Comic Review: Savage Dragon #136

Savage Dragon #136

By: Erik Larsen
Lettering: John Workman and Tom Orzechowski

Story: Prism Attacks!

I loves Larsen's Savage Dragon. I've read every issue of the ongoing series and most of the limited series. That doesn't mean I always like what I find, but I'm usually satisfied. Unfortunately, "Prism Attacks!" is a bit of a let down.

Most of the time, Larsen's huge, blow out, chaotic battles serve a purpose showing how violent and confusing a big super battle would be. But in issue #136 we start off with one which doesn't seem to have much point. One problem is that Larsen's irregular printing schedule makes it hard to remember what's going on. I forgot we had met Prism and the Centurions last time. I don't remember who started the fight between Dragon and the Centurions against the Power Broke and his gang. It's important because Dragon just wanted to ask if he'd seen Dragon's wife. I'm sure Power Broker did, but it's a nagging question. Then there's the fight between Dragon and Prism. Let's just say there's more to Prism than meets the eye which leads to the conflict between the two partners. But other than showing something about a character that we've seen little of before and which, most likely, we won't see much of based on Larsen's style these days, I'm not sure what the point was. Was the fight exciting? Yes. Are the characters interesting? Sure. I would love to see more of Prism and the Centurions. And Prism's wife, hubba hubba.

This issue makes it very difficult to review with any certainty. I love the idea of comics where they can stand alone without having read the previous issue and without having to get the next one. I think the big two should do more of those. But, while Savage Dragon #136 bares many qualities like a stand alone, it's not exactly a stand alone issue because there are ongoing pertinent threads like what's happened to Dragon's wife Jennifer? What's going to happen to She-Dragon in an apparently unrelated story? Can they fix the portal to Dimension X so that Dragon can look for his son? What's going to happen with that band of baddies threatening to kill the Liberty League?

If Prism and the Centurions become Savage Dragon regulars, my opinion of the episode being rather superfluous.