Comic Review: Rick and Morty Presents: The Council of Ricks #1

 

 

Overview (Spoilers):

A raggedy private eye by the name of Rick Prime is enlisted to help the Prime Rickminister in saving the universe from the ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, the man he must hunt down is his former partner, Morty Prime.

Accompanied by an expert team of capable Ricks, Rick Prime discovers secrets larger and darker than he would ever expect. The outcome of this battle will ultimately change the way that Rick’s live their lives all across the multiverse.

 

Our Take:

It should be stated outright that this is potentially the greatest Rick and Morty comic book that I have ever read. An accomplishment for a franchise that is pushing 100 unique issues. Equally impressive is the quality of content that this book stands atop; multiple Rick and Morty comics have earned top scores in earlier Bubbleblabber reviews.

The unfortunate part is, as it stands currently, this may be one of the last Rick and Morty comic books. Earlier this year, the self-titled series finished its run at 60 issues. And, by all accounts, Oni Press’s contract with the franchise is also coming to an end. Aside from a couple of dwindling one-shots like this one, and mini-series Rick and Morty: Go to Hell, the future of Rick and Morty comic books is non-existent.

Thankfully, if there is a way to go out, this book delivers.

The Council of Ricks is an origin story of how the council came to be. At the beginning of the issue, the collective of Ricks are lead by one man, the Prime Rickinister. Though the system works well, there are some that don’t align with the political process. But, by the end of the single issue, you will understand why the formation of The Council of Ricks was necessary.

What this book does that is unique to being in a comic and couldn’t be done on the animated series is focus on characters other than our primary Rick and his timid grandson, Morty. 

This story follows Rick Prime, a private eye with a tragic backstory and his rag-tag crew of Rick’s designed to save the universe. Thankfully, despite all being identical characters, the story does well to establish each of them as unique and identifiable.

Aside from dozens of Rick’s, the presence of other characters is limited. There are only a couple appearances of Morty’s, and an alternate Mr. Poopy Butthole has a role. There is one more familiar face involved in the plot, but I would hate to spoil the epic conclusion for anyone who hasn’t read it yet.

The animated series could never do away with involving the original Rick, Morty, and other family members and doing a story elsewhere in the universe. In fact, if the show ever did attempt to do that to its audience it will be a good sign that the series is running out of steam. That is why Rick and Morty comic books are essential, they are here to tell us the millions of stories throughout the multiverse that the show brushes off with one or two lines of dialogue.

What makes this particular issue leagues ahead of its like is how similar it is to the source material while maintaining its unique focus. The plot is a rip-off of cliché and popular science fiction stories identical to how the show produces.  Bladerunner is the theme for this story, but it also touches on franchises like Westworld, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and even Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Additionally, the amount of storytelling and plot development that happens between these pages is reminiscent of watching an episode of the series.

Needless to say, The Council of Ricks is a joy ride of a read. It offers everything that you would want from a one-shot comic book while being so perfectly Rick and Morty you would think Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland wrote it themselves. It is nothing short of a tragedy that this issue may never have a sequel. If I were to make recommendations for starting in the universe of Rick and Morty comic books, this would be one of my first suggestions.