Savage Dragon Ultimate Collection Vol. 1

Savage Dragon #1-8

by Erik Larsen

How’s this for a 30th anniversary spectacular?!! Image Comics is proud to present, for the first time ever, a MASSIVE
hardcover collecting the inaugural miniseries and first eight issues of the ERIK LARSEN’s groundbreaking SAVAGE DRAGON ongoing series, reprinted in glorious full color for the first time in decades, along with all the extras from the first two trade paperback volumes and even MORE on top of that!

SAVAGE DRAGON: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION, VOL. 1 is a can’t-miss for any burgeoning Fin-Addict looking for an easy way to start this long-running and influential series from the beginning. Also includes an introduction by ROBERT KIRKMAN!

Collects THE DRAGON #1-5 & SAVAGE DRAGON #1-8, plus LOADS of extras!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

440 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2022

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

[Meticulous Eyez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a gift to me from a good friend who is a huge fan of Savage Dragon; after hearing the hype for years I am happy to say that both this particular edition (Ultimate Collection, Vol 1) and the story live up to the legend.

At the time I picked up this volume of Savage Dragon I had come off a long run of reading 90s Batman stories - Knightfall / The Long Halloween / No Man's Land and so I was curious to see how Savage Dragon - another series hailing from the early 90s - would compare. Now Savage Dragon and Batman are as different as can be but from a pure artwork perspective Savage Dragon easily holds its own against the best of 90s Batman and from a story / writing perspective its setting, characters, and dialogue are both distinct and interesting.

Erik Larsen pulled off something truly special with Savage Dragon and because Larsen is the creator, writer, and artist the series maintains a level of consistency and excellence that I've come to see as the exception rather than the rule during my comic book reading journey. At the time I read this volume in early 2023 there was very little to "date" Savage Dragon's story and artwork outside of real-world events referenced in its settling and dialogue; I feel that it comes off as fresh and compelling as the best works in the medium being released today.

This Vol 1 of the Ultimate Collection represents a truly great reading experience - I own digital singles of Savage Dragon from a Humble Bundle Image Comics purchase and comparing the Ultimate Collection to digital issues on an iPad Pro 12.9" screen there really is no contest. Colors in the Ultimate Collection are rich, line art is crisp, and there was no evidence of low resolution "fuzz" that I have seen in a number of comic omnibus volumes from various publishers where the page content was clearly scanned and re-printed from masters of less than ideal quality. Gutter loss is not a significant problem but it is worth noting that it is present, as the "eye" of the binding for this hardcore volume is minimal. Erik Larsen is *very* generous with providing epic, detailed two-page spreads across each issue in this collection and the format of this deluxe hardcover volume really makes experiencing his artwork a joy.

Part of what I find compelling about Savage Dragon as a character is that he comes across as a relatively unassuming, good-hearted, modest individual who sticks to a strong moral compass as he navigates the wild setting of Super Freak-overrun Chicago that he is plopped into the middle of. Now in terms of his physical appearance, Savage Dragon is far from unassuming but how he interacts with the other characters of his world - from the "normal" to the colorful and bizarre - is a consistent contributor to the story's entertainment factor.

Savage Dragon possesses super-human strength, endurance, and durability and doesn't hesitate to leverage them in line with his beliefs but a theme that comes up across the thirteen issues in this volume is that the majority of what happens to him comes from folks actively seeking him out - whether it's heroes looking to team up with him (or even fight him in epic instances of mistaken intent), villains out for his blood, or women both normal and super-powered who are enamored with his apparent-to-everyone-but-himself sex appeal.

I often got the feeling that Savage Dragon just wants to be left alone in peace but the world seems determined to not let that pass and so the story is basically about him making the best of a crazy situation. Many of the stories in this volume involve Savage Dragon stumbling into extreme, unexpected beef with other super-powered individuals and gangs - he keeps on finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time but at least the ensuing fireworks are entertaining and very well composed + drawn. Compared to other super hero comics I have read thus far the fights in Savage Dragon actually get a significant number of pages and panels dedicated to them - I kept on finding myself comparing Savage Dragon to action-oriented japanese shonen manga (ex. Dragonball Z, One Punch Man, My Hero Academia) in that regard.

