As announced by publisher HiComics, this volume twelve marks the end of the regular Rick and Morty series. Will this end be an apotheosis? Is this really the end? Find the answers throughout the column.
Interdimensional frustration
Morty travels in space or other dimensions but at what cost? On each trip, it risks being cut in half or burned alive. The young teenager can no longer bear to be put in danger because of his grandfather. The worst thing is that he is not often willing to leave but coerced or drugged. When Peacock Jones kidnaps him, he gets angry. Certainly, his grandfather will come to save him but, once again, the consequences will be disastrous for the others. Indeed, Morty is not the only one who hates the patriarch of the Sanchez family: all intelligent species would like to get rid of him but no one does anything because he always manages to get by. The regular reader will find well-known names in the creative team. Indeed, since the first volume, Kyle Starks is one of the writers while Marc Ellerby is in charge of the drawings. This continuity over twelve volumes is increasingly rare in American comics. The authors also appear in the comic: they are signing in a Rick and Morty convention but fans of the cartoon despise them. Worse, the day ends very badly for them. More than a series of jokes, Kyle Starks builds a true adventure story with many twists, intermediate enemies and a surprising final battle before a twist for an apocalyptic conclusion. For drawings, Ellerby's style is very close to the cartoon.
A final best-of?
In the twelfth volume of Rick and Morty, the reader also finds secondary characters such as the alien Peacock Jones, depressed at the bar following his multitude of misadventures caused by Rick and Morty. Indeed, the creative duo takes advantage of this last volume to bring back many characters discovered over the volumes. The book then becomes a firework display of the most delirious creations of the series : the agency big balls, Mr. Larbin, the summary made by Mr. Poo Box. This twelfth volume far from being dishonorable integrates among the best episodes of the series as the one on a convention of fans of the series. Rick and Morty continue to surf jokes based on geeky references – cheat codes, Iron Man's armor… – including bonuses with a parody of Pokémon. As in every volume, Rick and Morty is a series playing with archetypes. The first paradox is that the oldest of the family is also the most selfish and the least wise. He organizes a mission worthy of Tom Cruise just to find the recipe for the best cola in the universe. Even in another universe, His joy comes from endangering His grandson. Rick sees Morty as a replaceable object. An assembly of the Ilumiricki shows that while the Ricks of other dimensions are physically different, they are all obnoxious. The body may change but the spirit remains. It's a pretty bleak view of destiny. On the contrary, Morty is the caricature of the teenager. He thinks only of his crotch. The series also takes the opportunity to make our daily lives absurd. Morty uses a loyalty card to get what he wants from his grandfather. In another dimension, they are unbearable sellers in a cheap supermarket.
A temporary end
If the series stops, you are not finished with the crazy adventures of the Sanchez family. Indeed, the American publisher has decided to change the formula. Rather than offering a long series with adventures over a few episodes, Adult Swim offers complete and thematic stories on one volume. This choice will prevent the reader from getting lost in the volumes but above all it announces promising adventures. Indeed, in the next volume to come in French, Rick and Morty will find themselves in hell. Given Rick Sanchez's track record, this is no surprise. Let's bet that the devil may be surprised by these newcomers. This twelfth volume of the adventures of Rick and Morty marks the end of a cycle. We are far from the end of a story but it is an explosion of jokes by the appearance of secondary characters crossed since volume one. Rather than an end, this is promising news for the future. You can find the chronicles of the previous volumes: volumes 11 and 10.
