Savage Dragon #199 Review


For a series that’s bounced between so-so and okay (there’s a difference, trust me), Savage Dragon #199 needs to pull something out from under its sleeve if it wants to do something special in time for the 200th issue. So, what does it manage to acomplish, if anything?

The official description from Image:

COUNTDOWN TO ISSUE #200 REACHES ITS PENULTIMATE ISSUE! Malcolm Dragon tackles the deadly Demonoids! It’s an allout underworld war as the Lava Lords, Ant-Menaces, and Demonoids battle it out for world domination—and whoever wins—we lose!! The surface world is on fire and the son of the Savage Dragon is in over his head!

Savage Dragon_199This issue tries to be special, but on the way it runs out of steam. Savage Dragon #199 has some terrible pacing. The issue kicks off with last month’s developments and manages to wrap it up by the end. You simply can’t have a sense of scale, endangerment or fear if, like every other ‘monster of the week’, the threat is done and dealth with in the issue. It ruins any suspense and it comes across as a cheap shot, no matter how much the issue tries to convinve otherwise.

A large part of this problem lies in the writing. This issue consists of nothing but double splash-pages. This means there are less than 10 panels, technically, meaning it is read rather quickly. Sure, you could admire the details but it there really isn’t much in terms of dialogue or plot lines. I know Eric Larsen wants to do something special, but this isn’t it.

Similarly, the visuals are more or less the same, only with a bit more detail and all the attention splash pages can afford. I’m sure some people will learn it. The art style goes for a sense of scale, which  does work, I’ll admit. The main problem is many of the pages look like a Where’s Wally rather than a comic book. I could spend a while looking for various details here and there, but it doesn’t make up for a rather flat issue.

All in all, I admire the choice to make something different. However, if you cut too many corners and don’t bother to add depth or detail, you get something like this.

OUR RATING
5
  • + Big art panels
  • + Action, action, action!
  • - Plot suffers
  • - Too quick to read

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