One aspect of Savage Dragon I really want to give props to is its cast of characters. SuperPatriot - a fallen super hero reborn as a killer cyborg - whose arms and legs are composed of bio-organic metal sinew that can reform itself into weapons or alien-like appendages at will was a standout to me in terms of "cool factor" and had me wishing for a modern animated adaption of the series. The many villains that Savage Dragon tangles with in this volume seem like they could hail from a circus of horrors while some of the more "traditional" among them - Savage Dragon's chief adversary Overlord comes to mind - still come across as ruthless, menacing, and supremely powerful. I also have to point out - with both amusement and appreciation - that Erik Larsen clearly enjoys drawing healthy, well-proportioned women with big hair and lots of sex appeal and finds entertaining ways to both work these bombshells into the story of Savage Dragon and even poke fun at the impracticality of their costumes and fighting tactics. Sharona Jackson aka "Rapture" - a dark skinned beauty who reminds me of Rogue from X-men - quickly became a favorite of mine as she is both tough and not at all afraid to let Savage Dragon know how she feels. I look forward to seeing more of Rapture in future issues of Savage Dragon and hope her character sticks around for a long time.

Final note - this ultimate collection volume includes a good amount of "extras" in the form of work-in-progress artwork and sketches, along with three "one-shot" stories that provide additional development of a number of the secondary characters in series. I wish that Image would included the letters written to (and often responses from) Erik Larsen in the single comic issues - as Marvel has done in a number of its hardcover omnibus collections - as many of the letters are quite entertaining and a good number of Larsen's responses add to the world-building of Savage Dragon and lend insight to his motivations and inspirations for the series' characters and setting but by no means is this omission a deal breaker.

This first volume of Savage Dragon: The Ultimate Collection gets my highest recommendation and I am both looking forward to purchasing Volume 2 when it releases later this year and enjoying the digital single issues I purchased from Humble Bundle during the way between releases of these deluxe hardcover editions. While it would be optimal if the whole series-to-date was available right now in this Ultimate Collection format as I feel it makes for an unbelievably good first-time reader experience, the artwork and story are so unique and entertaining that I am happy to purchase and revisit the content via The Ultimate Collection as each volume is released.

[Geekaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schnell getaktete 90er-Jahre Superheldenaction. Die Zeichnungen überzeugen noch immer und sind sehr dynamisch. Das Pacing ist stellenweise etwas holprig, was sich aber im Verlauf der Serie sicherlich noch einspielen kann. Für Fans von Invincible, die auch mit der 90er Epoche etwas anfangen können, zu empfehlen.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wacky as hell.

Savage Dragon is about a dragon lizard looking guy who joins the police officers to do some good. It flies by major storylines, with main side characters getting killed when introduced only a couple of issues prior. Friendships just HAPPEN out of nowhere within a few pages. And it's over the top art with every woman, big tits, small waist, and that's the 90's for you.

But it is charming. Through this first ultimate collection we get Dragon going head to head with multiple villains. It really isn't till the end we get the big bad, and it's a nice display that rage and anger can't compete with raw strength and this baddie does some real damage to our friend Dragon here.

The brutality of this volume can be shocking but does spice things up. I will say the love interest fall way way down, dialogue being cringe worthy to say the least. But the friendships and overall tone is fun and fast paced. Overall if want to experience the 90's, check this out.

A 3 out of 5.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying if you have never read the Savage Dragon, read it at any point in the series thus far, love comics, like comics, love super hero books, just like super hero books...look no further because this book is a MUST BUY! I wasn't done reading it and knew without a shadow of a doubt it needed a 5 star rating. This is the greatest edition of the first issues that can be bought and enjoyed. I found myself realizing just how good it was/is because the book has aged well and feels just as good if not better then a lot of books on the shelves today. I love the little things like no thought bubbles for Dragon so you don't know what he is thinking unless he says it. I love the twists and turns, the deaths and sudden changes. Every issue is gripping and the art and story are top notch! What may have simply been jaw-dropping in and of itself is the indepth details after the issues of sketches, thumbnails and thoughts....this totally took a top tier book and sent it over the edge in AMAZINGNESS! I believe it will be tough to beat this book out as my book of the year! Story is based on a green skinned creature/man waking up in a ball of fire in a parking lot. Different things occur and he joins the Chicago police force. From there....it stays busy and heart pounding as a ton of characters are introduced and adventures occur. Even the TMNT appear in this book. Cameos by other Image Comics characters (Spawn, Bedrock, etc.) this is must buy, must read, must discuss with your friends type of book.

