Erik Larsen Talks Savage Dragon #204, Malcolm's Super-Fertility Powers and As-It-Happens Plotting

Today's issue of Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon has been generating a fair deal of comment online -- [...]

By Russ Burlingame

SD204 00LOGO

Today's issue of Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon has been generating a fair deal of comment online -- but here's where Larsen himself gets to have his say.

The issue saw a few major revelations about the characters' future, as well as a trip to see Avengers: Age of Ultron.

What did Malcolm think of the movie? Who else is pregnant this month? Larsen joined us to talk about it.

Of course, remember that these commentary track-style interviews are spoiler-heavy. If you haven't yet read Savage Dragon #204, go buy one and read along with us.

I was kind of wondering with all the pregnancy going on whether you were going to have a serious conversation about abortion in here. Is there a danger that if Malcolm convinces someone to terminate, and then it turns out to be the Chosen One, there's no more Chosen One seed?

Just to clarify, ANY child which springs from Malcolm's loins in a "Chosen One." There are no other possibilities. Traditionally, with Dragon's race the "Chosen One" mates only once and the mother of the child dies when the child bursts out of her. Emperor Kurr (being the evil bastard that he was) mated more than once and killed each woman during the mating process so that he would have no heirs and the mating rituals could continue indefinitely. Had he followed tradition, there would be one child only. All "Chosen Ones" (thus far) are male. There have been no female "Chosen Ones".

So, while an abortion might take the life of a "chosen one" there's no danger that there would be no other "chosen ones". It's not a crap shoot. Any and all offspring will have superpowers.

That said, is it overly mean that I kind of hope the Li'l Chosen One kicks its way through Tierra?

At this point I think they all wish that would happen.

I like that you've got a Walter Payton High School here. Is their school mascot the Sweetness?

Actually, Walter Payton High School is a real Chicago area high school. Malcolm currently attends Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, by the way, and when I draw his school building it's based on the actual school.

chicago-area-high-schools

What does Kill-Cat's shirt say?

"This girl has Bieber fever". Always a trend follower, Kill-Cat is dressing the part of a hipster douchebag, complete with a man-bun, cuffed jeans, and plaid shirt over a shitty, ironic T-shirt. Shitty, ironic T-shirts don't get much shittier or more ironic than "This girl has Bieber fever".

This party scene kind of feels like it's establishing a supporting cast for the post-high school Malcolm. Is that a fair assessment?

Mostly it's touching base with old friends. There are no new characters with speaking parts at the party. And once Malcolm is a Chicago police officer there are likely to be a lot more of those in his life.

Fair to say we haven't seen the last of Angel and Frank, Jr.?

Yeah.

SD204-11-65931

I think a lot of people saw that cover and assumed that the Malcolm/Angel fight was Speed Racer-related. Did that help you preserve the surprise of the pregnancy a little, you think?

I don't know what anybody is thinking going into these things.

Also, it's curious that Maxine didn't test herself yet, or at least hasn't that we know of, and that's what they're telling Angel to do, isn't it?

I need to save something for #205!

There's an awful lot of blood flying around these days, with Neutron Bob now the most recent person to restore his powers via transfusion (or at least considering it). Is that something that is going to start catching the attention of people who might not like it? It seems like that's potentially a story to be told.

The idea is to continuously have a number of potential story threads on hand. The "magic blood" thing has been well established with Dragon's blood having transformed other people and people being able to restore their powers. We even used this in the Savage Dragon cartoon, years ago. The trick is to not beat any of these things to death but this goes hand-in-hand with the Melvin Bellco stuff already in motion. I think it only gets to be a problem if you start bringing back the dead or violating the rules you set up.

We talked a bit about Malcolm and Angel heading right into law enforcement rather than college. Is that planting seeds for something Malcolm will deal with down the line, or did you just feel like you needed to address that OF COURSE that would be a conversation?

Sometimes I just like to plant seeds and see what grows. In any kind of real world this kind of conversation would have taken place when Malcolm was a junior (having seen this firsthand with my own son a few years ago) but it feels right here. Having that conversation a year ago, while realistic, doesn't underscore the immediacy of his impending graduation.

SD204-09-6411a

What went into the decision to make Age of Ultron the movie here? Is part of it just that you don't have to worry about dating the book at all because of the real time element?

I like using real movies and real events to firmly establish dates for when scenes take place. Since the book is set in real time I have no problem dating scenes. I actually try to do that. I like having touching points that you can look back at and say, "Hey, remember when that movie came out?" or "Remember when people had mullets?" or "Remember when hipster douchebags rocked the man-bun?"

You way downplayed the sister angle, and said that you weren't sure that Angel would join the party, in #200. Is all of this something that just spun out of that or were you playing with us a little?

Yeah. Most of this stuff is very much as-it-happens plotting. I have big, sweeping overall directions mapped out and in mind but there are a lot of smaller stories to tell within that framework. And part of my ability to surprise readers comes from not having everything nailed down. I don't necessarily know where all of this will go and that's a good thing. Characters come first--not plot. And those directions should come from them.

Is there a real chance that Angel is really having Daredevil's baby? It seems like that would be a big coincidence in terms of timing.

Angel seemed to think it was possible.

"How come you get a comic book and I don't?" feels like meta-commentary. Is there demand for some solo Angel stories? I know you briefly considered having her as the lead.

Not really, no. But I've established that there is a Savage Dragon comic book in this world and I like to mention it from time to time. Presumably it's not entirely like the one we have in our world. Otherwise all that sweating about people finding out about characters sleeping with each other would be moot.

Also, I have to say I agree with Frank. Movie Iron Man is a dick and probably needs to be charged with something.

Not sure what that specific charge might be.

I do like that they immediately realize who/what is behind the break-in.

It has been on their minds of late with all of the pregnancy talk so I figured it wasn't a huge stretch.

Trending Now: