The first volume of Rick and Morty: Ever After collects the four-issue miniseries that stands as an altogether worthy adaptation of the Adult Swim phenomenon. Written by Sam Maggs and illustrated by Sarah Stern and Emmett Helen, Rick and Morty: Ever After has considerably large shoes to fill considering the overwhelming success of its source material and the mainline Rick and Morty comic series. However, the miniseries manages to strike that patented Rick and Morty tone while updating the pacing and style from the average Rick and Morty episode to succeed independently as a comic.
Ever After follows the titular pair's misadventures through Morty's book of classic fairy tales after a plan to get out of studying for a quiz goes awry. Naturally, the duo quickly find themselves without a way home with danger closing in from every direction. This four-issue Rick and Morty event allows for more narrative space than a regular 20-minute episode, which in turn allows Maggs, Stern and Helen to stretch out and deliver on a wickedly entertaining Rick and Morty tale full of flavor, humor and plenty of insults.
Some die-hard Rick and Morty fans may feel thrown by the introductory issue, as it takes a few pages for Ever After to settle into itself. But by the end of the first issue, writer Sam Maggs has confidently laid out the tone of her Rick and Morty, and her take on the material is both hilarious and thoughtful. Adapting characters from screen to comic book is no small feat, particularly when comedy is a prerequisite. It's no secret that Rick and Morty is home to some world-class voice acting talents, and recreating the timing and cadence of such a hilarious cast on the page can be a daunting task. That said, Maggs hits every mark and then some. All the characters from the series feel like themselves, but not copy-and-pasted versions of their on-screen personalities. Ever After is an excellent example of how the sardonic, fast-paced comedy of Rick and Morty can be adapted to work on the page just as well as it does on-screen.
Artists Sarah Stern and Emmett Helen also step up to the task of bringing a fantastic Rick and Morty comic to life. Stern and Helen's original character designs, as well as some reimagined old ones, are bursting with flavor and charm. The art in these issues is a compromise between Rick and Morty's onscreen look and the storybook fantasy realm they inhabit, and the results are fantastic. Nearly every page has something visually subtle and smart to enjoy, and the page layouts are equally impressive, lending the visual punctuation necessary for each joke to land. The colors, also by Stern, are the cherry on top of already wonderful pencils and vibrant page layouts. The panels are, in many places, considerably more colorful than an on-screen episode of Rick and Morty would be, but the more dynamic color palette makes just about everything pop off the page. All aspects of the artwork in Rick and Morty: Ever After complement each other to make for an impressive and wildly fun read.
Ever After marks one of Rick and Morty's more successful attempts at mixing the show's science-fiction basis with fantasy elements. Though over the years the show has produced a number of fantasy-geared episodes, Ever After has a more compelling narrative and more interesting observations than the show's other attempts to breach the genre. Likely helped by its longer length, Ever After offers a strong, straightforward story that packs plenty of thought and humor into each panel.
Rick and Morty: Ever After is recommended for both veteran Rick and Morty fans and comic book lovers who have never heard of the show. The series piles wonderful visuals on top of great writing for an end result that delivers on nearly every level, leaving something for everyone to enjoy.
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