[Nick Pratt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Must have skated by on the art 30 years ago because there is almost no plot to speak of in the entire collection. I guess if I was an edgy 14 year old I might be satisfied with big action scenes and scantily drawn women. But I’m not, and haven’t been for a long time. I hated this and I wouldn’t read another volume if you paid me to. Characters have zero motivation and are thinner than tissue paper. Dragon has bare bones personality, yet every female character wants to jump him within 5 mins of meeting him. His origin story is as follows: He wakes up in a hospital. That’s it. Seriously. I just read hundreds of pages of this comic and we’ve learned nothing more than that about him. We don’t know a thing about his past, how he turned out this way or even his name. I do not understand the other gushing reviews here. Maybe it’s nostalgia? They read like Larsen’s kids write them. Take with an entire salt mine. I could go on, but I’d rather just forget about this and move on to reading something worthwhile.

[Sebastian Lauterbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was rough.

It started off strong, Dragon has amnesia, joins the police and we can start the superhero action from there.

However the book is not interested in a coherent plot, but throws (and name drops) characters left & right, who only appear for a few panels. Scenes shift unnaturally fast, making the reading experience very uneven. For example: there's a plot line which adds a squad of heroes to the police, which feels incredibly rushed, as these characters are barely introduced. And after just a few fights the squad disassembles.

The artwork is typical 90s style but it doesn't hold a candle to the artwork of Spawn unfortunately.

There is some fun to be had here and I will continue with the next volume, but I hope this book will improve.

[Enthid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot to like here, but I was hoping for better. The storytelling is frenetic, with whimsical villains sometimes introduced, thwarted, and carted away all within the span of a single page. The character development is subtle (nonexistent?) and told almost exclusively through inference. Action sequences remind me of Ryan Ottley in that a whole bunch of something is definitely happening, but you have to scrutinize the panels to figure out who hit who, who jumped what way, and generally what the hell is going on.

The depictions of women are...unfortunate. It's not enough to say "this is how it was in the 90s." Female NPCs are desperate to sleep with Dragon (in one case, quite literally). Female heroes and villains are absurdly hypersexualized. It made me feel like it must have been a joke, with Larsen depicting these busty, tiny-waisted, scantily clad, one-dimensional women as a send up. Sadly, I think the characters are nothing more than the pubescent fantasies they were intended to be.

Still, it's a fun ride. This is high-camp, a world where villains are uncomplicated, evil sadists and famed heroes are derpy, egocentric tight-wearers. Dragon is a foil to both groups. He's a man without a past, confronted with seemingly endless traumas that never seem to shake his resolve. He eschews the trappings of superheroism, getting down in the trenches with local law enforcement, and taking on a deluge of baddies simply because no one else can.

I'm hoping that the next volume will start to do a little more with character and will dial back the pacing a bit.

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic is 90s as hell, which I love. Your mileage will vary. But this IS what comics were in the 90s, for the most part.

It was a time of indie(ish) books, creator-owned stuff becoming a bigger deal, women with giant jugs, dudes with hairy forearms as thick as your thigh, and a sprinkling of crossover bullshit that was wholly unnecessary, but twas the style at the time.

I mean, it's kind of like ME in the 90s: Stupid, but in the best way.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Savage Dragon is a super hero cop with a ton of 90's style. This series is full of action a little light on story. There are a ton of characters to meet and a few cool cameos from other series (my favorite was the T.M.N.T story). I was lucky to have bought my collection at a fanexpo from Erik Larsen and got his signature and a drawing of The Dragon.

[Sergio Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nivel visual está bien aunque se notan a veces las páginas añadidas. En el tema argumental la cosa empeora y mucho: no hay estructura narrativa clara, lanza ideas como churros sin desarrollo, todo es "pim pam y palante". Respecto a la edición, horrible que las portadas no vayan en su lugar y no aparezcan los créditos de cada número.

[Aidan Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool!! I decided to pick this up because at the end of Invincible, Kirkman sang its praises so I decided to check it out and it’s a really solid start. May pick the next one up sometime soon but I may burn through some other books first. Fun read though

[Noah Satern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erik Larsen is good at comics