While watching a great many things, post Phoenix Con, I have also begun reading some of the fucking amazing books I picked up while on my adventure. I did however FAIL to make any trades while at said convention. There will no doubt be Hardcore Reviews on some of those purchases as well. Although, I have yet to figure out how to write a review on an action figure. I mean I know I could, but other than just describing the sculpt and the amount of articulation. That would be a pretty short review. Although with my prevalent use of the English language and my constant use of foul language could beef up the body of work. However, today I am reviewing the compilation of the Savage Dragon's first 21 issues, plus it's 3 issue mini series.
Originally I purchased the second volume of Savage Dragon Archives a while ago from Bookmans a while back. When at Phoenix ComiCon, I swung by the Spazdog Comics booth. They had a ton of graphic novels. I got the book for dirt cheap. Almost immediately after getting home, I began reading the book. Wrought with harsh violence and Dragon constantly losing his clothes almost once per issue, Savage Dragon also features a lot of gratuitous T & A. In all actuality, the book, features the raw black and white line art of Erik Larsen, and I might say, almost as much fucking dialog as an Alan Moore graphic novel. For the love of god, I understand Larsen is a liberal thinker. You kind of have to be to be an artist who pretty much works for himself, but does Dragon have to spell out what tolerance is defined as, and why it needs to be achieved in a comic book that features all this near nudity and a giant naked green guy with a fin on his head punching the shit out of anything that moves? Since when did a massive brute suddenly become a philosopher? I get that we all have political and personal views on life, as I subliminally put them into my comic book as well. But does he have to be so freaking overt about it? And I mean, I once read a tip from Chuck Dixon that said if you can say in 12 words what you could also say in 24, go with 12. It's a comic, it's supposed to be visual. The pictures are supposed to tell the majority of the story. Otherwise it would be a novel.
The story is what you would expect with an early Image comic. Pretty much all flash and dash, not a lot of useless plot points or actual needless character development.
In all, it is what it is. Enjoyable for the mindless action fan. It's a Schwarzenegger movie. Massive budget for the biggest explosions, and a kindergarten vocabulary. Don't get me wrong, I dig a mindless action movie as much as the next person, but think about what every typical Bruce Willis, everything blows up and we all shout out the one liners together, if it had plot and heart like Leon. I know, it causes you to have to think and Zeus knows we hate thinking for ourselves when we watch the pretty pictures move by at 30 frames per second, and the millions dwindle away and your paycheck get eaten up with a fucking twelve dollar ticket price and another thirty bucks for a small popcorn and cola. We all need that escape from reality. For the longest time (until I grew up and realized not everything has to blow up and be monosyllabic to be entertaining) my favorite movie was Terminator 2: Judgment Day. And I still love shouting, "Get to da choppah!" in an Austrian accent at passing motorists as loud as possible without popping a lung. Mindlessness is a necessary evil in this day and age. And I have to say, getting 24 issues of mindless, Tom & Jerry like violence for the low cost of two movie tickets is pretty awesome.
Ole Fin-Head keeps getting into trouble. In fact I honestly wonder what costs more, the collateral damage (also a Schwarzenegger movie)to the city of Chicago or replacing Officer Dragon's uniforms every other page. The coupled with the introduction of woman after woman who has a thing for green skinned, 'roided out guys who forget to work out their legs. And each one of them is fucking needy as shit. I get that most of the time comic books are a reflection of their respective creators and their secret power trip ideals, but I seriously hope that Erik Larsen doesn't go looking for women who unabashedly throw themselves at him and have little self control or self esteem that they constantly need to be validated by fucking the object of their desires. Although, I wouldn't mind hooking up with either Kyle or Grrry in real life.... maybe. The whole addition of the shower scene to issue 17, that was omitted from a version of the individually released issue was good, but begs the question of how gaping is the space between Rapture's legs to be able to fit Dragon's Big Show sized hand? Jesus Christ almighty!
So, in summation, if massive destruction, completely necessary tits and ass, and fights by barely clothed insanely muscled "he men" is your thing. You should run, NOT WALK to your local comic book distributor (comic book shop) and pick up Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 1.
As for the grade of the book. As I was saying before, I did like this book, I just felt that Savage dragon had way to much obvious preaching about acceptance, for a book that refers to the super powered individuals as "freaks," and too many goddamn words, and some pretty horrid costumes (it was the early 90's after all). I give you one of the most bizarrely named gimmick matches ever, the "Raven's Clockwork Orange House of Fun" match. Which was basically just a way of saying there would be a bunch of fucking weapons hanging on a chain that surrounded the ring. The match of course being officiated by none other than one of the early pioneers of hardcore wrestling in America, Kevin "The Taskmaster" Sullivan, complete with painted on referee shirt and bow tie, and the word "VIOLENCE" scrawled across his chest. I know what you're thinking, "this is gonna be like Ric Flair versus Kerry Von Erich from the mid 80's." And as you may have figured, Raven versus the Sandman from the very early days of TNA Wrestling, was the continued classic series of matches the two had from ECW. Violent, bloody and complete with Sandman blasting Raven with a half empty twelve pack of Natty Light! The object of the match, other than bludgeoning your opponent to mush, was to was to eventually get them up to Raven's Nest and then toss them over the railing and through the mountain of tables. The culmination of the match was Scotty shooting Jim in the face with a fire extinguisher filled with chem powder and then tossing the drunk off the balcony and through like eleventeen some odd tables.
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