Savage Dragon #115
Savage Dragon #115 is the culminating chapter of the multi-part 'Vicious Circle Rising' storyline, in which Dragon marshals virtually every ally in his world for an all-out assault on the reorganized Vicious Circle and its new leader SkullFace — a villain present in the series since its very first issue — who dies here when Dragon decapitates him as a power-damper strips the gang of their abilities. The issue also marks a structural reset for the title: Freak Force, the beloved mid-1990s Dragon spin-off team, is formally re-constituted and then immediately disbanded within the same story, closing the loop on that entire corner of the Image universe. The outsized page count — 100 pages in its final form — allowed Larsen to stage an ensemble battle involving dozens of supporting players and deliver a higher casualty rate than any previous arc, permanently reshaping the cast. The debut of August 'Augie' De Blieck Jr., a self-aware in-fiction nod to a prominent real-world Savage Dragon fan and comics journalist, makes it a minor but charming landmark in the series' long tradition of blending superhero mayhem with affectionate community meta-humor.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Originally solicited through the November 2003 Previews catalog as an 80-page special for a January 2004 sale date, the issue ballooned to 100 pages after Larsen determined the 'Final Battle' lead story could not be adequately told in 22 pages alongside the other features already planned. Larsen wrote, penciled, and inked the main story himself, with Bill Crabtree on colors and John Workman on letters; the 48-page Freak Force back-up was written by Larsen, drawn by Mark Englert, and colored by Dash Martin — with lettering by Chris Eliopoulos and color-flatting by Joe Keatinge. A ten-part Mighty Man serial co-plotted by Gary Carlson and Larsen with Englert on art appeared as its seventh chapter here, while Larsen's six-page 'Dragonslayer' short — originally created for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund anthology More Fund Comics — was reprinted in color for the first time. The expansion and the concurrent demands of Larsen's role as Publisher at Image Comics contributed to a delayed publication schedule, with the issue eventually shipping in July 2004.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Death of SkullFace (David Gorelick): the Vicious Circle villain present since Savage Dragon #1 (miniseries) is killed when Dragon punches off his head after a power-damper neutralizes the gang — his death issue is confirmed as #115 across multiple sources.
- Multiple other deaths in the main 'Final Battle' story: HotWire and WildStar are shot dead while deactivating the Vicious Circle's jamming device; The Shrew is shot in the head; Sgt. Marvel is killed; several villain factions — the Fantastical Force and the Throwaways — are wiped out in the back-up.
- First appearances in the main story include numerous new Vicious Circle recruits assembled by SkullFace: Armor, Baby Killer, Bighorn, Crosseye, Fourplay, Gunman, Iron Jaw, Larry Lucifer, Skullfire, Sickly, Sterno, Tech-Head, Toad-Man, and White Trash — all debuting here.
- First appearance of August 'Augie' De Blieck Jr. in the Freak Force back-up — a wealthy fictional benefactor named after a real Comic Book Resources columnist — and first appearance of his secretary Bunny (whose death also occurs in this same issue).
- Freak Force is formally reformed in-story with Barbaric, Dart II (Alison Summers), Horridus, Mighty Man V, Rapture, Ricochet, and SuperPatriot joining and then disbanding within the same 48-page story.
- The issue runs 100 pages — expanded from an originally solicited 80-page package — and contains four distinct features: the 30-page 'Final Battle' lead; the 48-page 'Together Again for the First Time!' Freak Force story; the 8-page seventh chapter of the ten-part Mighty Man serial 'The Never-Ending War Against Evil' (co-plotted by Gary Carlson and Larsen, drawn by Mark Englert); and a 6-page reprint in color of 'Dragonslayer,' Larsen's contribution to the CBLDF fundraiser More Fund Comics.
- The 'Dragonslayer' reprint marks the first time that story appeared in color, placing it in continuity between issues #107 and #108 per the Savage Dragon Wiki.
- This issue is collected in the Savage Dragon TPB Archives Vol. 5 and later in the Savage Dragon Ultimate Collection and related hardcover editions published by Image Comics.
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