Savage Dragon/Hellboy: The Collected Edition

Hellboy: Non-Canonical

by Erik Larsen

The World's Greatest Super-Hero meets the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator. The entire epic collected in one handy volume. Fans of Mike Mignola's Hellboy will be delighted. When Dragon's arch foe starts to decompose, a spell is cast to draw the undead from around the globe to Chicago. With Hellboy in hot pursuit, an ape with an exposed brain commands the Christmas-colored couple to clobber each other. This one has it all! Vampires! Nazis! Big Mummies! Big action! Big laughs! And Dragon crawling out of a Big Monster's Big Butt. Pin-ups by Mike Mignola and Jae Lee.

Genres: Comic Book, Comics

52 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

As 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.

Reviews

[Rizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A harmless non-canon crossover with goofy 90's hero Savage Dragon. Is it the same quality as Mignola's work? Of course not. But it's decent mindless fun. I haven't read much (maybe any?) Savage Dragon, but thankfully this work is very standalone so you don't have to. I don't think this adds much to the Hellboy reading experience, but it's there if you want it. I do find the censored swearing rather amusing considering just how hilariously X-rated the Savage Dragon series would become later on. It's kind of quaint. Also, it's fun to see Erik Larsen try to mimic Mignola's style a bit when drawing Hellboy. He really sticks out from the other characters with those thick shadows, and while some people might complain about that, I think it's endearing when characters in crossovers look like they literally come from different visual worlds. And hey, we also got a Mignola cover with Dragon and Hellboy out of it, so that's neat at the very least.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good crossover, when Hellboy goes to the town patrolled by Officer Savage Dragon. This encapsulates Issue #34 and #35 of Savage Dragon. I had never heard of Savage Dragon before reading this and I must say he has some real power! Good enough to stand toe to toe with Hellboy. The Savage Dragon's main foe is summoning undead from around the globe to Chicago. We see Zombies, Vampires, A Giant Mummy! Hellboy in the past had tried to kill Hitler but his brain escaped and it is now plugged into Brainape, who mind controls both Hellboy and Savage Dragon to pummel each other. Hilarity ensues in this huge battle. I was half expecting the word balloons with "Bam" and "Kapow!" They end up eaten by a giant stone monster and meet skeleton pirates! Arr matey! The content is not high literature, but it is camp, fun, has loads of action and ends satisfactorily.

[Etain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that this is a 2 issue collected edition feels a little bit disingenuous. It's very clearly part of the savage dragon series and probably isn't the best starting point for wayward hellboy fans but I did very much enjoy it anyway. I even read #41 which has a hellboy cameo both for a sense of completion and because I genuinely enjoyed the art and writing.
Savage dragon seems to be getting the hardcover treatment at the moment so I might pick the first one up.

[Adam Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

[Абрахам Хосебр · Rating 3 out of 5]

Я думав, що почитав всі кросовери Хеллбоя, але помилився. Виявляється існує ось цей, хворий на всю голову треш-бастер, де Ун Рама бореться з Гітлером, потім з гіганською мавпою з мозком того ж Гітлера, потім з мумією, вампірами, гігантським морським монстром, скелетами-піратами в череві цього ж монстра і в кінці з мозком Гітлера котрий втікає з черепа мавпи.
Отакий от треш, але крім божевільного сюжету тут є ще й арт Ларсена, котрий він з усіх сил старається стилізувати під атмосферу Міньйоли.
Комікс не може похвалитись, ані ідеальним сюжетом, ані таким же малюнком, але читаючи його я вдосталь насміявся і згадав часи імеджівських перших коміксів, адже "Лютий Дракон" Ларсена почався в тіж часи коли й "Спаун", "Дикі коти" та "Ікс Фактор".. Ще окремої похвали заслуговує Франкенштейноподібний ліч Ларсена - крутезний дизайн.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute, goofy crossover, as two heroes come together and beat up some monsters.
Not terribly deep, but a fun time waster.

[Shawn Robare · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are aspects of this comic crossover I still love, but there’s this weird unspoken competition thing between the artists that bugs me. Adore Erik Larsen, but I can totally hear him saying that Dragon has to one-up Hellboy since it’s his book. Would have rather they teamed up instead of brawled so much, but that’s also kind of Larsen’s thing, especially with the Savage Dragon. Still chuckle at “Big Mummy”