One of my all time favorite comic books is Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen from Image Comics. One of the reasons why I love Savage Dragon so much is because over the runof the book for the past 15+ years, you can never predict what's going to come next. Larsen has created a comic book world for him to play in and weave stories that are action packed, funny, sad, deranged and awesome at the same time. Not only is it clearly a labor of love for Larsen, but it's also a love letter to comics and the comics medium that allows him to do what he likes within the pages.
That love of comics and all forms of comics is taking a step forward with a nod toward the alternative side of comics beginning this May. It was recently announced that each issue of Savage Dragon would be augmented by a backup story as part of an ongoing series of Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies.
Every issue will feature a back up by an indie/underground comix creator or team of creators. Very similar to the Strange Tales anthology from Marvel last year or Bizarro Comics from DC Comics, Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies will feature alternative takes on Savage Dragon and the vast cast of characters that Larsen has created.
The project has been organized and led by Michel Fiffe of the Act-I-Vate collective and has a year's worth of stories lined up. The list of creators involved is packed with up and comers and folks you should really check out their work. The schedule of their releases are as follows:
Issue 160 (May, ‘10) – Michel Fiffe
Issue 161 (June) – Andrew Dimitt
Issue 162 (July) – Kiel West
Issue 163 (Aug) – Vito Delsante & RachelFreire
Issue 164 (Sept) – Ulises Farinas
Issue 165 (Oct) – Chris Sinderson
Issue 166 (Nov) – Conor Hughes
Issue 167 (Dec) – Kat Roberts
Issue 168 (Jan, '11) – Hyeondo Park
Issue 169 (Feb) – Pedro Camargo
Issue 170 (Mar) – Jason Thibodeaux
Issue 171 (April) – Special Guests galore!
As a faithful reader of Savage Dragon in issues, I can't wait for this to start, but with so many creators lined up with 12 stories, you know this has the makings of a pretty sweet trade paperback in 2011; something to keep in mind for those into alternative comix but not reading Savage Dragon in issues.
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Well I’m buying it!
Seen the announcement already on the Larsen board. And I love it. This will make for some whacky stories.
Best book in comics just got even better. God bless him.
It’s been a while since I’ve gone out of my way to read the back-ups in SD but I am going to these a try!
Cool! This seems like a much better idea than the current back-up, which isn’t bad but I can’t read it because when I started getting the issues they were on part 8 or something like that and I had no idea what was going on.
Now that I think of it, I havent read SD in a long time. Is he still dating that cute blond who lives down the hall?
Larsen knows how to put together a darn fine funny-book! This will be AWESOME!
@marcushill73 the credit should go to Michel Fiffe, who pitched a zany idea to Larsen, who thankfully, went for it. It was a lot of fun to do the story we did (#163 in August, plug plug) and I think you guys are really going to flip for the whole run. There are some truly off the wall moments, all outside of continuity, so you can really pick the book up at any point and check it out.
I’d love it if someone said, "I’m only buying this for the back-up," but SD is a great book, so support both if you can!
Cool!
I just recently got back into Savage Dragon based on Image United, but like Neb I haven’t been reading all of the Ethrian back-up strips because I joined the story when it was already well underway so I was more than a little confused about what exactly was happening and who everyone was. (Plus the ones I did try to read were kinda muddy and boring, to be honest.)
However, this definitely sounds a lot more appealing to me!