Erik Larsen on 'Savage Dragon' #227 and Why He Decided to Send the Book to Canada
After an executive order made its hero persona non grata in the United States, Savage Dragon switches its locale to Canada in this week's issue, as Malcolm, Maxine, and the babies move to Toronto.
This week's issue, which hit the stands today, sees the family trying to get acclimated to the new country, and gives a tease for who some of the recurring characters might be in the new era of Dragon, which has been set in Chicago since it launched in 1992.
Series creator Erik Larsen joined ComicBook.com to discuss the book.
Spoilers ahead for Savage Dragon #227. If you haven't got a copy, you can pick it up at your local comic shop, or get a digital copy here.
What was at the heart of the decision to move Malcolm out of Chicago and off to Canada?
A number of things — mostly just wanting to remove the current political climate from the book. Things are so contentious and so divisive.
For the most part the last election pitted two very unlikable candidates against each other and no matter who won we were going to be looking at four years of gridlock and horror. Here's where setting things in a real world with real time comes back to bite me in the ass.
I also wanted something of a clean break following the death of Malcolm's father. I could start anew elsewhere. There's a lot of potential there.
Kevin and other members of the cast are remaining back home. Will we be checking in with Chicago periodically, or do you think that would send the wrong message about going back sooner than later?
Well, Kevin does show up at the end. Things have fallen apart for him back in the States so it's not necessarily a given that he's going home. I could imagine Maxine's mom migrating up there as well. Both for the sake of being near her daughter and grandchildren and to escape the reality of Chicago once Malcolm is removed from it.
In this issue, we do get a little discussion by Malcolm about how the executive order is "bullshit," but he still runs rather than stay and fight it. Any reason for that beyond just wanting a change of pace?
There's not a lot of fighting he can realistically do. That seems something for lawyers to challenge and tackle and likely they will do that behind the scenes. If his option now is being hurled into the void of Dimension-X or settle in Canada — that seems like a clear choice. One is clearly a better choice.
Would you say Jennifer's take-charge attitude here is reflective of the changes we saw teased in her backup recently?
I don't see that so much of a change in Jennifer. She's often leapt into action when she needed to.
The change I'm seeing more is the realization that she doesn't have to live for Dragon. She can exist without him. She doesn't need to play second fiddle to him. Finding her own place and her own voice is a big drive at this point.
Was there a reason you wanted to include Alex in the Dimension-X adventure? It seems like it could easily have been just a family trip.
She's the one that stands the most to gain here. She's the one Dragon ultimately chose so finding a way to bring him back is going to mean more to her than anybody. Plus, story-wise, it gave me all three characters who had all come to this earth through Dimension-X in one place. They're all from another world. So they have a lot in common.
Malcolm now has put voice to the "what's gotten into you lately?" that a lot of readers have been wondering since just before the Merging. Is that going to start becoming a source of tension?
At that age — I think you just hold on with both hands and enjoy the ride. At 20 you're not necessarily thinking it all through. You're more like, "Wait — you want to have sex all the time? Hell, me too! This is going to work out great for both of us." If she starts acting on things and straying then, sure, that's going to be a huge problem. If she just wants to have sex with him more often — I don't see him complaining.
Have they thought about babysitting issues yet? That has been a pretty recurring theme and something that has really contributed to Maxine's stress, and now there's no Dragon, no Kevin.
The kids are getting older. They're over two years old and they're not as out of control as they were. So—there's that. But also, Malcolm's not really working just yet so both parents are around. Where things settle remains to be seen. Mom and dad both need to be very cautious here as neither would be happy if the kids were to kill or maim a babysitter. And in a daycare situation — that's not ideal either. If kids are fighting over a toy, the Dragon kids will get that toy. There's no two ways about it.
Is the party -- either the apartment layout or the people -- based on anyone/any place in particular?
No. I didn't want to go down that route of sticking in friends and family. I didn't want readers searching for Waldo. Sometimes things like that can become a distraction as readers look for this and that. I drew much of it while sitting in a food court at a mall. I was just picking out different haircuts and clothes and assembling new characters. A few of these will become regulars over time.
Malcolm now has put voice to the "what's gotten into you lately?" that a lot of readers have been wondering since just before the Merging. Is that going to start becoming a source of tension?
At that age — I think you just hold on with both hands and enjoy the ride. At 20 you're not necessarily thinking it all through. You're more like, "Wait — you want to have sex all the time? Hell, me too! This is going to work out great for both of us." If she starts acting on things and straying then, sure, that's going to be a huge problem. If she just wants to have sex with him more often — I don't see him complaining.
Have they thought about babysitting issues yet? That has been a pretty recurring theme and something that has really contributed to Maxine's stress, and now there's no Dragon, no Kevin.
The kids are getting older. They're over two years old and they're not as out of control as they were. So—there's that. But also, Malcolm's not really working just yet so both parents are around. Where things settle remains to be seen. Mom and dad both need to be very cautious here as neither would be happy if the kids were to kill or maim a babysitter. And in a daycare situation — that's not ideal either. If kids are fighting over a toy, the Dragon kids will get that toy. There's no two ways about it.
No. I didn't want to go down that route of sticking in friends and family. I didn't want readers searching for Waldo. Sometimes things like that can become a distraction as readers look for this and that. I drew much of it while sitting in a food court at a mall. I was just picking out different haircuts and clothes and assembling new characters. A few of these will become regulars over time.
