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Savage Things #1-8
Savage Things
They were the product of an ultra-secret government program, code-named Black Forest. Dozens of children, all displaying the classic signs of psychopathy, were kidnapped and brutally shaped into living weapons--perfect, remorseless agents of chaos, ready and willing to bring mayhem to the enemies of the United States.
The masterminds behind Black Forest thought they had solved America's security problems for good. Then their creations stopped following orders, and the program--along with everyone in it--was terminated with extreme prejudice.
But some of the Forest's monsters escaped the purge. Now, 25 years later, those prodigal killers have returned--an their home country is their new target.
Led by a man called Cain, this unstoppable cohort is cutting a bloody swath through New York City. The one person who can stop them is a man called Abel--the only Black Forest operative who ever escaped from the program.
Are these modern-day sons of Adam doomed to repeat the sins of their biblical namesakes? Or can they finally break the cycle of violence for which they've trained their entire lives? One way or another, the stage is set for a showdown darker and deadlier than any black-ops mission the world has ever seen.
The creative team of Justin Jordan and Ibrahim Moustafa combine high-octane action with high-body-count horror in Savage Things--a chilling new vision of the evil that men do. Collects issues #1-8.
The masterminds behind Black Forest thought they had solved America's security problems for good. Then their creations stopped following orders, and the program--along with everyone in it--was terminated with extreme prejudice.
But some of the Forest's monsters escaped the purge. Now, 25 years later, those prodigal killers have returned--an their home country is their new target.
Led by a man called Cain, this unstoppable cohort is cutting a bloody swath through New York City. The one person who can stop them is a man called Abel--the only Black Forest operative who ever escaped from the program.
Are these modern-day sons of Adam doomed to repeat the sins of their biblical namesakes? Or can they finally break the cycle of violence for which they've trained their entire lives? One way or another, the stage is set for a showdown darker and deadlier than any black-ops mission the world has ever seen.
The creative team of Justin Jordan and Ibrahim Moustafa combine high-octane action with high-body-count horror in Savage Things--a chilling new vision of the evil that men do. Collects issues #1-8.
Unknown Binding
First published January 24, 2018
2 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Justin Jordan
536 books99 followersJustin Jordan is an American comic book writer. He is known for writing and co-creating The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Spread, Dead Body Road, Deep State, Dark Gods and Savage Things. He has also written Green Lantern: New Guardians, Superboy, Deathstroke and Team 7 for DC Comics and the relaunch of Shadowman for Valiant Entertainment.
In 2012, he was nominated for the Harvey Award for Most Promising New Talent.
In 2012, he was nominated for the Harvey Award for Most Promising New Talent.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 10, 2018
Reads like a Bourne movie. Black Forest were raised from children as part of a secret ops program to turn sociopaths into trained killers for the government. But now they are mad as hell and taking over NYC after someone in the government tried to wipe them off the map. A fast paced, kinetic thrill ride.
Very graphic violence. For mature audiences only.
Very graphic violence. For mature audiences only.
April 11, 2018
Holy s***, this was fantastic! I think Justin Jordon is probably going to be considered one of the best writers of action and thriller comics in recent times!
What’s it about?
There was a group of kids and the government killed their families and those kids were supposedly dead, but that wasn’t really the case, that’s just what the world thought! The kids displayed signs that they were psychopathic and they became part of a project the government started to make these kids perfect killing machines for the US. Now, those kids are older and a group of them have turned against the country except for one who is working with the FBI to stop them.
Pros:
The story is very interesting and well written. It was very much like reading a comic book Jason Bourne or Jack Reacher type of movie.
The art is fantastic and fits the book very well.
The characters are very interesting.
The action is the highlight here. Very exciting and gritty, I always like that! The art compliments the action very well and there are some pretty good kills. I got excited every time an action scene came up!
This is more suspenseful than a lot of these kinds of action thrillers. I notice that when I watch those kinds of movies I like them a lot but have a problem with them being predictable to me but I definitely didn’t have that problem with this one!
The dialogue is well written.
Why not 5 stars?
I didn’t like the ending very much. It felt like it could’ve been a good ending for volume one of something as a good cliffhanger making people more hyped up for volume two but unless I missed something this just says “Savage Things” not “Savage Thing Vol. 1” so it just ends the series at a crappy place.
Overall:
Fantastic and thrilling book. If the creative team and Vertigo decide to do a sequel I’ll be sure to read it. I definitely recommend this to fans of exciting thrillers! It does have a stupid ending though.
4/5
What’s it about?
There was a group of kids and the government killed their families and those kids were supposedly dead, but that wasn’t really the case, that’s just what the world thought! The kids displayed signs that they were psychopathic and they became part of a project the government started to make these kids perfect killing machines for the US. Now, those kids are older and a group of them have turned against the country except for one who is working with the FBI to stop them.
