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Savage Dragon Archives #2
Savage Dragon Archives, Vol. 2
This volume kicks off with an all-out gang war in the streets of Chicago and builds to the destruction of the planet Earth itself Dragon goes from cop to corpse and to hell and back. Featuring the birth of Dragon's son. The death and rebirth of Darklord and Dragon's ascension to the head of Special Operations Strikeforce. Guest-starring Spawn, Hellboy, the Maxx, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and God. Collects SAVAGE DRAGON #22-50
646 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2007
11 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Erik Larsen
963 books75 followersAs a child growing up in Bellingham, Washington and Albion, California, Erik Larsen created seveal comic books featuring versions of a character named 'Dragon.' He eventually published a fanzine, which led to his doing professional work on a comic book called Megaton for creator Gary Carlson. It was here that he introduced the Dragon, a super powered superhero, to the comic-reading masses.
After a multitude of mailings, showing his work, Erik became aquainted with Jim Shooter, who was, at that point, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Erik eventually met Jim at a convention in Chicago and Jim was impressed enough with Erik's work that he consented to co-plot a story with him on the spot. That story was a battle between Marvel Comics characters Hulk & Thor. Although it wasn't actually published until years later, it did impress a variety of Editors enough to get Larsen some more high-profile work in the funnybook field.
Erik jumped around various books in this part of his career. He did an Amazing Spider-Man fill-in story at Marvel, a few issues of DNAgents for Eclipse, and he eventually took over the art chores on DC's Doom Patrol. Soon afterwards, he left DC and moved on to the Punisher for Marvel. Five issues of that book was about as much pain as that poor Minnesota boy could stand. Erik wanted to write and when a Nova serial was given the thumbs up to run in Marvel Comics Presents with Erik as the writer/artist, he gladly left the Punisher. But it was not to be! The powers that be had other plans for Nova and Erik's yarn didn't fit in with the impending New Warriors series. Editor Terry Kavanaugh gave Larsen an Excalibur serial to draw for Marvel Comics Presents while the poor bastard waited for his big break.
When ever-popular artist Todd McFarlane left his artistic duties on Amazing Spider-Man, Larsen was chosen to be his successor. That run was astoundingly well-recieved, and included popular stories like 'The Return of the Sinister Six', 'The Cosmic Spider-Man', and 'The Powerless Spider-Man'. Although he was comfortable with his position as Amazing Spider-Man penciller, he was frustrated drawing other people's stories. Larsen found that his ravenous desire to write had only gotten stronger. He left Amazing Spider-Man, quite pooped.
By this time, the New Warriors was going full tilt and Erik tossed together a proposal for a Nova ongoing series. While he waited for it to get the nod, Todd McFarlane left the new Spider-Man title that he had launched. Erik was called upon once again picked up the torch - and he ran with it. Larsen created a memorable albeit brief run on that title, despite a traumatic event in his personal life - his house burned to the ground, destroying all of his childhood drawings and comic books.
After this period, creator Rob Liefeld invited Larsen to help found a new comic book imprint called 'Image' at Malibu comics, alongside notorious creators Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Erik's flagship comic book at Image (which soon left Malibu and became the third lagest comic book publisher in the United States) was an updated version of his childhood creation -- 'The Savage Dragon.' Larsen has been succeeding with his ideas ever since, through his creations Freak Force, Star, SuperPatriot and the Deadly Duo as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which he helped revitalize and bring to Image.
As of 2004, Erik Larsen became the Publisher of Image Comics and shows no sign of slowing down.
After a multitude of mailings, showing his work, Erik became aquainted with Jim Shooter, who was, at that point, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Erik eventually met Jim at a convention in Chicago and Jim was impressed enough with Erik's work that he consented to co-plot a story with him on the spot. That story was a battle between Marvel Comics characters Hulk & Thor. Although it wasn't actually published until years later, it did impress a variety of Editors enough to get Larsen some more high-profile work in the funnybook field.
