REVIEW: Savage Dragon #175 – Plus a Preview!

Savage Dragon #175

Story & Art by Erik Larsen
Letters by Tom Orzechowski
Colors by Nikos Koutsis & Mike Toris

$3.99 – Image Comics

If there ever was one comic book being published the encompassed everything I’d expect from a comic book, it would be Savage Dragon. For nearly 20 years now, Erik Larsen has consistently published his creator owned book with an emphasis on fun and unpredictability. With the milestone issue of Savage Dragon #175, Larsen delivers yet again.

The thing I like the most about Savage Dragon, especially in it’s most recent tales is that you just never have any idea what’s coming next. Just when I was praising Larsen for resetting things back to a good jumping on point a couple of years ago, BOOM, he kills of the main character, Dragon. Like any comic book death, you wonder how “real” it was, and how long it would be until we saw Dragon’s return. But after a few issues, I thought to myself, “man, he really did kill off Dragon and replaced him with his son, Malcom! That’s CRAZY!” And that’s exactly one of the reasons why I love Savage Dragon. Because it’s such a crazy and fun ride, that you never quite know what’s coming next.

With Savage Dragon #175, Larsen delivers an expanded issue coming in at 48 pages. In addition to the main story, which I’ll get to in a moment, we’re treated to several back up stories to expand your enjoyment of the world of Savage Dragon. The main story though is what shines in this issue. Just when we get comfortable with the fact that Dragon is gone and now the book is focusing on his son, Malcom, Larsen reminds us that even though it seems crazy, he’s in control and this issue shifts to the depths of space, where we see that Dragon is very much alive! Now, I don’t want to go an ruin or spoil the hows and the whys of the story, but all I can say is that no other comic book writer can spin a story involving time travel, multiple realities and other out there concepts like Larsen does. In fact, in this issue, there’s a one page sequence where we learn how this all came to be, and I found myself laughing out loud hysterically at just how insane it all is, and yet it all makes perfect sense.

Artistically, Larsen is at the top of his game. As you can see below in the preview of the first 9 pages of Savage Dragon #175, his art has never looked better. Just look at that first page and the beautifully rendered close up of Dragon. Add in the enormous double page spread of the spaceship on pages 2 and 3 mixed in with some of the fantastic storytelling and action through the rest of the issue and you have one of the strongest issues of Savage Dragon in all of it’s 175 issue run. Larsen is able to tap into his well known appreciation of Kirby just enough to provide some amazing science fiction scenes, right down to the pulp-y outfits and blasters.

With this landmark issue, Larsen once again knocks us readers backwards, not knowing what to expect. He’s expertly crafted a world where anything can happen. You can’t help but to realize with this issue that he’s had the plan for this story for years and each issue has worked it’s way up to this point, and you have to respect that. With the cliffhanger end of Savage Dragon #175, I literally don’t know what to expect in issue #176 and the possibilities that I could think of have me excited for the next 175 issues. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’re looking for the outrageous, the fun and the kind of comics that comic books were made for, then you’ve gotta be reading Savage Dragon!