Pros:
The story is very interesting and well written. It was very much like reading a comic book Jason Bourne or Jack Reacher type of movie.
The art is fantastic and fits the book very well.
The characters are very interesting.
The action is the highlight here. Very exciting and gritty, I always like that! The art compliments the action very well and there are some pretty good kills. I got excited every time an action scene came up!
This is more suspenseful than a lot of these kinds of action thrillers. I notice that when I watch those kinds of movies I like them a lot but have a problem with them being predictable to me but I definitely didn’t have that problem with this one!
The dialogue is well written.
Why not 5 stars?
I didn’t like the ending very much. It felt like it could’ve been a good ending for volume one of something as a good cliffhanger making people more hyped up for volume two but unless I missed something this just says “Savage Things” not “Savage Thing Vol. 1” so it just ends the series at a crappy place.
Overall:
Fantastic and thrilling book. If the creative team and Vertigo decide to do a sequel I’ll be sure to read it. I definitely recommend this to fans of exciting thrillers! It does have a stupid ending though.
4/5
June 3, 2019
Vou dizer: comprei esse quadrinho pela capa, sem saber nada, nadica, nadinha sobre ele. E adivinha o que aconteceu? Me dei mal, Juvenal! É um quadrinho bastante desinteressante, massante, com diálogos rápidos e curtos e um enredo bobinho, bobinho. A não ser é, claro, que você goste dos filmes do Jason Statham, porque parece ter sido um quadrinho feito para virar esse tipo de filme mesmo. A arte de Ibrahim Moustafa é competente e, realmente, não é problema fulcral aqui deste Coisas Selvagens. O roteiro de Justin Jordan é que deia o leitor bastante decepcionado, revolvendo ao tema de escolar que criam criancinhas terríveis e assassinas sem um pingo de remorso para "atuarem" na sociedade como máquinas de matar. Enredo que a gente já viu zilhares de vezes em zilhares de lugares e que foram melhor executados até mesmo na revista da Viúva Negra escrita pelo estuprador de mulheres. Por isso, amigos leitores, não façam como eu não comprem um quadrinho apenas pela capa. Vão atrás do conteúdo daquela história e do que ela trata. Senão pode ser um tiro no pé e uma decepção muito grande.
October 30, 2019
The art by Ibrahim Moustafa elevates the political thriller storyline that leans into its “Jason Bourne with Biblical references” premise. Kidnapping a bunch of kids who are identified as sociopaths and training them to be secret killers for the government is a cool idea, shades of the brilliant The Boys from Brazil, where former Nazis try to replicate the circumstances that created Adolf Hitler.
The Cain and Abel emphasis was a bit overdone for my tastes, but I can buy that a bunch of delusional old white government men creating this program would naturally think of that first. Overall I thought it was a decent action story. Ultra-violent and graphically bloody, as you might suppose, so fair warning.
The Cain and Abel emphasis was a bit overdone for my tastes, but I can buy that a bunch of delusional old white government men creating this program would naturally think of that first. Overall I thought it was a decent action story. Ultra-violent and graphically bloody, as you might suppose, so fair warning.
June 14, 2020
Yeesh, what a squandered premise. This book starts off with a bang, revealing a super-black-ops group of super soldiers who also all happen to be total murderous psychopaths, essentially serial killers that work for the army to shock and awe America's enemies into fear and submission. It's not the most original idea, but the first issue has enough life and page-turning action to really make this feel exciting.
Unfortunately, after that issue, it's all downhill. This is very clearly a book constructed first and foremost to have a "shocking reveal" towards the end of every issue, but almost no work was done to make sure those reveals made any sense in the long run. As the twists keep on coming, the plot starts to completely unravel, to a point where by the end there is genuinely no justification for any action anyone has taken the whole time. When you finally get the full backstory about these guys, there is simply no reason that Abel, the main character, is of any importance to anyone. I couldn't believe how sloppy it was.
Also, gotta say, big no thanks on naming your bad guy "Cain" and your good guy "Abel." Might as well name them "Mr. Evil" and "Happy Goodman."
The only reason I'm not giving this one star is its sheer energy. I read the whole thing in about an hour, as it's essentially designed to keep the pages turning. I just wish there was any substance to it besides its overwhelming amount of nonsensical twists.
Unfortunately, after that issue, it's all downhill. This is very clearly a book constructed first and foremost to have a "shocking reveal" towards the end of every issue, but almost no work was done to make sure those reveals made any sense in the long run. As the twists keep on coming, the plot starts to completely unravel, to a point where by the end there is genuinely no justification for any action anyone has taken the whole time. When you finally get the full backstory about these guys, there is simply no reason that Abel, the main character, is of any importance to anyone. I couldn't believe how sloppy it was.
