Review – Rick and Morty: Pocket Like You Stole It #2 (Oni Press)

Publisher: Oni Press
Writer: Tini Howard
Artwork: Marc Ellerby
Colours: Katy Farina
Release Date: 16th August 2017

After a solid opening issue, Pocket Like You Stole It rolls on this week as Morty’s attempt to find sanctuary sees him entering yet another twisted situation in this crazy, mobile game-themed dimension. This time, things go a little ‘Crazy Cat Rick’, with hordes of docile Mortys being rounded up and given scratching posts and litter trays to keep them occupied. Initially, our Morty actually sort of enjoys the relaxed pace and relative safety, but it doesn’t take him long to realise that this seemingly reasonable, understanding Rick is actually anything but.

Writer Tini Howard drops in some choice lines of dialogue along the way, but the overall story still feels a little jumbled, and it’s unclear exactly what the driving force behind the series is at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of fun seeing all these different Ricks and Mortys interacting, but it does feel a little aimless for the time being, with Morty blindly wandering from situation to situation without any real sense of purpose.

There are some brilliant moments though, such as the clunky exposition dump which is delivered with a sly nod to the reader, or the hilarious meta gag surrounding a late issue flashback scene. It’s clear that Howard has a firm grasp of the sense of humour that helps make the Adult Swim television series such a cult favourite, but it’s also slightly disappointing that the story itself hasn’t matched the quality of the dialogue – for the time being, at least.

Marc Ellerby and Katy Farina do a great job on the artwork, bringing us a lively and authentic feeling Rick and Morty world and taking great pleasure in exploiting the potential of the premise with all manner of weird and wonderful Mortys. The layouts are smooth and intuitive, and the aforementioned flashback scene is brought to life with a real sense of enthusiasm, capitalising on the comedic potential while still respecting need for exposition.

As an amusing parody of Pokemon-style mobile games, Pocket Like You Stole It does an admirable job, but as a Rick and Morty parody of Pokemon-style mobile games, it doesn’t quite meet the high standards you’d normally associate with the property. Not yet, at least. That said, the creators all clearly have a firm grasp on the appeal of the source material, so it’s surely only a matter of time before they bring it all together and this series starts to deliver on its near-limitless potential.

Rating: 3.5/5.

If you want to find out more about Rick and Morty: Pocket Like You Stole It, make sure to check out our interview with the creators by CLICKING HERE.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
[Click to Enlarge]