Erik jumped around various books in this part of his career. He did an Amazing Spider-Man fill-in story at Marvel, a few issues of DNAgents for Eclipse, and he eventually took over the art chores on DC's Doom Patrol. Soon afterwards, he left DC and moved on to the Punisher for Marvel. Five issues of that book was about as much pain as that poor Minnesota boy could stand. Erik wanted to write and when a Nova serial was given the thumbs up to run in Marvel Comics Presents with Erik as the writer/artist, he gladly left the Punisher. But it was not to be! The powers that be had other plans for Nova and Erik's yarn didn't fit in with the impending New Warriors series. Editor Terry Kavanaugh gave Larsen an Excalibur serial to draw for Marvel Comics Presents while the poor bastard waited for his big break.
When ever-popular artist Todd McFarlane left his artistic duties on Amazing Spider-Man, Larsen was chosen to be his successor. That run was astoundingly well-recieved, and included popular stories like 'The Return of the Sinister Six', 'The Cosmic Spider-Man', and 'The Powerless Spider-Man'. Although he was comfortable with his position as Amazing Spider-Man penciller, he was frustrated drawing other people's stories. Larsen found that his ravenous desire to write had only gotten stronger. He left Amazing Spider-Man, quite pooped.
By this time, the New Warriors was going full tilt and Erik tossed together a proposal for a Nova ongoing series. While he waited for it to get the nod, Todd McFarlane left the new Spider-Man title that he had launched. Erik was called upon once again picked up the torch - and he ran with it. Larsen created a memorable albeit brief run on that title, despite a traumatic event in his personal life - his house burned to the ground, destroying all of his childhood drawings and comic books.
After this period, creator Rob Liefeld invited Larsen to help found a new comic book imprint called 'Image' at Malibu comics, alongside notorious creators Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Erik's flagship comic book at Image (which soon left Malibu and became the third lagest comic book publisher in the United States) was an updated version of his childhood creation -- 'The Savage Dragon.' Larsen has been succeeding with his ideas ever since, through his creations Freak Force, Star, SuperPatriot and the Deadly Duo as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which he helped revitalize and bring to Image.
As of 2004, Erik Larsen became the Publisher of Image Comics and shows no sign of slowing down.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 15, 2021
This period sees Dragon's stint with the Chicago police force come to an end amidst all the in-fighting in the Vicious Circle crime syndicate. This is a hyper dynamic violence melodrama with almost Saturday matinee like cliffhangers and plot twists, and it actually works! 7 out of 12. I read the comic books Savage Dragon #25-50; The Dragon #1-5; Red Horizon #1-3, Sex & Violence #1-3.
July 12, 2020
Savage Dragon Archives Volume 2 collects issues 22-50 of Savage Dragon.
My trip back in time to the early days of Savage Dragon and Image Comics continues. In this volume, Dragon gets caught in the middle of a power struggle between the freaks of Chicago to take the Overlords' position, teams with TMNT and Hellboy, climbs out of a dead monster's asshole, fights an ape with Hitlet's brain, fights a Martian invasion, meets God and the Devil, and leads a government sponsored super team, the SOS, among other things.
Erik Larsen's art evolves over the course of this volume. It's not minimalist by any means but there isn't so much cross hatching. He seems more confident and lets the art speak for itself without over doing it.
No one is ever going to confuse Erik Larsen with Alan Moore but he knows how to write a gripping super hero story and he doesn't shy away from big events, like deaths, alien invasions, and births. The characters age in real time and the reboot button never gets pressed.
On some level, Savage Dragon is a celebration of all the crazy shit comics are capable of. Savage Dragon beats a villain with his own severed arm, for instance, and I already mentioned Brainiape, the ape with Hitler's brain, and Dragon climbing out of a dead monster's asshole. The last few pages made me want to hunt down the next volume immediately, even though I told my wife I'd chew through some of my unread pile first.
As I've gotten older, I realize Savage Dragon is a love letter to silver and bronze age comics. Four out of five stars.
