Erik Larsen on Savage Dragon #267’s Shock Ending and What’s Next

Angel Murphy — the adoptive daughter of Dragon and sister of Malcolm Dragon — got hitched in today’s issue of Savage Dragon, and as you might expect, it was a weird one. Thirty years on from the release of Savage Dragon #1, Erik Larsen released a 100-page giant that not just marries off one of the book’s major heroes, but also provides a pretty clear path forward for the next year or so of the title, from the perspective of a shocking twist that marks one of the most appalling things a Savage Dragon villain has done in recent memory.

The issue also has a handful of backup stories — some by Larsen, some not — but we haven’t tackled those in our “commentary track” style column, because none of them are especially relevant to the current ongoing story, and the ones Larsen was directly involved with are reprints of decades-old Megaton stories.

Spoilers ahead for Savage Dragon #267. If you haven’t read it yet, you can pick up a copy at your local comic shop, or snag a digital copy here to read along with us.

Obviously I recognize a lot of the scenes and events from the opening montage of Frank and Angel’s relationship. How much of that involved research, looking back at specific issues, etc., versus how much did you go from memory?

Mostly I was looking stuff up and looking for holes where I could fit things. There was a stretch around Savage Dragon #144 where Dragon, Malcolm and Angeles were living under one roof that I could squeeze in the opening sequence. That wasn’t based on anything but I thought it was important to shoehorn in Angel and Frank relationship early on. Angel and Frank did have something over a relationship earlier than that, but that was all pre-75, which put it in previous reality/parallel universe.

What was the balance of which scenes had to be included because they informed the past, and which scenes were included to suggest something about the future?

It was a bit of each, and I had to pick and choose after looking over the various issues. There are a couple pages which are re-created from earlier issues in the mix, and some of it were panels which had to have taken place in between other panels. But mostly, I wanted to touch on all of the major events in their lives together.

It’s always nice to see Dragon. Was including him in the opening inspired by the “30th anniversary” angle, or would have have snuck into the wedding either way?

That was purely because of the 30th anniversary celebration. I wanted to work Dragon senior into the anniversary issue. I usually try to find someplace to work in an appearance by the big guy in all of the major issues. He’s gone but not forgotten.

This issue reminds me that things have been fairly subdued on the sexcapades side of things for a while. Was that by design, or just a result of all the other stuff you were trying to get through?

Yeah, too much of that stuff just seems gratuitous. Mostly that stuff is for laughs but if I don’t have anything funny visually in mind, I certainly don’t think it’s necessary. It can get redundant and I’d rather not be doing the same thing over and over again.

On the note of looking back to particular moments, how long has Glum been in the driver’s seat? Was it when Frank said “I’m good, I’m good,” or has this been going on for a while?

Glum took over when Frank got a headache. That was the indication that there was a switch. And that’s why it was followed up pretty immediately with Frank in Glum’s body back in Dimension-X. We can tell from that scene that this is a new situation for Frank. he’s never been there before.

Did you have any concerns at all about putting Angel in a position where she is, for all intents and purposes, raped?

Angel is superpowered and Frank/Glum isn’t, so it’s a bit weird to define just what that was. Certainly he can’t force himself on her. She could break him in half, but she has definitely been manipulated and taken advantage of. I guess it is technically rape but then–Glum is a villain, so it’s not outside of something that a villain would do. I do kind of struggle with calling it that because she is a willing participant. It’s more akin to someone talking a woman into sleeping with them under false pretenses. 

This kind of feels like an endgame run for Glum. How long have you been planning this particular story for him?

These all come together as I go along. When Glum last appeared, I knew he’d be coming back eventually, but I wasn’t sure just how that would happen at the time. Ideas kind of gestate and form over time. Much of the time I’m just setting rakes on the lawn and seeing which ones the characters step on. I’ll have the germ of an idea but often it’s a little more than that.

Is it safe to assume that, as a result of this, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Angel in the main story in the near future?

Oh, sure. Angel is part of SOS West, which is the government super team that Malcolm is putting together on the West Coast. That group comes together officially in Savage Dragon #269. 

“Clone Angel” at the end has what looks to be the same dress on from the cover of Savage Dragon #104. Is that a nod to the wedding story, or just a case of the Kid Angel being in her default outfit?

It’s her “costume.” And Angel isn’t a “clone” exactly, but an alternate version of the same girl from another reality. Glum didn’t make her after all he tore her from her mother’s womb after he cut her open. She’s wearing the same outfit that she was wearing when Glum first met her. He wanted to recreate her in his own sick way. 

Will #275 be another big anniversary issue, or is this one kind of standing in for that?

We’ll see how much steam I have left at that point. These things are a lot of work. In any case I’m not sure that #275 is really an “event” to celebrate. Who does that? Knowing me it’s likely to be another fat issue though not necessarily another 100-page issue. 
In terms of the backups — obviously you have been remastering and reissuing Megaton stories for a while, but the prevalence of

Vanguard here makes me wonder if he has a big role to play coming up, too. Any plans?

Not from me. I tend to think of Vanguard as being Gary Carlson’s character more than he is mine. I don’t particularly have any more stories to tell with the guy, but I would always be up for reading more of his adventures if Gary had something to say. Vanguard’s future is in his hands.