Erik Larsen Savage Dragon 244 Commentary: Powerhouse Returns!

This month’s issue of Savage Dragon features a throwdown with Powerhouse, the fan-favorite villain-turned-antihero whose head looks like a chicken’s and who, therefore, is one of the most visually distinctive characters in the world of Savage Dragon. Given how most of the characters in this series look, that’s saying something. Creator Erik Larsen has some fun in the issue with the idea that he knows Powerhouse is a fan-favorite, and in-story that is being exploited for attention and publicity for a pay-per-view fight to help bolster Malcolm’s income now that his reality show has been cancelled and he is a bit of a pariah following the events of recent months.

Along the way, Larsen builds a series of double page spreads that build on the Calvin and Hobbes homage from Savage Dragon #236. Larsen joined ComicBook.com go discuss the issue, which you can get today at comic book stores or on ComiXology. Obviously, spoilers ahead for the issue, so if you haven’t read it yet, buy one before reading.

For the first time in a while, this issue is a kind of “concept album,” visually. What inspired it?

I’d done an earlier issue with alternating spreads inspired by Calvin and Hobbes Sunday pages and I wanted to play around a bit more with that format but without trying to duplicate the panel configuration of specific Sunday strips. Years ago, on an Excalibur serial that I drew for Marvel Comic Presents, I did all-spreads and it was a lot of fun. I’d do a lot of double borders and such (which I used in Spider-Man as well) which was visually fun. The occasional circular borders harkens back to the Golden Age where that was a staple but it’s more Calvin and Hobbes here. In any case — not really trying to emulate Watterson this time out — just playing with the format a bit.

The conversation between Malcolm and Maxine early on is certainly one that is culturally relevant right now. What made you want to explore the idea of consent through the lens of a married couple with the alcohol variable?

There are so many other-worldly aspects of the book that I want to counter that with some realism to ground the book. If it’s all insanity it’s hard to relate in a way. This sort of thing brings it back down to Earth. And a lot of things just flow from where I took things earlier. Things build to a certain point and then it goes on from there.

Malcolm poo-poohs the idea of a porno tape, but it isn’t as if the Speed Racer DVD never existed, right?

Yeah, it did, but he doesn’t want that out there for public consumption and he can see how things are playing out with Maxine’s viral video and he doesn’t want to be part of anything like that.

At this point has Walden, with everything else failing around him, just kind of latched onto his relationship with the Dragons?

I would assume that he’s exploring whatever avenue he can to maintain his lavish lifestyle. If that means the Dragons—he’ll exploit the Dragons. If he has rehabilitate their reputation—he’ll push for a second shot at a reality TV show. And I would imagine he’s got other irons in the fire.

It has been a while since we saw Powerhouse. What made him the perfect character for the MMA fight?

His strength and reputation. He’d faced Malcolm’s father a couple of times and lived to tell the tale. Also he’s a more stable person than your typical superpowered guy. Having a real villain wouldn’t work for a variety of reasons and most heroes are either too weak or too strong. If he’s had Might Man fight Malcolm—well, one blow and Malcolm’s down for the count. Barbaric is another possibility, I suppose, but there aren’t a huge number of viable options.

I kind of love the very meta conversation between Malcolm, Maxine, and the publishers. Does Malcolm pay closer attention to the in-universe comic now that he is not working as consistently?

Both Malcolm and Maxine have conversations with the editor about their adventures. The idea is that their comic is akin to the 1940s Batman or many comic strips where there’s a pen name which is used but it’s actually written and drawn by any number of creators. Usually they have conversations by phone but there are occasional meet ups when Malcolm is visiting the publishers (as in #206) or when they come up to Toronto for a comic book convention (which would be the case here).

After a long absence, will Powerhouse, Flash Mercury, and company might be playing a bigger role coming up? Obviously it has been close to 100 issues since Flash “killed” Dragon and set a wild series of events into motion.

I do like them a whole lot but I don’t expect to have them settle down in Toronto. They travel around the globe dealing with menaces all over. The three are traveling superpowered bounty hunters that specialize in X-Files type monsters and whatnot.