Comic Review: Rick and Morty Presents: Big, Dumb Summer Vacation

Overview:

Rick is taking the family on a big summer vacation to the best beach in the universe. Everybody is on board, except a stubborn Jerry, who is confident the holiday will be ruined. His pessimism comes to life when he arrives at the resort and is told not to go on the beach between certain hours. Always the rebel, Jerry breaks the rules igniting the arrival of Heliofrank, a chill dude who wants to take over the planet. Thankfully, Grandpa Rick is there to save the day… again.

Our Take:

The ever-growing collection of Rick and Morty comic books is full of strange and wonderful tales. However, Rick and Morty Presents: Big, Dumb Summer Vacation may be the wackiest story to come out of the adaptation comic books yet. Between the talking animals and sun god ready to kill everybody with his ripe chillness, this is unlike most Rick and Morty books found on the racks.

This extra-large one-shot comic book takes Rick and his family to a sunny beach resort, surprisingly paid for by Rick. And nothing is getting in their way despite the world being attacked by pinatas and the president requesting Rick’s help. That is except for Jerry, who has a knack for ruining everything. Even when explicitly being told to avoid the beach during peak hours, he breaks the rules resulting in one destroyed vacation for Rick.

The villain of Heliofrank is a solid addition to the roster of enemies Rick and family have collected throughout the years. His hang-loose vibe does nothing to describe the painful sunbathed torture he plans to ignite upon the planet. And, truthfully, while reading this in extreme summer weather, I could not think of a worse torment to bring upon anyone.

While the comic takes some wacky turns and offers the odd laugh, it is hard to see the necessity of making it such a long read. There are so many Rick and Morty comic books that required extra panels to flesh out a larger story that went ignored, yet this half-adventure goes on for far too long. And much like the Lord of the Rings films, when you think the book is wrapping up, there are about three additional unnecessary conclusions.

Although this could have been a much shorter story, it is still worth the read. As far as adding it to the Rick and Morty comic collection, it stands somewhere in the middle between the boring reads and the standout comics. Credit is due to the book attempting to do something original compared to many of the other print adaptations, which recycle as many characters and plots from the animated series as possible. At the very least, you are getting a unique take on the Rick and Morty universe.