Savage Dragon #171
Savage Dragon #171 (June 2011), titled 'Falling Down,' marks a pivotal point in the generational handoff at the heart of Erik Larsen's long-running Image series: with the original Dragon now dead, Malcolm Dragon is fully shouldering the burden of being Chicago's protector, navigating family revelations, economic prejudice against super-freaks, and his first clash with a brand-new villain. The issue introduces Kevin Gorelick — son of the deceased Vicious Circle member SkullFace — who adopts the alias Thunder-Head, a character whose tragic arc (discrimination, unemployment, and reluctant criminality) reflects Larsen's ongoing use of superfreaks as social commentary. The issue also serves as the finale of the twelve-part 'Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies' backup feature, making it a capstone for one of the more ambitious indie anthology experiments of the era, uniting an array of alternative-comics creators in the pages of a superhero title.
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The main story, 'Falling Down,' was written and drawn entirely by Erik Larsen — consistent with his decades-long commitment to sole creative authorship on the ongoing series. The backup feature 'Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies' was conceived and edited by cartoonist Michel Fiffe, who recruited a rotating roster of independent-comics artists for twelve monthly installments beginning with Savage Dragon #160; issue #171 served as the finale, featuring an eight-page collaborative story written by Joe Keatinge and illustrated by Larsen alongside Simon Fraser, Mike Cavallaro, Joe Infurnari, Tim Hamilton, and others. The entire backup run was subsequently collected — with additional new material — in the Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies trade paperback released in July 2011, the same month the finale hit shops.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published June 8, 2011 by Image Comics; cover and interior story by Erik Larsen; lettered by Tom Orzechowski; colored by Nikos Koutsis.
- First appearance of Kevin Gorelick (Thunder-Head), son of the deceased villain SkullFace and half-brother of Malcolm Dragon, who joins the Vicious Circle after losing his civilian job due to anti-super-freak discrimination.
- First appearance of the unnamed character Jerry, a childhood friend of Kevin Gorelick seen in a past-set flashback sequence.
- The issue is the final installment (#12 of 12) of the 'Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies' backup anthology, edited by Michel Fiffe and featuring work by Joe Keatinge, Simon Fraser, Mike Cavallaro, Joe Infurnari, Tim Hamilton, George O'Connor, and Fiffe himself.
- Malcolm Dragon's first physical confrontation with Thunder-Head occurs when Kevin robs a bank; the fight ends inconclusively with Thunder-Head escaping after bringing a building down on Malcolm.
- A subplot advances the DarkLord/Emperor Krull threat: Jake Farrell shows Malcolm and Angel Dragon surveillance footage revealing that a figure resembling Dragon appeared alongside DarkLord before Kurr was incinerated.
- The original Dragon appears only via video footage, reinforcing his death status; the issue is catalogued as his 'death issue' appearance in the official Savage Dragon Wiki.
- The backup run collected here — Savage Dragon #160–171 — was reprinted with new stories in the Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies trade paperback (Image Comics, July 2011).
Cast · 19 characters
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Reprinted in Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies #1 (2011)
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