Savage Dragon #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSavage Dragon #4 (August 1993) delivers the first full appearance of Horridus — a spike-covered, mentally vulnerable young woman found chained in a DeKalb, Illinois basement — whose tragic origin gave Erik Larsen's fledgling ongoing series one of its most emotionally complex supporting players. The issue simultaneously introduces the villain Cesspool (real name Peter Davidson) and formalizes the nascent 'Freak Force' concept by showing Captain James Stewart actively recruiting super-powered officers, planting the seed for the spin-off series that launched just months later. Beyond its character debuts, the issue carries a small but durable piece of Savage Dragon lore: it marks the first appearance of the running 'Josh Eichorn' gag credit on the inside back cover, a self-deprecating in-joke that became a hallmark of every Larsen-published Highbrow title for decades.
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Written, penciled, and inked entirely by Erik Larsen — the series' sole creative voice since its June 1993 debut — issue #4 was published August 31, 1993, with a September 1993 cover date, as part of the still-young ongoing series that had grown out of a successful 1992 three-issue miniseries. Coloring was handled by Steve Oliff, Reuben Rude, and Antonia Kohl, with lettering by Chris Eliopoulos; the Grand Comics Database further credits a backup story featuring Rapture and Ricochet with pencils and inks by Adam Hughes and inks also credited to Karl Kesel, colored by Steve Oliff.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First full appearance of Horridus (real name Sara Hill, later Sara Dexter), an alien-hybrid 'superfreak' found imprisoned in a DeKalb, Illinois basement; she had appeared only as a disembodied voice in Savage Dragon #1.
- First appearance of the villain Cesspool (real name Peter Davidson), a grotesque member of the Vicious Circle who attacks Chicago Police Department headquarters and is defeated by Dragon, Dart, Barbaric, and Ricochet.
- The issue formalizes the 'Freak Force' police recruitment program under Captain James Stewart, with Barbaric accepted and Ricochet turned away due to her age — a story thread that led directly to the Freak Force spin-off series launched in December 1993.
- Issue #4 marks the first use of the 'Josh Eichorn' gag credit (listed as 'Hired Goon' on the inside back cover), a running joke that became a fixture of every Larsen-published Highbrow Entertainment title.
- Written, penciled, and inked by Erik Larsen; colored by Steve Oliff, Reuben Rude, and Antonia Kohl; lettered by Chris Eliopoulos. A backup story is credited to writer Erik Larsen with art by Adam Hughes (pencils/inks) and Karl Kesel (inks), featuring Rapture (Sharona Jackson) and Ricochet (Rikki Shaefer).
- Reprinted in the Savage Dragon Vol. 2: A Force to Be Reckoned With trade paperback (February 1996, collecting ongoing #1–6), in Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 1 (December 2006, pages 193–210), in The Savage Dragon (Semic S.A.) #2 (France, 1996), and in Das Savage Dragon Magazin #2 (Zauberstern, Germany, February 2024).
- Horridus went on to become a long-running series fixture and a founding member of the Freak Force bounty-hunter team, remaining a key character until her death (depicted as resulting from COVID-19) in Savage Dragon #262.
Cast · 19 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Back-Up Stories #1 (1996), Savage Dragon #[2] (1996), The Savage Dragon #2 (1996), Collection Image #18 (2004), Savage Dragon #2 (2024)
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