Alex A Sanchez
02-26-2009, 02:43 AM
Okay, I LOVE reading the latest issue of X-Factor or Uncanny X-Men and then rushing over to the X-forum to discuss the issue in a spoiler thread. I also feel that creating a specific spoiler thread drives up interest in the book and give people on the fence a chance to catch up on what is happening in the book, giving them incentive to begin purchasing it. Seeing as how a FREE jumping on issue is coming out in a few months, I want to start doing spoiler/review threads for THIS book.
SUMMERY: The issue opens with Lt. Frank Darling visiting The Freak Outpost (a bar seen in older issues of Savage Dragon where seedy freaks and villains get drunk) hoping to find Dragon. Sure enough, when he gets there Dragon is beating down a ton of freaks (Dragon has been a bounty hunter and he's after a skip). In the middle of his fight Frank talks with Dragon, asking him to rejoin the police force. His reasons make a lot of sense, and as Dragon ends the fight, he tells Frank that he'll ask his kids.
Back at Dragon's home, Dragon's kids discuss their father's career choice with him and all agree to it for different reasons (Malcolm, Dragon's son, wants his dad out of the house working so he can play more Street Fighter 4- AWESOME!).
The next day Dragon shows up at the station and Frank announces his return to the police force. In a scene that is reminiscent of Dragon's return after being kidnapped by the Fiend years ago, we get a chance to see everyone's reaction to him. (I got really excited seeing all of the familiar cop faces again- each has their own subplots and stories to tell and it is going to be a lot of fun watching Dragon interact with them again.) And arrested freak get restless during all of the festivities, and just like in the old days, Dragon punches his dead into the wall.
The scene cuts to Dragon's first assignment: protecting President Obama during his return-to-Chicago speech. The news media is covering the story, and they make a big deal out of the fact that Dragon murdered the world's favorite superhero (Solar Man, and it was a accident) and yet is being trusted to guard the President. Dragon meets Obama back stage and they basically kiss each other's butts.
During the speech, a bunch of cool-looking-yet-apparently-not-that-powerful super freaks bust into the stadium and attempt to kill the President. Dragon takes them out lickity-split (did I really just say that?). It turns out that the villains were sent there as a distraction while a couple of million dollars were stolen clear across town.
Back at the station Dragon is mad that he was played for a chump but all of the other cops and basically everyone else is pleased with him, including the t.v. media. One of the cops (Ray Wong, a classic from back in the day) tells Dragon that he stumbled across an old memento from the old days, and then the building blows up.
Yes, you read that right. It blew up. Huge explosion. All of the cops are dead. Including Frank, Dragon's best friend, one of the main and most important characters in the book since issue one. Only Alex Wilde, a female officer/friend
of Dragon's was not present when it happened.
Dragon's nigh-indestructible body crawled through the wreckage, confused. Then he finds Frank's body and the issue ends.
My OPINION:
WOW..! What a way to open the new chapter in Dragon's life! Larsen has been talking for days about how good it was going to be to see all of these old faces, and how he was going to get back to basics by giving Dragon a full cast or regular humans again. This struck me as a funny thing for him to say, since any Dragon fan knows that Erik finds casual human characters to be generally boring, and that he loves a colorful cast of freaks. And now we know why he said it.
It is great to see a bunch of random freaks again- I'm a new fan of that mouse character!
Artwise, the new colorists are finding their footing and the consistency is beginning to really make a positive impact. The book is developing a consistent look again, and is looking less scratchy (which people didn't seem to like). Tom's letters also help to really give this issue a polished, professional look, which will help it sell. I love how Larsen draws Malcom to look totally different from his father. Great move- he has his mother's eyes and definitely looks "ethnic".
SUMMERY: The issue opens with Lt. Frank Darling visiting The Freak Outpost (a bar seen in older issues of Savage Dragon where seedy freaks and villains get drunk) hoping to find Dragon. Sure enough, when he gets there Dragon is beating down a ton of freaks (Dragon has been a bounty hunter and he's after a skip). In the middle of his fight Frank talks with Dragon, asking him to rejoin the police force. His reasons make a lot of sense, and as Dragon ends the fight, he tells Frank that he'll ask his kids.
Back at Dragon's home, Dragon's kids discuss their father's career choice with him and all agree to it for different reasons (Malcolm, Dragon's son, wants his dad out of the house working so he can play more Street Fighter 4- AWESOME!).
The next day Dragon shows up at the station and Frank announces his return to the police force. In a scene that is reminiscent of Dragon's return after being kidnapped by the Fiend years ago, we get a chance to see everyone's reaction to him. (I got really excited seeing all of the familiar cop faces again- each has their own subplots and stories to tell and it is going to be a lot of fun watching Dragon interact with them again.) And arrested freak get restless during all of the festivities, and just like in the old days, Dragon punches his dead into the wall.
The scene cuts to Dragon's first assignment: protecting President Obama during his return-to-Chicago speech. The news media is covering the story, and they make a big deal out of the fact that Dragon murdered the world's favorite superhero (Solar Man, and it was a accident) and yet is being trusted to guard the President. Dragon meets Obama back stage and they basically kiss each other's butts.
During the speech, a bunch of cool-looking-yet-apparently-not-that-powerful super freaks bust into the stadium and attempt to kill the President. Dragon takes them out lickity-split (did I really just say that?). It turns out that the villains were sent there as a distraction while a couple of million dollars were stolen clear across town.
Back at the station Dragon is mad that he was played for a chump but all of the other cops and basically everyone else is pleased with him, including the t.v. media. One of the cops (Ray Wong, a classic from back in the day) tells Dragon that he stumbled across an old memento from the old days, and then the building blows up.
Yes, you read that right. It blew up. Huge explosion. All of the cops are dead. Including Frank, Dragon's best friend, one of the main and most important characters in the book since issue one. Only Alex Wilde, a female officer/friend
of Dragon's was not present when it happened.
Dragon's nigh-indestructible body crawled through the wreckage, confused. Then he finds Frank's body and the issue ends.
My OPINION:
WOW..! What a way to open the new chapter in Dragon's life! Larsen has been talking for days about how good it was going to be to see all of these old faces, and how he was going to get back to basics by giving Dragon a full cast or regular humans again. This struck me as a funny thing for him to say, since any Dragon fan knows that Erik finds casual human characters to be generally boring, and that he loves a colorful cast of freaks. And now we know why he said it.
It is great to see a bunch of random freaks again- I'm a new fan of that mouse character!
Artwise, the new colorists are finding their footing and the consistency is beginning to really make a positive impact. The book is developing a consistent look again, and is looking less scratchy (which people didn't seem to like). Tom's letters also help to really give this issue a polished, professional look, which will help it sell. I love how Larsen draws Malcom to look totally different from his father. Great move- he has his mother's eyes and definitely looks "ethnic".