Savage Dragon #196 Review


Savage Dragon 196So, Savage Dragon #196 continues to believe in the title’s “bold new direction”. Although it has new elements, it hasn’t been convincing so far, so is this the issue to seal the deal?

The official description from Image comics:

SAVAGE DRAGON: THE NEXT GENERATION!

Strange things are going on in Chicago’s notorious Danger Zone. The poor and downtrodden are being mysteriously transformed into hideous freaks and Malcolm Dragon is being thrown into a situation beyond what he’s used to as he faces a horde of desperate killers with power to spare. Malcolm’s struggle to measure up to his famous father intensifies as he plunges into a new, dangerous adventure.

The bold new direction continues!

While this still feels like Savage Dragon, the “new direction” is a little more clear. From start to finish, this title focuses on Malcolm Dragon. The titular character doesn’t make an appearance and everything all links back to Malcolm, making for a very solid read through. No longer split between two protagonists, this new direction could be useful, although it isn’t as bold as it thinks it is.

At the end of the day, Erik Larsen is still overseeing his creation. While this is fantastic, it feels very Larsen. There are quick fights, bust ups and a little bit of drama squeezed in between the pages. That said, the action in this issue doesn’t feel as much of a throw away as it use to. In fact, it carries over onto the next issue and seems to come with consequences rather than a clean wipe next month: this might just be the biggest improvement within this issue.

Visually, the continued aesthetic does let this issue down. This isn’t a necessary comment against Mike Toris’ and Nikos Koutsis’ art style, but perhaps a new style would cement this idea of a new Savage Dragon? If they really want to break away then a change up in the visual treatment would do a great job of enforcing this.

Over all, fans of the series are going to love this, while new readers have something to climb aboard with. Only time will tell if the creative team keep this up or go back to their familiar habits.

OUR RATING
8
  • + A very Malcolm-central issue
  • + Action actually has a purpose
  • - Can they keep this up?
  • - art is repetitive at this point

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