Broken Frontier

Forever unpredictable, Erik Larsen’s staunchly self-determining series spins a tale of devastating, desperate action and points towards a grim future for our hero.

Over the years, the Savage Dragon series has gone through a number of metamorphoses, repeatedly instilling true and lasting change upon its protagonist (as was a prime stipulation set forth by Larsen from the book’s inception). Dragon has been married, seen his wife die, been cast into an alternate reality, freed this reality from world-wide alien subjugation, had his old reality irrevocably destroyed, been remarried to the alternate reality version of his old reality’s wife, and – most recently – even been elected President of the United States (and these are just the highlights). In this most recent issue, an unstoppable automaton has been sent by Iraq to pummel the U.S. into submission. Dragon, after deciding not to accept the popular vote for himself as president, and with his strength and regenerative ability fading from the villain Negate’s touch, steps up to the plate for an issue-length slugfest that ends with disastrous results. Mix in the half-dozen subplots that seem to be reaching their respective climaxes and it seems that this series is once more about to undergo a substantial transformation. I would also like to point out the back-up feature by Larsen and Frank Fosco in this issue as it reveals the origin of Powerhouse, the literally chicken-headed superman – perhaps the most original, distinctively designed character in the history of the series!

It’s an anomalous sort of irony that all the justly hair-pulling aspects of corporate-owned comics run rampant within Savage Dragon, though these just happen to translate into the creator-owned series’ most alluring traits. Larsen’s absolute refusal to bow to suggestive pressure – peer, professional, and fan alike – allows him to put out an outwardly erratic, whimsical romp of a book. It flows from Kirby-esque action to talking-heads dialogue; from family-fun adventure to terrible, blood-soaked horror; from superheroics to drama to comedy and back again without any apparent outline or perceived storytelling strategy. Spin-offs and crossovers come and go, as do major events and turning points and other corporate synonyms for we-need-better-sales. But with SD, there is never any feeling of these stories being forced – nothing feels premature and the stories never, ever are suspect of compromising their quality for market-related concerns. The story flows with what the artist wants to do, not what others feel he should do, and Larsen is a talented enough writer to keep the ebb and flow of his story moving with faultless panache.

The artwork is equally as variable, though never poor. Larsen constantly experiments with layouts and line work so that the visual aesthetic within any given issue always matches its represented subject. In past issues techniques have ranged from Calvin and Hobbes cartoon nostalgia to dense, heavy Sin City noir, but the reading experience is always thrilling in the classic sense of the term, and fits the yarn like a skin-tight bodice. Lately, ever since Dragon had settled into his new reality with his new wife, the stories have been light and the art fanciful, almost a caricature of Larsen’s past styles. But with each successive issue the visuals have gotten scratchier, thicker, blacker, and this has portended the harsh turn of events that have recently occurred.

There’s an overload of things to lap up and enjoy within Savage Dragon and it isn’t necessary to wait for a jumping-on point to begin. The series is currently at #123, and so yes, there is an intimidating amount of history behind it, but again, the rules of the Big Two don’t apply here. Larsen always writes to where knowledge of past continuity isn’t necessary (and in fact such ignorance sometimes even enhances the sheer wild lunacy of the thing!). It is a vastly different reading experience even though it feels like it shouldn’t be (it feels classic, archetypical), and this can be the one major hurdle to jump before becoming agreeable to the series’ premise. Still, surrounded by major events on all sides of the corporate divide, perhaps hopping on board before the next truly unalterable event in Dragon’s life takes place will hit the spot just right.