Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: The Vicious Circle Rising
Written by: Erik Larsen
Art by: Erik Larsen
Colored by: Bill Workman
Lettered by: John Crabtree
Editor: N/A
Publisher: Image Comics
Backup: Mighty Man
Story title: Chapter 5 – “The Never Ending War Against Evil—Begins!â€
Scripted and Co-Plotted by: Gary Carlson
Penciled and Colored by: Mark Englert
Inked and Co-Plotted by: Erik Larsen
Lettered by: Robert Kirkman
Publisher: Image Comics
I NEED MY FIX!!!!!!!!!!!
Erik Larsen’s work on Savage Dragon is utterly amazing. The regular series began publication in 1992 and in that time 113 issues have been released. When you consider that Mr. Larsen writes, pencils, inks, edits, and does the cover for every issue that’s beyond amazing! More importantly the quality within never seems to suffer from Mr. Larsen’s hectic schedule. A schedule which seems to be getting more hectic, as Erik Larsen was named as the new Publisher of Image Comics. Hopefully this exciting news won’t slow release of future issues of Savage Dragon.
Let’s just look at titles that the “big†publisher’s put out, which they claim are monthly (i.e. The Ultimates or anything written by Kevin Smith), and you’ll see how much Larsen’s accomplished with his run on Savage Dragon. This book’s not a just a paycheck for the creator. He’s doing this because he loves the title; that type of commitment can be seen on every page of every issue. Couple Larsen’s ability and love for the character with complete creative freedom from the usual bean counters that make idiotic changes to their books and you may begin to understand why it’s one of the best on the market.
I just don’t ever want to wait so long for an issue of Savage Dragon again! I understand there were a variety of reasons behind the delays, but four months is just too long!
Taking an artistic risk…
One of the reasons that the book was late was the interesting artistic decision that Erik Larsen made. This issue features a twenty page lead story that begins with a twenty-panel first page, and then has one less panel on each page as the story builds to a final splash page. This a very cool concept that begins quite claustrophobic at the funeral of a departed friend (the second funeral Dragon has attended this month when you consider his appearance in issue #8 of Invincible) and opens up into a free-for-all battle as the issue closes out.
I love to see creative risks taken in comic books. When a risky move pays off so marvelously then it’s all the better. The format allowed us to get some great character-centric moments with Dragon and his supporting cast, while also giving us a superpower blowup with magnificent large panels too. I can only imagine just how difficult it was to stage this story, but I think the effort paid off in spades. This is comic’s entertainment the way it ought to be!
Still giving us more for our three bucks!
As always, the three bucks that you spend on Savage Dragon brings you far more entertainment than most books out there. Also included this month, is the fifth part of the ongoing Mighty Man backup. Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen have put Ann Stevens in quite the predicament. She no longer has the powers of Mighty Man, and while she’s happy with life at the moment, it will soon be clear that she’s got to get the powers back.
Mighty Man is a blatant homage of Captain Marvel (the Fawcett/DC version), but the story is interesting, and it’s great to see a story with such a classic approach. In fact, Savage Dragon is really all about classic storytelling goodness. Erik Larsen’s not afraid to tell superhero stories. That’s why this continues to be the best superhero comic on the shelves.
