I feel it's a little surprising to see a comic release with a more prehistoric theme to it, jumping back into rags for clothing and dinosaurs roaming the land. Though one of the largest comic artists of all time (Frank Frazetta) was known for his era of curvy model-like female characters and barbarian themes, it seems strange that in this highly fragile era we would somewhat return to it all. Particularly with how audiences have changed throughout the more recent years. While Rogue: The Savage Land is not entirely comparable to that era, it does still hold many of the little elements that speak of a totally different time for comic art and comic narratives. Unfortunately this comic doesn't take too much of a page from Frazetta's works, it is still noticeable that there is some influence to his works and that era. Primarily that is what had me check this volume out, though I wasn't sure it would've been my thing nor would I consider sticking with it so early on. It had to really wow me in the art and narrative side of things, though it was quite clear early on that the art style just wasn't all that engaging for me: a little more scratchy, a little more evident that it is digital brushes across the panels. Art style is one of the more important parts of a comic series for me, and if I can't get into the visuals, then the narrative itself will be a bit more of a struggle. I knew going into it that this was the case, but my curiosity came from the alternative story of the character Rogue, of which I have been reading Uncanny X-Men that has her has almost a primary character.
This story takes itself from another comic book, a volume of a previous Uncanny X-Men release, not the one I have been reading from late 2024 and is still ongoing. The story begins itself by describing the fate of Rogue in that series, to which she sacrificed herself by bringing her and a foe through a portal. A few extra details, but essentially Rogue has returned from it, and that's where the story here takes the reigns. In typical Rogue fashion, the narration of hers takes place with the usual southern (US) accent. A bit of humour and character injected into the story from the very beginning. This runs over a few rules Rogue has established for surviving this Jurassic land, to which there are creatures in the water, creatures on the land, and creatures in the trees. Each of which are ready to get you and are best avoided in any capacity. Though that's a bit difficult if there genuinely is no place to go. Though it takes a turn and details the loneliness the character has faced in this jungle. Crying in caves at night, imagining the presence and stories of her friends as a means of getting by. This is met with equal reflection on the past and her actions, mixing elements of survival with inner turmoil as she's alone and stuck in a state of constantly trying to get by in a world that's riddled with threats.
The first thing that I found a bit disappointing was the art style. Where the other individual stories as of late have had generally better styles, this one felt like it was cheap, a bit too messy and rushed. Digital brush strokes all over that felt too jarring to be immersive. Ugly colours and designs that just made many of the panels a bit boring to look at. Even when there are moments in which the action picks up, the style just ruins it. Panels void of weight and beauty to them. This ugliness was even found in the font used for certain bits of dialogue and context, leading to you having to re-read the text a few times to get what it's actually saying. The whole thing really did feel like a mess in that sense. And things worsened in the narrative quite early on, from the struggles of survival for Rogue to her mental distress due to loneliness, it quickly pushed that aside with her suddenly finding her way into Magneto, which just removed all that sense of danger from the story that was previously felt. There were no real struggles anymore, and a big character appealing out of nowhere like that had things feel like it was more pushing for romance bait than anything else. Largely unforgettable, largely uninteresting. And with just messy panels all over the place, it was a story that felt unimaginative and without direction. It didn't seem like it was all that about Rogue, especially with that sudden introduction of Magneto. And that's where the narrative problems appeared.
Wherever this story goes from here, I don't think I'll be sticking around to follow it. Too many annoyances within the first volume to make it stand out enough to be of interest. Too distanced from things in the worst way when it could've really done something more unique with the different time period and environment; especially when the other individual stories for these characters coming out lately are more stuck in the present. Something that distances itself a bit more would've been refreshing, but this definitely isn't it. It felt like it was bait for the people that missed that darker fantasy style of an artist like Frazetta, where the stories were more gritty and serious. Where the themes were about strange worlds riddled with fantasy beings and dinosaurs.
Oh well, it was worth giving it a chance just in case it did do something unique and be a gem. But I think I'll just be returning to Uncanny X-Men and the other comics I've been reading as of late. This isn't worthy of your attention, nor would it be worthy of your money if you're aiming to pick up a physical volume. Poor art, messy narrative, and very little to care for here.