating an infected person to follow their trail, and when he informs them the two went west the group decides to blow off the infected head so they can burn his body and breath in those healing ashes. We find Oaklynn and her father running from a group of infected that no longer even look human with long fingers, red eyes, and sharp teeth. They are able to find a fort in the dense woods as they ska on the door for help…only to be met with a hail of gunfire to rip apart the monsters chasing after them. They immediately surrender and announce they are not infected but her father is hurt. Two hazmat suits run out to run tests to confirm they are not infected and that the protrusions they do have are from old cleared infections…except one of the people wearing a hazmat suit happens to be Ryder and he recognizes Oaklynn immediately as he remembers back to when they met in school. She was the new girl and she punched a bully before she could be punched…Ryder was the hall monitor and covered for her because he liked seeing her stand up for what’s right and the other girl is a bully.
Ryder gave Oaklynn the grand tour of the fortified town, where he has been hiding out work the others for the last 5 years. He doesn’t even go out for scavenging missions, staying inside to help his mom as she is the town doctor. Ryder has remained pure while Oaklynn has some protrusions of her own, specifically around her ear, that she prefers to hide even her hair. But Ryder holds no ill will against her, plenty of people in the community are “touched” and he understands she has been out there a long time with those monsters and bad people…but that’s the thing, Oaklynn was one of those bad people and now it’s sounding like Oaklynn and her father broke off from the hunting party chasing after them. But just as the two are about to start having a moment, Ryder’s mom found them to bring news of Oaklynn’s father as his wound is infected and without antibiotics it could spread and he could die. But as Ryder mentions, they should be able to get antibiotics…except their next run is next week and this community has only survived this long with one rule: “we don’t risk our people’s loved for strangers.” But Oaklynn is not going to just stand around as her father dies, leaving her no choice but to head out on her own to try and find the pharmacy nearby. Ryder wishes her luck, giving Oaklynn the chance to rip into him for hiding away with his sanctuary while the rest of the world fights for their lives against the monsters. Not everyone can wait it out like them…Ryder waited anyway, but after 5 days it was clear something bad happened. His mom tried to tell him to accept things and move on, but he couldn’t…it seems like we jumped to a memory right at the start of the outbreak. Ryder and Oaklynn, who clearly had a non infected ear here, are at some kind of carnival as a giant monsters rips through people as she assures him they will get through it together. Is this a flashback or a preview for what is to come? In guessing flashback, which also means Ryder abandoned her ass then but won’t do it now as he sets off down the path to the and find her. He walks through the ripped apart and cracking civilization as he finally comes across his first group of infected monsters. He falls back as he uses a nearby sign to protect himself and hold the monster back, all seemed lost until the monster’s head exploded all over him as Oaklynn’s dad caught up to him! Ryder’s mom was right, he was not equipped for this environment…alone anyway. Oaklynn’s dad is here to show him how it’s done, and the first rule of survival is that if you want to beat these monsters you have to become one. Oaklynn’s dad lifts up his arm to reveal a clawed long hand he has outfitted as a weapon…absolutely wild.
The book opens with the love story seemingly complete, with our main characters, Ryder and Oaklynn, together after knowing each other before the outbreak and finding each other again 5 years into it after having completely different experiences. But this could just as easily be insinuated as a moment from the past, as the drastic sign of this being the present is not on display and we are immediately taken into what happens after as the virus spreads world wide instantaneously. No one knows where it came from or if it’s even a virus, only that after three days past infection you revert back to the animal instincts from our ancestors to develop yellowish skin, strange protrusions, and a desire to maul living things. There was a brief moment where humanity could have come together to fix this to truly contain it and pull through…but then they found the cure and that ruined everything. As people would rather kill others and breathe in their ashes to cure themselves than ever facing the infection. “The failed experiment of civilized society was screeching to an end.” Ryder and his mother were in a city when everything came burning down, and they left on their mopeds without an infection to seclude themselves from the world.
