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Savage Dragon Archives #3
Savage Dragon Archives, Vol. 3
The classic super-hero saga continues in this third gigantic volume chronicling the adventures of Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon Following a vicious battle with Chicago's notorious criminal organization, the Vicious Circle, the Dragon is dead... or is he? The mystery unfolds as the windy city's other heroes cope with the loss and try to fill the void. But who is this new fin-headed hero that appears whenever Chicago cop William Jonson disappears? And whose voice is he hearing in his head? Meanwhile, sinister plans are afoot as DarkLord begins to consolidate his power in an attempt to claim the Earth as his own!
616 pages, Paperback
First published January 21, 2014
10 people are currently reading
48 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 16, 2021
This period includes the coming of the Gods and the God Squad, Marcy, police officer She-Dragon and lots more in this continuously solid series. Erik Larsen strikes an unerring balance between homage and mockery of the Marvel and DC books with this delightfully convoluted yet surprisingly entertaining series. 7 out of 12
I read the comic books Savage Dragon #51-75
I read the comic books Savage Dragon #51-75
August 20, 2021
Savage Dragon Archives Volume 3 collects issues 51-75 of Savage Dragon.
My trip back in time to the early days of Savage Dragon and Image Comics continues. In this volume, Dragon's spirit is trapped in William Jonson's body, grows a new body, gets married, becomes a widower, gets a daughter, quits the SOS a couple times, and punches scores of bad guys.
Larsen's art evolves a bit more in this volume with less cross hatching and more confident lines. The storyline also keeps rocketing forward. There are no throwaway issues. Dragon and the gang are aging in real time here. Babies are born and lots of characters die or are depowered.
I've come to realize that Erik Larsen is the Image comics equivalent of Jack Kirby, both in the sheer number of characters he creates to the bombastic energy he brings to the table. It's a hard book to put down, as cliché as that may sound.
Savage Dragon Archives Volume 3 is a Bronze Age run in a Modern Age package. 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's spirit is trapped in William Jonson's body, grows a new body, gets married, becomes a widower, gets a daughter, quits the SOS a couple times, and punches scores of bad guys.
Larsen's art evolves a bit more in this volume with less cross hatching and more confident lines. The storyline also keeps rocketing forward. There are no throwaway issues. Dragon and the gang are aging in real time here. Babies are born and lots of characters die or are depowered.
I've come to realize that Erik Larsen is the Image comics equivalent of Jack Kirby, both in the sheer number of characters he creates to the bombastic energy he brings to the table. It's a hard book to put down, as cliché as that may sound.
Savage Dragon Archives Volume 3 is a Bronze Age run in a Modern Age package. Four out of five stars.
February 3, 2023
Just a huge soap opera with superpowers and I’m here for it; I didn’t realize I lived soap operas until I started reading this…
January 5, 2024
3.5 Stars
There's a lot going on in this series. If I wait a few months between volumes, it takes me a while to catch up. There's a lot of characters and there's big event after big event. That being said, this is still fun book (although it does get dark at times.)
The pacing is sometimes a little off, as you can turn a page and feel like you missed a few pages even when you haven't. But still, it's obvious this is a labor of love for Erik Larsen, and I have to respect that level of pure artistry.
This is about as "comic book" as comic books get.
There's a lot going on in this series. If I wait a few months between volumes, it takes me a while to catch up. There's a lot of characters and there's big event after big event. That being said, this is still fun book (although it does get dark at times.)
The pacing is sometimes a little off, as you can turn a page and feel like you missed a few pages even when you haven't. But still, it's obvious this is a labor of love for Erik Larsen, and I have to respect that level of pure artistry.
This is about as "comic book" as comic books get.
March 26, 2019
1.5. I'd always heard Savage Dragon was an off-the-wall strip about a Hulk type who doesn't want to be a superhero, just a regular cop. This collection from 1998 - 2000 has a few moments like that, but much like a later TPB I read, it feels like pointless riffs on established tropes or characters. Lots of Kirby cosmic stuff, knockoffs of the Avengers and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, a takeoff on Batman (he's funny) and all of Dragon's girlfriends constantly getting killed. It doesn't work taken straight, but it doesn't work as parody either (that would require being funny) and it doesn't comment on the genre anywhere near as effectively as Astro City.
November 10, 2017
You certainly can't complain that nothing happens in Erik Larsen's long-running title. If anything, the problem is that it happens too fast. Plotlines are raised and raced through with little time to breathe - the God Squad and Atlantis stuff in this volume are prime examples. Also, there's rather too much fridging of female characters for my tastes.
April 23, 2021
Another Savage Dragon done. Where I needed to read about 20 other comic titles to fill in the gaps on the main storyline.
August 11, 2025
An excellent continuation of superfreak / supercop Savage Dragon, and his battles against Chicago's criminal underworld, by the ever-impressive Erik Larsen. This archive collects 25 issues (50-75) - It's just a shame its B&W, not colour.
Excellent art and story throughout. Highly recommended!
Excellent art and story throughout. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews