In this review of Only the Savage Are Left #1, a virus turns humans into monsters, but the cure is just as monstrous. Who will be strong enough to survive?
Only The Savage Are Left #1
Writer: Zack Kaplan
Art and Main Cover: Stefano Raffaele
Variant Covers: Mrco Mastrazzo, Todd Beats, David Mack
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: June 3, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Only The Savage Are Left #1 opens with humanity’s downfall when the teratavirus spreads rapidly. It turns people’s skin yellow, causes them to grow various protrusions, and gives them a desire to kill living things.
A teenage boy, Ryder, and his mom, a doctor, escape the burning city just as the panels make a five-year time jump. A young woman and an older man are being chased through the woods by monsters when they come upon a massive gated wall.
The people inside the walls shoot the monsters and come out to test both individuals, who have both been exposed to the virus in the past, but are clear of it now. It’s revealed that the female, Oaklynn, knows Ryder, who happens to be inside the walled city along with his mom.
However, Oaklynn’s father is wounded and needs antibiotics. She decides to go out alone on a three-day supply run for the medicine. Ryder can’t go with her, though, as it’s against the city’s rules to risk their lives for strangers.
When Oaklynn hasn’t returned after five days, Ryder leaves the walled city in search of her. He encounters some teratavirus monsters and just as they’re about to kill him, someone shoots them, saving Ryder.
He turns to see Oaklynn’s father, apparently not so hurt after all, revealing his virus-effected hand that’s been turned into a monstrous claw from his previous exposure.
Analysis
Writer Zack Kaplan’s story of monsters, both infected and non-infected ones, is off to an excellent start. The only way to cure the virus is to kill someone who’s infected, burn their body, and breathe in the smoke. That’s a pretty savage way to stay alive. His exploration of the lengths humans will go to in dire situations is haunting. The biggest question here is who’s worse – the virus monsters or the human ones?
I like that the main story of Only The Savage Are Left #1 is interspersed with scenes from Ryder and Oaklynn’s past. It helps to inform us of their relationship before the world collapsed. There’s major tension between the two of them when Oaklynn has to leave the city alone. It’s a wake up call to Ryder and gets him to realize he’s got to go after Oaklynn. The only problem is that he hasn’t been outside the walls of the city before. His lack of experience in the dangerous environment almost proved deadly.
It does set up the nice rescue by Oaklynn’s father, which was quite unexpected. I liked the reveal of his monster hand while telling Ryder that to survive the monsters he’ll have to become one. Looks like Ryder’s going to have some growing up to do in the near future.
The artwork by Stefano Raffaele is outstanding. It paints the picture of how bleak the destroyed world is with several spreads showing the ruined landscape. The characters are drawn with expressions that accurately reflect the situation. They aren’t just generically copied from one panel to the next. The colors used by Thiago Rocha tend to be more muted tones which are perfect for this environment.
Final Thoughts
Only the Savage Are Left #1 is filled with virus-created monsters and brutal human behavior. Featuring beautiful artwork, this one should be on your pull list if you love horror and end of the world tales. Have fun, comic lovers!
