Savage Dragon #194 Review


Savage Dragon 194 previewSavage Dragon #194 is pretty much what we’ve come to expect by now. Depending on your views on the series of late, that may be very good or very bad…

The official description from Image:

SAVAGE DRAGON: THE NEXT GENERATION!

Malcolm Dragon has big shoes to fill. His father saved the world on a few occasions and kept Chicago’s notorious criminal organization the Vicious Circle at bay for decades — can the younger Dragon hope to live up to the legacy of his famous father? Not if the new nemesis Torment has anything to say about it! With a benevolent voice in one ear and a sadistic one in the other, he may just be the most conflicted killer of them all, and Malcolm Dragon is the only one standing in the path of this fearsome new foe!

I think, on some levels, Savage Dragon is still trying to find its new identity, as Savage Dragon #194 is a perfect example of some of these issues. On one hand, there’s the whole aspect of Malcolm Dragon as a high school student with the responsibilities of being a superhero. It’s very similar to Spider-man in that regard, except it doesn’t match this with any decent villains. This issue is another ‘villain of the week’ issue that bluntly moves into a fight sequence and wraps most the action up by the end.

It’s this aspect that makes the issue feel dated. Erik Larsen understands his own work and this title does get to explore more of Malcolm’s character, but the superhero aspect needs more attention. This issue has Torment as the main villain; a little context and back story wouldn’t hurt here. Larsen more than easily gets the point across, but there’s very little reason as to why – the audience needs more than ‘this is the bad guy so the good guy is gonna punch him now okay?’.

Visually, this is the same old story. The art has a sketchy quality to it, although this issue opens to some larger panels that have room for detail. Combined with Nikos Koutsis’s colors and Mike Toris’s flats, the issue is very vibrant and designs such as Torment make the most of this style, so it’s nice to see the visual style work to its own benefit once in a while.

All in all, it’s probably not a bad read, but many of these issues are starting to feel the same. It’s certainly enjoyable, but wedged between similar issues it doesn’t offer anything unique.

OUR RATING
5.5
  • + Torment provides an interesting villain
  • + Good to see Malcolm at the centre of attention
  • - Feels repetitive
  • - Another fight over and done with in an issue

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