Comic Review: Rick and Morty Presents: Maximum Crescendo #1

Overview

It may be called “Maximum Crescendo #1” but this issue is actually the second movement in a three-part sequential art symphony written by David Brockton McKinney and illustrated by Jarrett Williams. The story picks up where the previous volume left off – a man and a boy flee across the desert, and a minor villain follows. The vengeful Concerto and his loyal companion, Chickenskin Dogskull, pursue a confused Rick and Morty across an alien landscape. The one-note villain pelts the pair with musical wordplay as they try to figure out why they’re being chased in the 

first place. When Concerto gains the upper hand, Morty is forced to summon a debt-collecting demon to help them defend themselves. With the demon and an army of undead fast food mascots at their disposal, the boys are able to escape Concerto’s clutches, for now.

Our Take

It’s pretty easy to bring back a throw-away character like Concerto and fritter away it’s virtues through the law of diminishing returns. The same old jokes are just repeated over and over again, each one chiseling away at any lingering positive feelings fans might still have for said character. But “Maximum Crescendo” is not one of those. Instead, this colourful little limited run comic from Oni Press serves to lift Concerto up from the limbo of potential obscurity – it’s an altogether enjoyable experience to see this Mozart-y little creep cavort around on what I’m assuming is his home turf. 

For those of you who don’t remember, Concerto appears only once in the animated version of Rick and Morty, in the post-credits scene in season 3’s ‘Pickle Rick.”  In the episode, the never before mentioned  Concerto has Rick & Morty in a situation from which they cannot escape. Though resigned to their fate, at the last minute they are rescued by Jaguar, a guy Rick helped out big time earlier in the episode. Concerto is defeated, and his debt to Rick is repaid.

Before the “Maximum Trilogy”, Concerto was never going to be a fast food franchise tie-in, counterfeit carnival prize or cereal box toy. Even now, he probably won’t be. So it’s interesting that Concerto is borne of the same episode that gave us Pickle Rick – one of the most merchandisable character variants that’s ever come out of the series. Pickle Rick has it all – his catch-phrase is equal parts memorable and annoying – perfect for shouty-types to shout to their heart’s content, and Pickle Rick’s tube-like shape, basic face, and lack of limbs means even the least talented labourer in the least safe sweatshop is able to really crank out those counterfeit cartoon cukes! Concerto, on the other hand, is all hammer elbows, key teeth, and powdered wigs. In summation, a Pickle Rick tattoo helps you win friends and influence people, while a Concerto tattoo lands you in endless conversations in which you explain your tattoo at length to a person that’s clearly not interested in what you’re saying, even though you’re only explaining it because they asked you in the first place. Perhaps it’s this very sense that he is inferior and irrelevant that drives Concerto to villany in the first place. It’s also fitting that his eventual defeat comes at the hands of the reanimated mascots of the FEK Sematary – a fast food rogue’s gallery that includes Major Nugget Taker, Ham Clown and a distinctly Noid-ian skeleton. Each decomposing mascot remains haunted by the ghosts of jingles past. Concerto’s greatest weakness is, of course, bad music. 

One of the greatest things about this comic is the dope-ass colours oozing around on every page. Colourist Hank Jones’ acidic avocado sky and shifting dunes of plum-tinted soil really helps to create a world that’s a pleasure to get lost in. Any comic book’s strength comes from the collective storytelling power of the creative team, and this team is presenting some pretty stupid stuff, flawlessly.

One question that does come to mind – If Concerto was killed by Jaguar in the third season of Rick and Morty, and Morty had never met him at that point, when do the events of the ‘Maximum Trilogy’ occur? Of course, this could be an alternative universe. Or a divergent timeline. Or you could argue that all comics, by definition, take place both in alternative universes AND divergent timelines. It’s also entirely possible that all this was explained in the first issue, which, I will admit, I have not read. You’d think that not having access to the first part of this trilogy, would make it less enjoyable to read, but you’d be thinking wrong! It helps that neither Rick, nor Morty, has any idea as to why any of this is happening, either. The third encounter, “Maximum Coda” hopefully wraps all this weird up into a neat little package, but if it doesn’t, so what? Bravo, gentlemen!