Image Comics would pop up with the Savage Dragon mascot in our faces if there was a Google search result for “a comic for a fan, by a fan.” Savage Dragon has been a constant since 1992, and it is an artist’s take on the comic-book industry, poking harmless fun at his concerns.
When a reader compares the comic and the historical period in which each issue was issued, it offers a picture of the current era of comics that rivals any history book on the subject.
The series holds the record for the longest-running full-color comic book with the same artist and writer over the years. It was always aimed at senior Marvel readers who are about to throw in the towel on comics entirely, as claimed Erik Larsen, the rumoured writer of this outstanding series.
According to him, it’s the missing piece in the Marvel-Vertigo puzzle. Less pretentious than Vertigo, yet more sophisticated than Marvel. This is the type of comic I’d like to read. This is a VERY self-indulgent novel.
SAVAGE DRAGON: The Transformational Journey of a Ruthless Alien Emperor!
Larsen has never denied drawing inspiration from other sources in his youth when he first started sketching this character. The said, “other sources” included his favorites such as Batman, the Incredible Hulk, Captain Marvel, and Speed Racer. The comic book debut of the character as Paul Dragon happened much later; Savage Dragon was first seen in a two-Issue, low-print title run that Larson published with two of his friends.
This was called ‘Graphic Fantasy’, and in these versions, Dragon had retired from a superhero team that the government-backed in terms of funding, but he had lost his wife. The story revolved around this loss. A more popular presence was marked by the release of Gary Carlson’s ‘Megaton’ series that Larson was the artist in. Herein, Larson maintained the essence of Dragon from Graphic Fantasy, however, he changed minor details like those about Dragon’s wife. She was seen as alive here.
In 1992, a few years after Larsen’s colleagues left their venture ‘Image Comics’, Larsen set about to revamp Savage Dragon to a greater standard. From here on, Savage Dragon became more defined – a green-skinned man with a fin that made him about 6’6” tall, discovered by a member of the Chicago Police Department in the midst of a burning field. He was amnesic though, shrouding him in a mystery that would enthrall a reader.
It was initially planned as a mini-series with three Issues, but the popularity scale tipped upwards and it became a monthly series instead, launched in 1993. Larsen remained the constant contributor to the Savage Dragon series, the schedule only lapsing a few times in all these years as some other Image Comics characters were brought into the spotlight. At times, Larsen produced some supplementary mini-series and allowed other producers in on his ideas.
The origins of Savage Dragon were not revealed until the 10th Anniversary of Image Comics. A hardcover book was released to mark the occasion, and the reader was for the first time, introduced to Emperor Kurr. Kurr was the cruel, pitiless monarch of a nomadic alien race looking for a new home planet. After searching the extent of the Universe years after years, they finally found Earth.
The race wanted peaceful co-existence, but Kurr wanted a full takeover of the planet for his own vile intentions, and he went against his people. Two scientists – Weiko and Rech – who were serving Kurr, found out about his plans. In the spirits of goodness and amity, they decided they would put a stop to it altogether. Conspiring against him, they manipulated Kurr’s brain into erasing his memories, replacing them with recent information of those days. Kurr ended up with no recollection of who he was and what his plans were, and was left behind on Earth. His people went ahead with their lives in search of another planet to inhabit.
SAVAGE DRAGON: Major Comic Book Appearances
In the Graphic Fantasy series, Paul Dragon a.k.a. The Dragon, was presented to us as a retired member of the Society of Superheroes or the S.O.S.
S.O.S was a government-sponsored team, and Paul’s life was good until he lost his wife. To fulfil his duties as the father to a young daughter, he quit his service. However, in his time with the S.O.S., he had made enough enemies who remembered who he was and planned their revenge. On one occasion as Dragon was taking his daughter to an outing at the zoo, one Bronze Man attacked them in their cab. Dragon’s daughter was severely injured, and that was something that drove him halfway back to his service life.
Angered by the incident, Dragon started his hunt for information and the whereabouts of the Bronze Man, only to be knocked out by an old colleague from S.O.S., Mace. Mace betrayed Dragon, turning him into Bronze Man instead. The dragon was kept in a death trap that the Bronze Man had created, from which he managed to escape and kill a whole gang of super-villains associated with Bronze Man. Leading up to the final pages, the Bronze Man was also defeated by Dragon – classic superhero style.
In his redeveloped version’s first major comic book appearance, Savage Dragon was seen confronting a mass murderer who called himself the Shrew. Shrew had superpowers aside from his vile intentions, needless to say, enabling more damage than a mass murderer can commit as it is. His first attack comes from a place of gross underestimation of his opponent, so he has forced to run to his escape. Back at the police station where he worked, he realized that his close friend Frank Darling was keeping him from important business. Dragon started to lose hope and faith in that person.
Once he realized that he was not being involved in his own job, he went back to feeling depressed, as he first was when his girlfriend Debbie Harris was murdered. To deal with his feelings, he chose to spend some time at a bar with more superhumans, and there he defeated some members of a rival group, The Vicious Circle. Almost immediately after, the news being broadcasted then caught his eye.
It was being said that the superhero Mighty Man had been seen around the city again. The problem? Mighty Man had a heavily publicized “death” about a year-and-a-half ago. Other news covered matters of the celebrity Peter Klaptin losing his hair to a fire that started from unknown circumstances. The broadcast closed with the news of a married couple in Illinois who had committed suicide while from the basement of their house, emanated a disembodied voice calling out for their “parents”.
