Savage Dragon #98
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSavage Dragon #98 serves as the climax of Dragon's extended inter-dimensional odyssey, resolving a multi-issue story arc that sent him bouncing through alternate pasts in a desperate attempt to prevent a catastrophic future. The issue delivers a cascade of permanent deaths — She-Dragon, the Eternal Youths (Big Lug and Lovechild), Dr. Nirvana, and Chelsea Nirvana all fall — demonstrating Erik Larsen's long-standing commitment to consequences that actually stick in a medium notorious for reversals. It also marks the first and only appearance of the Absorbanoids, a villain group whose debut is inseparable from their destruction, a narrative economy rare in serialized superhero comics. Arriving just two issues before the landmark centennial #100, the issue functions as a clearing of the board — eliminating supporting cast members whose fates needed resolution before Larsen could reset the stage.
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The issue was written, penciled, and inked entirely by Erik Larsen, with letters by Chris Eliopoulos and colors by Reuben Rude and Abel Mouton — the same tight creative unit Larsen relied on throughout this era of the ongoing series. Published by Image Comics with a cover date of April 2002 (shipping June 5, 2002 per Image's own catalog), it falls inside a stretch of issues (#87–#100) that the official Savage Dragon reading-order timeline treats as a continuous narrative block, making it essentially the penultimate chapter of a roughly year-long alternate-reality epic. The issue also carried backup features — Comic Bits by Chris Giarrusso, Desperate Times by Chris Eliopoulos, and Savage Dragonbert by Karl H. — consistent with the anthology-style padding Larsen used during this period to fill out page counts.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Written, penciled, and inked by Erik Larsen; lettered by Chris Eliopoulos; colored by Reuben Rude and Abel Mouton. Published April 2002 (cover date) / June 5, 2002 (ship date) by Image Comics.
- First and only appearance of the Absorbanoids, robotic energy-draining minions of Dr. Nirvana — they debut and are destroyed in the same issue.
- Death issue for multiple named characters: She-Dragon (alternate-past version), Eternal Youths members Big Lug and Lovechild, Dr. Nirvana, Chelsea Nirvana, and the Demon Dogs all perish in the course of a single battle.
- Dragon discovers upon returning through the portal that he has traveled back in time rather than forward to his home reality, setting up the final complications resolved in the lead-up to issue #100.
- Chelsea Nirvana attempts to murder Ann Stevens while disguised as Dragon; Ann survives because Mighty Man reverts to mortal form in time to shield her from the explosion.
- Dragon's past counterpart appears at Hillman Hospital to debrief the time-displaced Dragon — an in-universe echo of the series' own origin, since Hillman Hospital is where Dragon was first brought after being discovered in a burning field.
- The issue sits two chapters before the milestone #100 in the official Savage Dragon reading-order timeline, functioning as the narrative clean-up issue for the alternate-past/Savage World arc.
- Issue #98 is collected in Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 4, which reprints issues #76–#100 in black-and-white.
Cast · 14 characters
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Reprinted in G-Man #1 (2009), Savage Dragon Archives #4 (2015)
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