Savage Dragon #254

Name: Savage Dragon #254
Brand: Image
Availability: InStock

Nov 2020 · Image · 3.99 USD

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★ 1st appearance — The Canadian

About this Issue

Savage Dragon #254 marks the first appearance of The Canadian (Michael Strongheart) and the Vicious Circle villain Hellfire, and delivers the earliest in-continuity glimpse of what would become the North Force team roster — seeds that grew into one of the series' most fan-celebrated new factions of the Malcolm Dragon era. The issue also serves as a turning-point for the book's Toronto-set status quo, depicting Malcolm Dragon's decisive defeat at the hands of a fully reformed Vicious Circle under Dart's leadership, a moment of genuine narrative consequence that reverberates across the arc collected in the 2022 trade paperback Savage Dragon: Vicious Circle Triumphant. As one of the longest-running uninterrupted creator-owned series in North American comics — written, drawn, and self-edited by Erik Larsen since its 1993 launch — every issue of Savage Dragon carries the unusual distinction of being the product of a single creative intelligence, making character debuts like those in #254 straightforwardly attributable to one author's vision.

Contains 3 stories

Vicious Circle Triumphant!

20 pp · Superhero

The Vicious Circle [FountainheadHellfire (introduction)Iron JawWrath II] (villains)Laila DarlingBilly Summers

Ethereal Warriors Part 4

6 pp · Superhero

Zakorra (villain)

Card Collectin'

1 pp · Humor

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (NM) $0

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Variant $3.29 Raw / ungraded $5.99 Raw / ungraded $6.4 Raw / ungraded $7.63 Variant $12.99

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History

Savage Dragon #254 was written, penciled, inked, and cover-drawn entirely by Erik Larsen, Image Comics' co-founder and CFO, continuing his decades-long practice of solo authorship on the title. The issue was published on November 25, 2020, and was offered in two cover editions: a standard Cover A and a Cover B featuring a 1970s-style retro trade dress — part of a three-issue run of retro variants (covering #254–256) that Larsen announced in October 2020, citing a personal affection for the aesthetic of Bronze Age comics design. Coloring was handled by Mike Toris and Nikos Koutsis, with lettering by Ferran Delgado. The issue also carried a back-up story reprinting select pages from Vanguard: Ethereal Warriors in color with relettering, continuing Larsen's long practice of archival back-up material in the ongoing series.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of The Canadian (real name Michael Strongheart), a First Nations super-powered hero who wears a costume based on the Canadian flag and is the fourth person to hold the mantle; his debut in this issue is confirmed by the official Savage Dragon Wiki character profile.
First appearance of Hellfire, a Vicious Circle villain whose flame-spewing cranial tentacles incapacitate Malcolm Dragon's police allies during the issue's climactic battle.
First appearance of North Force as a group in this issue is recorded by the Savage Dragon Wiki, though Erik Larsen's own press materials describe North Force as having been 'introduced in Savage Dragon #255' — making the precise issue of the team's full debut a flagged discrepancy (see below).
The main story is titled 'The Vicious Circle Triumphant'; Malcolm Dragon is beaten and left as 'a shattered and charred mess' beneath Dart's feet, representing a major defeat for the series' lead hero.
Paul Dragon's concurrent subplot explores his attempts to reconnect with people from his lost alternate reality, including the Jonson twins (Peter and Mark), who share no emotional bond with him on this Earth.
The issue includes an archival back-up reprinting select pages from Vanguard: Ethereal Warriors in color with redone lettering, set prior to the 'Ethrian' storyline in Savage Dragon #145–159.
Two cover variants were published: Cover A (Diamond Code SEP200222) and Cover B retro 70s trade dress (Diamond Code SEP208500), part of a three-issue retro-variant initiative covering #254–256.
The issue is collected in the trade paperback Savage Dragon: Vicious Circle Triumphant (Image Comics, February 2022, ISBN 9781534322035), which collects Savage Dragon #253–258.