Rick and Morty Volume 6

Volume Six features five stories, four of which are written by the same man, Kyle Starks, though each features a different illustrator, adding a welcome stylistic range to the stories. While the first story is well and good enough, the middle two are unremarkable if not a little plodding. I enjoyed the style of Andy Hirsch’s contribution, which deviated a bit from the more typical artistic style of the other Rick and Morty stories. It felt refreshing after having gone through the previous two stylistically similar stories. The interdimensional TV thing felt less refreshing, however, as, though it might be my own preference, the idea was great when it first appeared in the show but has now become fairly stale.

The final story, though, does what I tend to think is the purpose of comic-ized versions of a TV or movie series: explore the alleys and by-ways of the other characters’ lives, the stuff we wouldn’t normally see in the show. His story follows Beth, Morty’s mother, into her practice as a equine veterinarian, exploring her everyday extraordinary experiences, with Rick and Morty’s exploits only at the periphery. The other four stories stick to various conventional Rick and Morty romps. Overall, Volume Six is nothing extraordinary. It sits comfortably in the unremarkable middle, not terrible and not memorable.