As he was driven deeper into the pit of depression and constant anxiety, Alex Wilde, another colleague of Dragon’s, convinced him to visit his lost girlfriend’s grave. Alex believed that it would help Dragon cope with his emotions, but the girl’s mother saw him there and unleashed harsh words on him. Back at the police station, he had to entertain repeated phone calls from an old woman who asked for her son Rodney. All these events did not go down well for Dragon and the news of Shrew’s return seemed to finally give him a purpose, or so he believed.
As he fought Shrew with a pair of chainsaws, he had a film-like reel paly in his head. Dragon was reminded of all the pain and anguish he had recently faced. Unable to kill his enemy, Dragon stood there for quite a while, just watching the bloodied body lying motionless. Once that phase passed, he collected his wits and returned to the headquarters of his workplace, bandaging himself up in places where he had been injured. Right then, he was assigned an investigation of an old building under the city where a couple with superpowers was reportedly living.
On his way, he was attacked by Barbaric, a powerful superhero. Barbaric had lost his nerve on seeing Dragon’s gun and assumed he was in danger. Another action scene ensues, and as Barbaric and Dragon fight, the combined energy of these two powerhouses caused destruction in the area.
Buildings collapsed, and another property was being affected before Barbaric’s partner Ricochet came and stood between them, stopping the scene. After Barbaric and Ricochet admitted that they were looking for any work Dragon could give them, Dragon apologized but said he would have to seriously consider their request for help. They were struggling to make ends meet at that point, but Dragon had trust issues, and for good reason too.
What happens to this trio is carried on to the next issue!
SAVAGE DRAGON: The Popular Cartoon Series
Voiced by Jim Cummings, the Savage Dragon was granted his own cartoon series, airing on twenty-six Saturday mornings throughout the years 1995 and 1996. It was completely based on the comic book series, produced by Universal Cartoon Studios and a part of the Cartoon Express block on the USA network. The episodes often starred other popular characters from the comic-book series, like Horde, Mako, Overlord, Barbaric, and She-Dragon.
Just like in the comics, the Dragon was shown as a green-skinned, super-strong humanoid with a head that had a fin, making him look larger than he was and definitely more intimidating. He was found amidst a field in Chicago, engulfed in flames.
A Chicago Police Department cop Frank Darling rescued him and discovered that Dragon had no memory of his past. He chose to join the police department he was rescued by, and in his tenure with them, he fought several mutant criminals calling themselves “Superfreaks”. They were led into criminal activities like terrorizing the city’s people by one Overlord, as big a mystery as Dragon himself.
The nuisance of prejudice was dealt with in this series it seemed, by attempting to be different from the other shows being aired in those times. Heavily muscular characters with elaborate costumes did raise eyebrows. However, the fact that Dragon was a police officer who had made up his mind to work against the authorities, instilled in the audience the thrill of defiance. Of course, there also was an anticipation of the outcome of it all. Dragon’s scornful attitude and dry humour completed the wholesomeness of the series.
SAVAGE DRAGON: What Makes Him So Powerful?
Agile and physically strong, standing at a massive height of 6 feet and 6 inches with the finned head – Savage Dragon’s appearance was quite daunting. As per his character arc, Dragon had Krylon royal blood in him, making him the “Chosen One”. This physiological advantage gave him several abilities of a superhuman. Not only was his stamina higher than an average human being, but he was very resistant to most mental assaults like telepathic attacks as well.
This metal-bender, concrete-puncher’s skin was very damage-resistant, with fired bullets being rendered useless and fire itself being a harmless friend. Dragon is shown to survive explosions at point-blank range with little to no harm being caused to him. Except for extremely sharp weapons, nothing seems to faze Dragon…or impale his skin, for that matter. Even if any damage would have been caused, Dragon would recover really rapidly and efficiently, unlike his human counterparts. If regeneration of limbs or organs were to be considered, it was a matter of days and not weeks for Dragon.
With the experience of all these years behind him, Savage Dragon is acknowledged as one of the greatest fighters, able to take down more than one enemy at once; even those with superpowers like him. Dragon’s hand-to-hand combat skills are par excellence and he is a sharp marksman. Leadership abilities and stealth only add the cherry to the cake; and so do his abilities as a polyglot.
SAVAGE DRAGON: Closing In
Dragon may deal with superheroes as a policeman, but their vigilante character precludes him from fully affiliating with them. That makes the main character’s occupation a truly distinctive feature. It may sometimes seem that Larsen is cramming unexpected and quite impossible realities into his panels. But one must not forget that it is the world of comics and we ought to take it and roll with it, all in good humor! It seems like a matter of perspective – the interpretation of reality, that is.
If the silver screen decided to adapt Savage Dragon someday, it would work out as a mature, action-packed but comedic twist point for the otherwise largely homogenous MCU. There is no limit to Image Comic’s growth overall, once it transforms into a home for Hollywood intellectual properties.
If Savage Dragon comic books haven’t become your cup of tea yet, they could sure be your shot of americano – yep, the plot hits you that hard if you spend some time with it. More than anything else, Eric Larsen has an enviable streak with this comic, and it WILL be going down in history.