Also, gotta say, big no thanks on naming your bad guy "Cain" and your good guy "Abel." Might as well name them "Mr. Evil" and "Happy Goodman."
The only reason I'm not giving this one star is its sheer energy. I read the whole thing in about an hour, as it's essentially designed to keep the pages turning. I just wish there was any substance to it besides its overwhelming amount of nonsensical twists.
February 18, 2018
Good idea, rendered as a fast-moving, action-filled thriller. Great artwork throughout and a gripping story that ends right about where it should, before it runs out of gas.
March 22, 2018
Really, really graphic but a terrific story. I wouldn't mind seeing this world fleshed out a bit more.
May 15, 2023
A clandestine organization runs a group of assassins who routinely recruit kids with sociopathic tendencies. If they're going to be serial killers, why not point them towards meaningful targets? The premise is shaky at best, and the story doesn't offer much to really deliver anything all that interesting. The story drags with each issue, propped up by cliffhangers to keep the reader somewhat invested. The main character is meant to be the sociopath we root for, but I really felt this character was inconsistently written. There is a bit of a "turn your brain off" factor going on here - it reads very much like a Jason Bourne movie where you only occasionally have to worry about details and just revel in the action. The pacing is stiff for much of the series, but there are kinetic bursts of action and reveals to keep the reader engaged. Ibrahim Moustafa's artwork is pleasing to look at for sure, and works well for the action-packed story at hand.
May 13, 2021
I'm not usually a fan of Justin Jordan's work but I really enjoyed this. It reads like a summer blockbuster. The book is gruesome and I can see how the gore would not be for everyone but I liked the story told here. No one is a good guy, even the protagonists. The art was a good fit for the book. I would have liked to see more scenes from the past and even elongate the series but for what it was, I liked it.
April 16, 2019
A pretty fun story that I would describe with the elevator pitch of "The Bourne movies, meets Dexter, with a hint of Die Hard 3." The action is great and pretty fast paced and the characters are fascinating. Ibrahim Moustafa's character acting is especially good and Jordan Boyd's colors really add to the mood.
December 14, 2019
A black government program kidnapping children who they have identified as having all the sociopathic traits of future serial killers, then training them to be remorseless weapons of assassination and chaos on behalf of said government. What could go wrong? Great idea, great story, reasonably well-executed for a comic. Ultraviolent, but could it have been any other way?
February 3, 2018
interesting/modern take on Cain and Able.
A little cliche but stays strong throughout the entire series (the art helps).
very glad the story is contained in one vol, anymore and it woulda been watered down/too much.
A little cliche but stays strong throughout the entire series (the art helps).
very glad the story is contained in one vol, anymore and it woulda been watered down/too much.
March 18, 2018
We already adapted for this action-thriller conventional story type in novels and movies, for graphic novels it was highly refreshing for me. Lack of originality in plot compensated by art direction, framing, pacing, and style. Overall it's a "page-turner/fine read."
September 6, 2018
I used to be a Vertigo fanboy back in the late 90's, early 00's. Can't believe this has Vertigo's logo on the cover... Bad writing, infused with cliché conspiracy theories, a super obvious biblical allegory and gratuitous violence, delivered by mediocre art, make this one to avoid.
October 18, 2019
Maybe I am dense but this felt really disjointed. The flashbacks to Cain and Abel’s backstories flowed better than the present day story. I just felt a little lost while reading. Agree with all the other comments, very Jason Bourne.
April 1, 2020
The plot synopsis on the back is much better than the full story. It's not enough to have a good idea, you need to execute it properly; however, the art in Savage Things is clumsy, unfortunately exceeded in clumsiness by the plot, pacing, characters, and action setpieces.
May 20, 2020
What a surprise, this book came out of nowhere for me. Started at midnight and couldn't put it down (unusual for me) I type through this to its satisfactory ending but wanted even more from this world. Felt just like an action movie, fantastic read!
May 7, 2023
Someone told me this was a hidden gem of the vertigo line, but it really just came off like a unoriginal Jason borne esqe rip off with more extreme violence, gore, and swearing. It reads really fast, but I didn't get much out of this.
August 16, 2019
3.5 Stars
January 24, 2022
Imagine if Bourne Identity was written by Andrew Kevin Walker. That's Savage Things. Brilliant, dark, eerily good.
September 26, 2022
3 and 1/2 stars. Very violent, but interesting look about a group of chaos makers. Kids bred to be killers.
January 15, 2024
Wow. I really enjoyed this. Brutal and cruel book about America's propensity for creating tools of war.
March 30, 2024
Bourne-y riff.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews