Erik Larsen Talks Savage Dragon #265, the Fall of the Vicious Circle, and the Next Big Move

It has been a couple of weeks since Savage Dragon #265 hit stores, and the issue -- jam-packed with story -- likely took a lot of readers by surprise. It featured the fall of the Vicious Circle, marking the end of a threat that has endured since the earliest days of the comic. Fans also confirmed suspicions that Malcolm and Maxine would be moving from Toronto to San Francisco, returning to the United States for the first time in over 5 years and starting over again in a new city, with Malcolm set to join a super-team and be a bit more organized about how he approaches taking out villains. 

Along the way, the issue also saw the characters dealing with a traumatic loss, and had to deal with a cliffhanger from two issues ago that saw Jackson stranded on his own. That's a lot to go over, and series creator Erik Larsen joined ComicBook.com to break down the issue as usual.

You can check it out below -- but spoilers on! If you haven't read the issue yet, head on over to your local comic shop to pick up a copy, or snag a digital version on Amazon.

Man, Jackson really didn't learn any lessons from the Dragon strain of COVID, huh?

Jackson is a seven-year-old. Not everything sinks in at that age. He knew his blood could heal people--the rest didn't completely sink in. Had his blood revived Insect, shet may very well have exploded. Part of the cure other had gone through was getting injected with Freak Out and then their own blood, and he didn't have any of that tucked away in his swimming trunks.

Is it hard to balance the Paul stuff with the family stuff, especially when it's Paul's relationship stuff with Alex, rather than the superhero stuff?

It's been something of a juggling act. It's not always obvious how things can fold back in with the Malcolm family adventures. If there are too many characters going off in different directions it can be all over the place and unfocussed. It can get challenging at times.

It's been a while since the kids had a real focus-pulling story. Is part of the Jackson story here, just kind of helping to give him more characteristics that stand out from the pack? Obviously Amy tends to do well with that.

I'm trying to shine the spotlight on some of the others a bit. We don't really know the others very well. Amy has had her share in the spotlight and with her tiger friend Walter--she has something of an unfair advantage, but I thought it was time to give Jackson a turn. I'll be exploring the others as well as the series progresses.

I assume the decision to make Billy and Jackson's stories kind of run in opposite directions was an intentional one. Did you know when you separated Jackson from the family two issues ago that you were building to Billy's death?

A lot of things are done at the spur of the moment. I find it best to have some vague directions but to not nail down everything or you can end up where characters are acting out of character in order to propel the plot in the way you had planned. 

I found that working on various comics over the years. Writers would have their outlines and then they'd paint themselves into a corner and be forced to reveal some new power which was previously unrevealed or have somebody do something which was against their nature out of the necessities of the plot. With this, it wasn't extensive planning as the direction characters seemed to want to go in.

Obviously this isn't the first time we have seen the Vicious Circle fall -- but I do feel like you've done a pretty thorough job of slaughtering a bunch of them for the last year or so. Are you really planning on taking them off the table for a while?

They're not all dead but I thought--it was time to put an end to the Vicious Circle as an ongoing threat. They have been a presence in the book for 31 years and that's more than enough. They had a good run. And that's not to say individual members won't hold a grudge and seek Malcolm out but that notorious criminal organization has run its course. Also, it strained credibility to have them relocate again after I'd done it once.

The ending of the fight with Samurai seemed as abrupt to the audience as it did to Malcolm. Did we know what was going on under that mask, and I just forgot?

No, we'd never seen under her mask. But it seemed logical to assume is was there for a reason. It didn't seem too much of a stretch for it to be keeping her alive.

It kind of seemed like Paul and Alex were finding a common purpose by bringing Billy into the family. Will losing that moment weigh on them?

I would think so. At the same time, it was thrusted on them quite suddenly. It wasn't as though they had set out to become parents at their age. They're not kids, after all.

We know now that Malcolm is heading back to the USA. How will that news impact Paul and Alex, who are now even farther from their "grandkids?"

I would think that they might consider following them. There's nothing tying them to Toronto particularly. The only reason they were up there in the first place was the former president's alien ban. If Malcolm is moving back to the States, I would imagine they would consider doing the same, if not to where they're going to at least somewhere in the vicinity.

Also -- because I'm sure it will be a question fans are asking -- is the implication that Jackson is gay? And if so, will separating him from his new friend be something that Malcolm and Maxine have to deal with on the other side of the continent?

Jackson is a seven-year-old. There was nothing overtly sexual about his relationship with Parker. They had both been through something traumatic and they had become separated from their parents in the process. Jackson knew his way home, Parker didn't and so Jackson took him in. He was being protective. The only reason they were sleeping in the same bed is because it was the only bed that was available. Jackson knew his siblings would occupy the others. 

Time will tell, of course, what his preferences are but at this early stage, it's premature to draw any conclusions. Kids can form a bond quickly at that age. The two are already separated, really, because they don't attend the same school or live in close proximity to each other. Since Parker is his parents' only child, it's unlikely that they would encourage that relationship, whatever it might be, because of the potential danger it put their child in. Though, time will tell if they keep in touch.