Five years go by and all that is left are the monsters “and the things that men had become.” We find a hunting party on the lookout for a redhead girl (no doubt Oaklynn) and a man (probably her father, but hey maybe we jumped around and they are looking for Ryder?). They are interrogating an infected person to follow their trail, and when he informs them the two went west the group decides to blow off the infected head so they can burn his body and breath in those healing ashes. We find Oaklynn and her father running from a group of infected that no longer even look human with long fingers, red eyes, and sharp teeth. They are able to find a fort in the dense woods as they ska on the door for help…only to be met with a hail of gunfire to rip apart the monsters chasing after them. They immediately surrender and announce they are not infected but her father is hurt. Two hazmat suits run out to run tests to confirm they are not infected and that the protrusions they do have are from old cleared infections…except one of the people wearing a hazmat suit happens to be Ryder and he recognizes Oaklynn immediately as he remembers back to when they met in school. She was the new girl and she punched a bully before she could be punched…Ryder was the hall monitor and covered for her because he liked seeing her stand up for what’s right and the other girl is a bully.
Ryder gave Oaklynn the grand tour of the fortified town, where he has been hiding out work the others for the last 5 years. He doesn’t even go out for scavenging missions, staying inside to help his mom as she is the town doctor. Ryder has remained pure while Oaklynn has some protrusions of her own, specifically around her ear, that she prefers to hide even her hair. But Ryder holds no ill will against her, plenty of people in the community are “touched” and he understands she has been out there a long time with those monsters and bad people…but that’s the thing, Oaklynn was one of those bad people and now it’s sounding like Oaklynn and her father broke off from the hunting party chasing after them. But just as the two are about to start having a moment, Ryder’s mom found them to bring news of Oaklynn’s father as his wound is infected and without antibiotics it could spread and he could die. But as Ryder mentions, they should be able to get antibiotics…except their next run is next week and this community has only survived this long with one rule: “we don’t risk our people’s loved for strangers.” But Oaklynn is not going to just stand around as her father dies, leaving her no choice but to head out on her own to try and find the pharmacy nearby. Ryder wishes her luck, giving Oaklynn the chance to rip into him for hiding away with his sanctuary while the rest of the world fights for their lives against the monsters. Not everyone can wait it out like them…Ryder waited anyway, but after 5 days it was clear something bad happened. His mom tried to tell him to accept things and move on, but he couldn’t…it seems like we jumped to a memory right at the start of the outbreak. Ryder and Oaklynn, who clearly had a non infected ear here, are at some kind of carnival as a giant monsters rips through people as she assures him they will get through it together. Is this a flashback or a preview for what is to come? In guessing flashback, which also means Ryder abandoned her ass then but won’t do it now as he sets off down the path to the and find her. He walks through the ripped apart and cracking civilization as he finally comes across his first group of infected monsters. He falls back as he uses a nearby sign to protect himself and hold the monster back, all seemed lost until the monster’s head exploded all over him as Oaklynn’s dad caught up to him! Ryder’s mom was right, he was not equipped for this environment…alone anyway. Oaklynn’s dad is here to show him how it’s done, and the first rule of survival is that if you want to beat these monsters you have to become one. Oaklynn’s dad lifts up his arm to reveal a clawed long hand he has outfitted as a weapon…absolutely wild.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2026
It's giving Walking Dead, meets Z-Nation!
So of course I was here for all the post-apocalyptic hype in marketing for this comic. So far it's a traditional plot line with regard to that. One of the purest out there though has decided to not be a bench warmer but instead to get in the game.
He almost gets killed the moment he gets in the world they all once knew before the "virus."
I'm really interested to see where we're heading with the next issue!
So of course I was here for all the post-apocalyptic hype in marketing for this comic. So far it's a traditional plot line with regard to that. One of the purest out there though has decided to not be a bench warmer but instead to get in the game.
He almost gets killed the moment he gets in the world they all once knew before the "virus."
I'm really interested to see where we're heading with the next issue!
June 4, 2026
There are multiple timelines in this issue, there could be a better way to visually differentiate them from each other.
Looks to be a love story at the end of the world with a rage virus. I do like the social commentary on humans.
Looks to be a love story at the end of the world with a rage virus. I do like the social commentary on humans.
June 3, 2026
Very promising comic! It seems to want to treat a zombie apocalypse as empowerment and freedom rather than a disaster, which is a very interesting reframing!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2026
Its ok
Not bad at all. I like it. Still a lot of questions I need answered but its not bad. I look forward to the next issue.
Not bad at all. I like it. Still a lot of questions I need answered but its not bad. I look forward to the next issue.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 6 reviews