In this review of Only the Savage Are Left #2, Ryder and Fionn continue their search for Oaklynn, but when they discover her location, will they be strong enough to save her?
Only The Savage Are Left #2
Writer: Zack Kaplan
Art and Main Cover: Stefano Raffaele
Variant Covers: Marco Mastrazzo
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: July 29, 2026
This review contains spoilers
Ryder and Fionn (Oaklynn’s father) set fire to the monsters they encountered at the end of Only the Savage Are Left #1 and breathe in the smoke. While doing so, three other infected survivors approach wanting some of the smoke, but Fionn doesn’t trust them. With his pistol and claw hand, he takes out all three people.
Meanwhile, Oaklynn is held captive in a room with another girl. The leader of the group holding them talks to the pair about surviving. He wants them to fight to the death, so he throws down a large knife and heads out of the room, telling them the survivor gets to live.
Fionn and Ryder find the pharmacy Oaklynn was heading to. They soon discover her at a nearby school being held by the group of soldiers. Fionn tells Ryder to set one of the soldier’s Jeeps on fire as a distraction, but when two of the armed men startle him, the boy isn’t able to finish the job.
He runs inside the school and encounters a horde of monsters. Fionn comes to his rescue and they make it to another building in the town to hide. The two realize that each of them were bitten while escaping the monsters, so they now have to find another monster to kill and burn.
Analysis
Zack Kaplan makes some clear distinctions in the characters of this story and the exploration of them makes for a fun page-turner.
Ryder, through what we’ve seen of him so far and through flashbacks in this issue, is not exactly someone who you’d expect to last a long time in this world. He’s indecisive, slow to action, trusting, and passive. These are all characteristics that should have gotten him killed by now, if not for Fionn, who is pretty much the exact opposite.
Fionn has no problem with making decisions and taking out whoever’s in his way. Right now, his main goal is rescuing his daughter and everyone else is expendable. The ease with which he takes out the three survivors, one of whom was a sick girl, is startling, but a perfect fit for this hellish environment.
It looks like Oaklynn is equally as savage because she was being led out of the school covered in blood, presumably after taking out the other captive girl.
In two issues, Kaplan has effectively built the world around strengths and weaknesses. The title of the series is most certainly an apt one. There’s no room for fear in this story. If you hesitate, you can die. That leaves me wondering if Ryder will actually make it to the end. He’s a main character, but if I had to bet money on it right now, I’d wager he’s a goner. I’d like to see him continue to develop, even though it will mean making hard decisions based on the world he lives in.
The illustrations from Stefano Raffaele and the colors by Thiago Rocha remain consistent from the first issue. There’s excellent detail in the drawings, especially the facial expressions. This isn’t a situation where everyone looks the same way all the time. This helps to strengthen the emotional connection to the characters because you can see what they’re feeling.
Final Thoughts
Only the Savage Are Left #2 continues to create a world in which only the strong survive. This story examines the lengths some people will go to in order to live, even after civilization has collapsed. It’s highly entertaining, fast-paced, and visually appealing. Have fun, comic lovers!