My trip back in time to the early days of Savage Dragon and Image Comics continues. In this volume, Dragon gets caught in the middle of a power struggle between the freaks of Chicago to take the Overlords' position, teams with TMNT and Hellboy, climbs out of a dead monster's asshole, fights an ape with Hitlet's brain, fights a Martian invasion, meets God and the Devil, and leads a government sponsored super team, the SOS, among other things.
Erik Larsen's art evolves over the course of this volume. It's not minimalist by any means but there isn't so much cross hatching. He seems more confident and lets the art speak for itself without over doing it.
No one is ever going to confuse Erik Larsen with Alan Moore but he knows how to write a gripping super hero story and he doesn't shy away from big events, like deaths, alien invasions, and births. The characters age in real time and the reboot button never gets pressed.
On some level, Savage Dragon is a celebration of all the crazy shit comics are capable of. Savage Dragon beats a villain with his own severed arm, for instance, and I already mentioned Brainiape, the ape with Hitler's brain, and Dragon climbing out of a dead monster's asshole. The last few pages made me want to hunt down the next volume immediately, even though I told my wife I'd chew through some of my unread pile first.
As I've gotten older, I realize Savage Dragon is a love letter to silver and bronze age comics. Four out of five stars.
November 10, 2017
Mix one pint of comic book in-jokes with one pint of PG-rated titillation, and then throw the whole thing into a ten-gallon drum of bug nuts and cartoonish violence, and you've pretty much got Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon. It's sometimes stupid, sometimes delightfully loopy, but there's always something going on.
September 7, 2023
Erik Larsen continues his saga. I think Savage Dragon may be the longest running comic book series that has been written and illustrated by the same creator since it's inception? I'm not sure about that but it seems possible.
What I like about the Savage Dragon is that it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. Erik Larsen is doing a comic book, and he never forgets that. It's not literature, it's not Watchmen, it's a comic book. It's fun entertainment, and that's all it needs to be.
This volume includes appearances by The Maxx, Spawn, Hellboy, Wildstar and others. The story is progressing naturally, and it does read like the continuing story of one hero's life, rather than snippets of his life told at different times which is how many comics come across.
What a huge body of work Erik Larsen has managed to create throughout his career. I once again have to give him credit for doing just what he said he would do: write and draw a comic starring a character he created and sticking with it.
What I like about the Savage Dragon is that it doesn't pretend to be more than it is. Erik Larsen is doing a comic book, and he never forgets that. It's not literature, it's not Watchmen, it's a comic book. It's fun entertainment, and that's all it needs to be.
This volume includes appearances by The Maxx, Spawn, Hellboy, Wildstar and others. The story is progressing naturally, and it does read like the continuing story of one hero's life, rather than snippets of his life told at different times which is how many comics come across.
What a huge body of work Erik Larsen has managed to create throughout his career. I once again have to give him credit for doing just what he said he would do: write and draw a comic starring a character he created and sticking with it.
January 24, 2023
I'm loving this, it just feels like a soap opera with superpowers and heart and I'm all here for it.
January 21, 2019
A really fun book from beginning to end. With Overlord now dead we see a lot more of the other villains, and a lot of new villains come along. Subplots are set up and paid off as things just really kick in to high gear. It's fun to read and see how Erik was just taking full advantage of not answering to an editor and just doing whatever the hell he wanted.
February 20, 2021
Horrendous.
If you thought that any of the below would be covered with sensitivity or class, you’d be entirely wrong (sexual assault, child loss, LGBT+ rights, mental health, portraying women as anything other than objects)
If you thought that any of the below would be covered with sensitivity or class, you’d be entirely wrong (sexual assault, child loss, LGBT+ rights, mental health, portraying women as anything other than objects)
October 1, 2020
You need to find 20 other comics to really be able to follow half the stories in this book. It branches off into so many crossovers the transitions are jarring.
January 6, 2024
I love this amazing storyline. It’s Pure Erik Larsen, and I love every page.
April 29, 2015
Más de una docena del Salvaje Dragón (con media jeta quemada) en la genial pero leeeeenta edición de Aleta & Cía.
October 19, 2016
More of the same with some unexpected crossovers, if you like the first volume you will like this.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews