It’s the 30th anniversary of Image Comics, and we’re going to continue on through my personal pull list. I’ve had some people approach me saying they felt these have been harsh in their judgment, so I need everyone to understand something. These books were my jam. This was my childhood. When these books came out I was effectively 13, I loved everything about them, and I was definitely here for them.

We just came out of June, and in July only one book came out from Image Comics. That was The Savage Dragon, a limited mini-series of three issues, and this was the first of those. It was amazing. It was intense. One of my favorite artists is Erik Larsen, for sure.

Style First, Substance Later

You have to understand these guys at the time. They were all style. Substance came later, and all of these books became, well, I don’t know about Youngblood. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But Spawn was amazing, and so was Savage Dragon. Over time they developed.

Savage Dragon eventually gets into its groove, and you’re going to see that as we go forward with this. Remember, a lot of these guys are old school comic book guys. Erik Larsen’s no slouch at old school comic book style storytelling, which is an ongoing, rolling story, and he gives you that.

So we start with the very first issue of The Savage Dragon, published by Malibu Comics in July of 1992. Dave Olbrich was the publisher, but Image Comics was the actual studio. Malibu was just printing the books for them at this point. This was before they went exclusively all their own deal, and that actually happens soon.

Baptism of Fire

We jump right into it. The first page is literally a splash page, with big stylized Chris Eliopoulos words: “Baptism of Fire.” And it’s in Chicago, so obviously it’s close to my heart. My wife and family come from Chicago.

It’s Savage Dragon attacking some dude who’s got this big giant honking knife in his hand, and then you get a double page spread. It’s a guy named Cutthroat, him and a girl whose name I can’t quite remember. I want to say it was Glowbug, or something equally silly. They’re in a bank, all kinds of people are bloodied, and of course Savage Dragon’s the one sitting there in that double page spread just whacking away, fighting this dude.

They fight back and forth, and it’s a very storied fight the way they did it. It was actually my first time seeing a lot of inverted panels, black instead of white on the outer edges, in the gutter if you will.

So this guy gets up and talks some crap to Savage Dragon. You hurt me, man. Give me one reason why I should let you take me in. And the next page is, “Because I say so.” And dude’s like, oh, that’s good enough.

Savage Dragon is the hero here, and he’s got blood all over him.

Before

Then we go into the past, and you get this first caption that says “Before.” It’s literally a full page, edge to edge, no panel. The whole page is the illustration, all the way up to the bleed, and it’s just Savage Dragon in the middle of an empty field surrounded by flames.

He wakes up in the hospital. Lieutenant Frank Darling is there, and he becomes something important later on, but right now he’s asking questions and Savage Dragon knows absolutely nothing. He’s trying to ask him personal questions. Where’d the fin come from? Where’d this happen? What’s going on? Dragon doesn’t remember anything. So finally Frank says, who’s the president of the United States? And Dragon says George Bush. Oh, hey, apparently you’re not a completely clean slate.

Meanwhile we go to a shot of a guy they call SuperPatriot. SuperPatriot is their version, I guess, of a really souped-up Captain America sort of guy. The tragedy is that he was assaulted and hurt and taken down, and as far as they’re concerned he’s essentially lost his life. Frank and his wife are talking while this story comes out, SuperPatriot’s in critical condition, and it’s, oh man, what are we going to do?

The Most Honest Thing I’d Seen in One of These Books

Savage Dragon was staying at a warehouse that Frank’s cousin or brother owns, I guess. Frank comes up and says, look man, we’re dying out there. These criminals are super powered and it’s rough. We need help.

And this is one of the most honest things that I’ve ever seen. Savage Dragon basically says, look man, I just woke up. I don’t know anything. I’m learning things new. I can’t deal with this pressure. And you’re kind of like, okay, well, that’s fair.

So Frank’s pissed off. He’s talking to his wife, and he can’t believe Dragon refused him. Frank’s just not happy.

