Erik Larsen Talks The Bloody, Eventful Savage Dragon #263

By Russ Burlingame

It has been a while since Erik Larsen released a new issue of Savage Dragon, but things appear to be back on track, with another issue solicited soon. The story, which sees Malcolm and Maxine take a trip to the beach -- only to find themselves face to face with the newer, more deranged version of Mako -- hit the stands today. A bloody standoff with Mako is mixed with some family drama...and a new chapter in the story of Billy Summers, who has been floating around since the death of his de facto guardian, Insect.

Billy, if you remember, is the son of Dart II (the former leader of the Vicious Circle) and Battle Dragon. The new Mako is Benedict Milhous, formerly The Executioner, and so he's someone who is less driven by the necessity that drove Lou Drumm as a Freak who couldn't "pass" as normal. Executioner has always been pretty unhinged even as a more human-looking guy.

Larsen joined ComicBook.com to talk about the issue, and look forward to what's next. This is a spoiler-filled conversation, so if you haven't already, you should run out and grab it at your local comic shop, or snag a digital copy at ComiXology or other digital comics retailers.

We have talked a lot about your desire to take the "blood cure" off the table a bit. Is tying it to Covid a way to really be sure that it's functionally gone for the time being?

Because it has worked in the past-I would think there would always be the temptation to use it in the future, but going forward there will be the nagging concern of what might happen. Now that we know the potential risks, that's always going to be there. So, even if it's somebody you know and love, they're risking the possible end of the species, so at the very least-they had better be very much isolated and away from anybody else.

And man, Maxine...harsh! I'm not sure if "explode into a bloody pulp...like your poor dad" is a sentence any person ever needs to hear.

Do keep in mind that Dragon died in July, 2017, so it's been five years for them. It's not recent. The wounds aren't as fresh as they might seem. And not to go on too much about how the sausage is made-this was important information to remind readers of early on so that they have context for what comes later. I am constantly keeping in mind that every issue is some reader's first issue, so I can't count on those readers knowing anything and a reminder for current readers is always a good idea.

If Malcolm were to relocate, does California help you avoid all the research that went into the Toronto move?

Sure, but that's no reason to do anything. The only reason to make a move like that would be for story potential. At this point we've spent years in Canada. Maddy was conceived and born there--and she's a four-year-old. It's not as though having them move would save me any time. But it would open up some possible new storylines.

As a writer, do you do things like introducing some personality into that couple Mako eats to establish stakes? Or does it just entertain you?

I think it helps to like the victims. Otherwise the readers feel nothing. They don't know these guys-why should they care? But if you're finding out-hey, that girl is concerned about that kid's safety-she's got a heart-or hey, that couple have things happening in their lives-then that loss can mean something to them.

I didn't really think, until the beach scene happened, how rarely we get to see the Dragon kids being kids. How do you balance what keeps the narrative moving, with making sure people realize these kids are not being raised as super-weapons?

I do try to stick in things like this, but too often I'm pressed for space. The clock is always running down. There's also the redundancy of it all. Once you've seen the kids climbing on the monkey bars-what's to be gained by showing them climbing on the monkey bars again? If the book depicts the mind numbing monotony of human existence-that's no fun for anybody. So I keep trying to find new situations and locations so we can get some variety.

I couldn't tell from context -- is Riley dead, or might we see her come back down the line with one leg?

The thought was that they fished her out and grabbed her leg and got her in an ambulance pretty quickly. Realistically, she would likely be dead but I'd like to think they could reattach that limb and she'd eventually be fine.

Does having a crowded beach make it harder for Malcolm to use his lightning powers? I didn't htink of it until the middle of the fight but he theoretically could have fried people a lot more easily than he could hurt Mako.

Certainly in the water that would be a big concern. He'd be endangering everybody if he cut loose there. But once he was out of the water-it would've been fine. The thing is-it takes a lot out of him. So, while it may hurt Mako, if it doesn't kill him-it's going to drain Malcolm. And that's going to make him more vulnerable. Malcolm has previously tried to fry Mako and it didn't knock him out-so it might not have been his best option in any case.

What went into the decision to get rid of Mako? Obviously everyone dies eventually in DRAGON, but creating a new one and then killing hm off right away seems unusual for you.

A few things went into that-first, it felt like I was just treading old ground, going through the same paces with this new Mako. I have revived characters in the past and I've mostly regretted it. Visually, he's a pain in the ass because he looks ridiculous from all but a few angles. And mostly, I had brought him back because of the very Mako-looking shark man in the new Suicide Squad movie, which was a silly reason to do anything. I wanted to remind people that I did it first, but that movie wasn't a resounding success, which left me with even less of a reason to keep him around. The longterm prospect seemed to be that he'd do the same shit over and over, and I didn't see any point in that. He wasn't a character with a lot of depth or potential.

With a Paul issue next month, will we have to wait a while to find out what's happened with Jackson? This is the first time in a while one of the kids has really felt like they were in jeopardy.

Yeah, #264 is a complete and utter departure. Malcolm and family don't appear at all-it's purely Paul's backstory. But we'll get back to Jackson in #265. I won't leave readers hanging forever.

It was inevitable I guess that Billy would end up with the family. Is Malcolm kind of ideal to raise somebody who has been through so much as a kid?

We'll see. Given that he has four kids of him own to deal with, I'm not sure that they'd be in any hurry to welcome another member to their family, but we'll see where this all leads after the Paul Dragon interlude.  

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