Why is Erik Larsen considered so great?

[The Adventurer]

Something else that's not being mentioned is his accessibility to his fans. I've met him at 3 different conventions and EVERY time he has a line of people asking for free stuff. I've never seen him turn down a sketch request, he is always friendly and open, and his skill is evident in about 20 seconds. I have to imagine that, in 25 years of doing this, he has had a number of now-successful creators pass through his lines at conventions; there's no telling what kind of impact he made on them on a personal level, just by making himself so readily available.

He's always around to answer questions and general shoot the shit with over on the Image Boards. And chatting with him on the Savage FINcast is always a blast. I know simply being able to talk with him regularly has had a huge impact on me as both a want-a-be writer/artist and as a comic book fan.

[Erik Larsen]

Yeah he's so great he was the reason Aquaman got cancelled!!!!!!!!

My run lasted from issue #50 to #62. The book was cancelled with #75, which came out over a year after I was off the book. The character Lagoon Boy, who I introduced during my run, has made more appearances than any other character introduced in the pages of Aquaman in the last 30 years.

You are entitled to not like my run. You are not entitled to rewrite reality.

[de Sosa]

My run lasted from issue #50 to #62. The book was cancelled with #75, which came out over a year after I was off the book. The character Lagoon Boy, who I introduced during my run, has made more appearances than any other character introduced in the pages of Aquaman in the last 30 years.

You are entitled to not like my run. You are not entitled to rewrite reality.

o snap :D

Since making this thread, I took a look at alot more of your work and am currently going through savage dragon up to current, at issue 50 now, it's pretty sick

shouldn't judge a creator by some covers I guess

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I think one of my favorite works by Larson was in the late 1990's. When he was put on the Nova series. I loved that book and plots he was doing. Then suddenly , he was yanked off it and Marvel decided to relaunch New Warriors in a bad move. Because I will say this...his Nova was really fun I thought.

[The Adventurer]

Other reason why Erik Larsen owns. He's amazingly well informed.

[Phil Maurice]

o snap :D

Since making this thread, I took a look at alot more of your work and am currently going through savage dragon up to current, at issue 50 now, it's pretty sick

shouldn't judge a creator by some covers I guess

Cue the furious

[de Sosa]

Cue the furious

well didnt want to sound like a kiss ass but it's true, they had some volumes at my university library B)

[Erik Larsen]

Since making this thread, I took a look at alot more of your work and am currently going through savage dragon up to current, at issue 50 now, it's pretty sick

shouldn't judge a creator by some covers I guess

Tastes vary. We don't all like the same stuff. I know working professionals that don't "get" Jack Kirby and folks who think he was the greatest cartoonist of all time. When it comes to taste there is no right answer. You like what you like. And there's nothing wrong with that.

[inferno]

Our young student means "sick" in a good way... I think.

[de Sosa]

Months later after making this thread, this guy is now one of my favorites. His page layouts are insanely creative and his style has really grown on me. Gotta say I see the greatness now. Savage Dragon reminds me of a darker more violent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, caught up with it up to the current issue. But mainly it's the layouts, page after page, kind of like Mcfarlan Spawn comics I used to read but better, hope I can come up with stuff like that one day. Yeh, meant sick in a good way. I really like how it looks in black and white especially, over the color pages.

[pinkfloydsound17]

Not a Larsen fan...his run on ASM had some okay stories and art (like the return of the Sinister Six and the Sidekick saga which was nothing spectacular but featured enough characters to be interesting). His style fit what was working at the time...a style that I personally still do not love.

[FanboyStranger]

I'm not the hugest fan of Larson's work, but I definitely like his sensibilities. You can tell that a Larson project reflects his personality, especially in things like Savage Dragon, and I appreciate that he's not afraid of having fun with what he's doing.

As an editor-in-chief, he did wonders with Image, continuing down the path that Valentino set them on and discovering some wonderful talent doing things outside the comics norm.

[LEADER DESSLOK]

As a cartooinist, Larsen has a funky cartooning approach that's a lot of fun, if not as controlled as the work of Todd McFarlane or Arthur Adams, who both have a similar style. Where Larsen excels is in writing and storytelling. In the aforementioned AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and SPIDER-MAN tenures, Larsen injected even more humor into both series than his predecessor Todd McFarlane who, like Erik, had also worked with David Michelinie. This was especially evident when Larsen took over Todd's adjectiveless Spidey book.

EXAMPLES:
A. For years, we saw Spidey run out of webbing at crucial moments. Larsen probably put forward the idea that Spidey would install some sort of signal (in this case, a mini-light) to warn him that the webfluid was low.

B. Erik used the eyes in Spidey's mask to express his emotions. Sure, it was totally unrealistic as it's a mask and not actual flesh, but it worked. Today, many artists use this same technique with the Deadpool character.

C. He gave Dr.Octopus a business suit that matched the color of his original labcoat that Ditko gave him. Instead of the usual green and orange costume, Larsen both modernized Ock while hearkening back to his first appearance.

D. In contrast with the "M.J. Worrying" path lesser writers engaged in, Larsen, like Michelinie, gave Mary-Jane a life of her own independent of Pete's "Spidey Super-stories". In one storyline, M.J. was faced with the possibility of doing a nude scene in one of her movies, prompting humorous speculation of Peter's concern about this: "Look Ock, I don't have time to kick your butt--I've got more important things to worry about!"

And all this is about his contributions to Spidey, to say nothing of his own oddball but fun series, The Savage Dragon. Heck, he even got me to collect Aquaman for the entire year he was writing it!

What makes Larsen "great"? He just has an unconventional approach to writing comics; he is aware of the advantages and mechanics of the medium and uses them effectively--in short, he KNOWS comics AREN'T movies and he's happy with that!

[McFarlane's Green Hulk]

What makes Larsen "great"? He just has an unconventional approach to writing comics; he is aware of the advantages and mechanics of the medium and uses them effectively--in short, he KNOWS comics AREN'T movies and he's happy with that!

BLAMMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

His stint on Wolverine was pretty good too...and I loved his Hulk/Wolverine battle in HULK #8 was damn good!

[T Hedge Coke]

I hear him talked about alot as an alltime great creator but then I look at his art like on savage dragon, and then some spiderman covers and it doesnt look that special to me, just typical Rob Liefeld-esque 90s super hero comics style



Why is Erik Larsen so popular and esteemed? Is he a really good writer?

Look at what you posted. That, and everything since is why. That cover, and the story inside was hilarious commentary and a fun story. Spidey wakes up with that arm begging someone to tell him no one made him a cyborg while he was asleep. The cast on his arm just makes him feel clumsy and showy, the stitching and coke-bottle eyepiece embarrass him, and he's super-self-absorbed while Deathlok actuall has massive tragedy ongoing in his life and isn't. Pete's biggest fear in that story, really, is that his wife will have a nude sex scene with a famous actor in her first big movie. People are dying, the world is at risk, and Pete has to work to see past some thorns in his rather cushy life to see it. Which, he eventually does, because he's a hero.

That run was balls to the wall loud and insane but it had great and varied characterization throughout and never felt overcrowded despite a huge cast.

His work since has seen him experiment with different styles, different techniques, and pull most of them off brilliantly. His corporate work post-Image starting has been some of the best those characters have been handled, from an editorially-hobbled Aquaman run to a great turn on Wolverine and an amazing Defenders series. His personal work, like Dragon, has been consistently cool and innovative, emotional and exciting, funny, scary, thrilling... other adjectives that are positive.

I don't know that Larsen is really read or heralded as much as he should be, when it comes down to it.