Being a lifelong fan of this title, during Free Comic Book Day, I just had to pick up Savage Dragon Legacy #1 covering the continuing saga of Malcolm Dragon and his new adventures as a full-fledged Chicago City Policeman. High school is over and Malcolm was presented in a way that was quite grown up. The issue was awesome and definitely one of my favorites of the day. I even posted a tweet about it. Maybe seeing this as potential, Image Comics offered up a double dose of Savage Dragon with issue #203 released the following week right after Free Comic Book Day. It was a really nice move as after I read the Free Comic Book Day release, I was ready to tear through this new issue with some serious gusto.
Issue #203 actually rolls back the clock as Malcolm is still in high school and dealing with the many issues and drama that has been happening to him in his recent past. The big question at hand related to Issue #203 would be if the ongoing theme of “Malcolm gets laid a lot” story continues. I have grown way tired of this arc line. And though I recognize that Malcolm is a teenager with raging hormones and a girlfriend living with him, that it just gets a little bit old and detracts from a lot of the action that has been placed throughout the series. It just seems to get overshadowed. I mean, Dart has been hot at work on trying to take out Malcolm (and anybody else for that matter), but it all kind of disappears as Malcolm was getting his groove on. I was begging that this would not be the case.
So when I opened the pages, I was pleasantly surprised to see that, well yeah, Malcolm still is getting laid a lot. But, he is showing maturity and restraint as the agreement from the last issue to tone it down and become monogamous has held. Hooray. Welcome to manhood Mr. Dragon.
This is probably a good thing here as young Malcolm has quite a bit on his plate throughout this issue. Yes, Dart is back and badder than ever with her “Freak Out Darts” eliminating mutant powers and persons as well as the God Sword which can cut through anything (especially young teenage dragons). She is on it with this issue and it is a nice change of pace from the “Malcolm gets laid a lot” story pattern. It was a very nice change of pace.
Also at play in this issue Melvin Bellco who was decapitated in an earlier issue has been resuscitated and seems to be quite healthy in a new buff body. And, the Deadly Duo are in action too, looking to save the damsel in distress(?) Dart as they feel she is the true hero and the Dragon isn’t the “real” Dragon, thus making her seem a villain. They have enlisted the aid of Neutron Bob to help draw the Dragon out and take care of their business.
And if that is not enough for you, Malcolm has a mission to take out Arachnid who has been cocooning children to feed, he has a test, trouble at school, and the formidable challenge of fighting Dart with the maybe less formidable challenge of the Deadly Duo. Finally, the “Malcolm gets laid a lot” story takes a harsh turn as he may be stuck with some consequences of all of that laying. We shall see.
There is a whole lot of everything packed into this issue and Erik Larsen has reestablished his groove in the series hitting with wonderfully hard hitting action with moments of solid comedy. And dare I say, teen drama. It was very nice seeing things get back in stride and the writing was fluid and smooth.
With the art, Larsen has been taking care of business in that department quite nicely thank you very much. The action is strong and he is not afraid to rough up our young hero in more ways than one. Yes, the God Sword (and Dart) are nasty. With this issue, trouble literally comes from everywhere. It seems that everyone is out to get Malcolm, which means for more intensity. I really liked the direction that Issue #203 is headed toward. It would appear that the Free Comic Book Day Legacy #1 issue will be the end result from the mayhem that is affecting our hero with the current monthly.
Score: 3/5
Savage Dragon #203 Writer/Artist/Creator: Erik Larsen Colorist: Nikos Koutsis Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 5/6/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital