Ka-Zar: Lord Of The Savage Land #3 Review

Written By: Zac Thompson
Art by: Germán García, Álvaro López
Colors By: Matheus Lopes, Matt Milla
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Art By: Jesús Saiz
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 17, 2021

Ka-Zar: Lord Of The Savage Land #3 follows Ka-Zar and his family as they track down the mysterious Domovoy, the figure responsible for unleashing biotech monsters and corruption on the Savage Land. When one of their own sneaks off with a secret to hide, Ka-Zar pays the ultimate price for protecting his family.

Was It Good?

I like this issue. I like the creativity and imagination around this story. I like (sorta) seeing Ka-Zar evolve into whatever he’s becoming as Marvel’s equivalent of Animal Man. There’s a lot of curiously engaging elements in this story that stimulate my desire to want to know more.

What I don’t like is I have no idea what’s going on with this villain, what it/she/he wants, or why. You have a monstrous entity that’s infecting the Savage Land with destructive biotech without any apparent rhyme, reason, or purpose. Wrapping mystery around the villain in the first (maybe second) issue is fine for building curiosity, but if you don’t know anything about the central conflict other than “biotech bad” after issue #3, that’s too much to ask of the reading audience. It’s tipping over from a mystery to a frustration.

Putting the frustration aside, the action and art in this issue are great. When Ka-Zar and Shanna figure out Matthew has more than a coincidental understanding of the biotech and that he may be hiding a connection to Domovoy, the artists and Thompson take readers through a much grander tour of the Savage Land as they follow Matthew on his secret side trip. The backgrounds and settings are gorgeous, and when the side trip turns bad, the fight scenes are impactful in terms of energy and consequences.

Final Thoughts

Ka-Zar: Lord Of The Savage Land #3 shows what happens when children keep dangerous secrets. The art and action are terrific, and Ka-Zar’s evolution in his post-death life is fascinating. That said, we have no understanding of the main villain’s wants or motivations after three issues, and it’s becoming frustrating when it should be mysterious fun.