I will say, sidebar, this is some of the better storytelling we’ve seen to this point. Erik Larsen knew how to spin a yarn, and I actually liked it. Corny dialogue sometimes and all, I really liked his storytelling. It accompanied the artwork in a way that I think brought it all together nicely. If Rob was all kinds of style, and Spawn was style and some substance, this was style and substance. I think it’s one of the reasons Savage Dragon has such a special place in my heart.

The Vicious Circle, and a Full Page of Boom

That night these Vicious Circle guys show up. I’m going to call them mutants. They’re super powered people, and they’re attacking Frank’s brother. Savage Dragon takes them out by himself. The dude’s going, what do you think you’re doing, blah blah, and Dragon says, yeah, thanks for the guidance counseling, pinhead, but your butt’s going to jail.

Because they tried to approach him. Dude, the super freaks like us, we run this town. You’ve got to join us. And he’s like, uh-uh, not doing it.

So Frank’s brother says, look man, I don’t know what you’re doing. They only wanted some money, and now all of a sudden my whole life’s ruined. Because they’re like the super powered mob, the super powered mafia.

And then the entire warehouse explodes. Oh yeah. It’s an epic, massive full page view, and it’s literally just the word “BOOM” filling the page. Then you go into the next few panels and it’s Dragon coming out of the fire yet again.

Suffice it to say, this is enough to push him over the edge.

Two Heroes Down on Dragon’s Watch

Compounding insult to injury, Frank’s watching TV at night all by himself, there’s a knock at the door, and on the TV you see a story about their version of Superman meets Shazam. He’s known as Mighty Man. There’s actually a history behind Mighty Man, which comes down the road.

You find out that Robert Berman, the guy who was Mighty Man, has died. I guess he got beat up as an old man, and he lacked the strength to put his wrists together, which is kind of his version of saying Shazam. He’s one of the world’s mightiest men, and he’s dead. So the world has lost not one but two superheroes so far on Dragon’s watch.

Dragon is up at Frank’s house, he’s butt naked, and he says, hey man, let’s do this thing. How fast can I go through training? I want to get on this.

Now, With a Badge

So we skip ahead to now again. Savage Dragon shows up, shades and all, armed to the teeth. He jumps like the Incredible Hulk and comes crashing through the roof of a building that’s got hostages and these biker gang guys, and he just makes short work of them. I mean, none of this is police work. He’s sitting there shooting them up, and they shoot him in the eye thinking, oh, we can get him. Come to find out he’s bulletproof everywhere.

This very Mary Jane Watson inspired looking character, straight out of Erik Larsen’s Spider-Man run, gets rescued. And amidst the rescue, some little ninja star looking things come shooting out and hit one of the guys in the arm. You see this guy with long hair, and I guess he’s inspired a little bit by Spider-Man in terms of how he moves. He kind of helps, and Savage Dragon’s like, yeah, you’re under arrest, pajama man. And he says, can the theatrics, friend, we’re fighting the same battle.

The guy’s name is Star, and he’s sort of a vigilante in Chicago. Savage Dragon’s not too happy about this, especially since the woman he saved is all about the other guy.

Then we get a press conference with Savage Dragon, and eventually it pulls back and you find out the Vicious Circle is watching. Someone akin to their Darth Vader, if you will, is watching, and it’s not a nice pretty scene. It’s going to be bad. That’s our first look at the head of the Vicious Circle, and at the Vicious Circle in general.

Why This Is the One

That was Savage Dragon number one, the mini-series, and this is what made me fall in love. It’s because of this book that I actually went back and got the others, to be honest. I didn’t get into Image Comics in April when Youngblood came out, though I did see it. I got into Image Comics when Savage Dragon came out, because I was like, oh, I want to keep up with all of these. That’s why I started buying and collecting them.

So there you go, now you know, and if knowing is half the battle, you are on your way to being the know-it-all I know you want to be.

Next up we deep dive into the next month, August of 1992, and in August you had quite a few books come out. First on the list is Spawn #3 and WildC.A.T.s #1.

Were you buying Image in the summer of 1992, and which book was the one that pulled you in? The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.