As the creator of The Walking Dead, Fire Power, and Robert Kirkman knows more than most about comics, so fans who haven't checked out his favorite of all time might want to take note. In a recent behind-the-scenes feature in his Walking Dead Deluxe remaster, Kirkman named Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon as his favorite comic of all-time.
As one of the seven artists who left Marvel to found Image Comics in 1992, Erik Larsen is a part of one of the biggest success stories in comics history. Larsen launched Savage Dragon in July 1992, and he is the only Image founder who continues to both write and draw his signature series to this day, thirty years later. Savage Dragon is all about the titular character, a green-finned behemoth who was found in a burning field with no memory of his past. Eventually ing the Chicago PD to become a beat cop, the Dragon is an über-tough hero tasked with keeping peace on streets rampant with supervillain gangs. Over the course of the series, Larsen has built up an entire universe of heroes, villains, gods and monsters. The writer/artist also hasn’t been afraid to shake up the status quo in some pretty major ways, like killing off his title character to be replaced with an entirely new hero, which has happened more than once in the 262 issues released thus far.
Savage Dragon was a major influence on Robert Kirkman when he launched his own creator-owned superhero series at Image. "I’ve been pretty upfront about my love for Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon. It’s my favorite comic of all time," Kirkman writes in the letters page of The Walking Dead Deluxe #23 (produced with Charlie Adlard and Dave McCaig), and that love shines through in every issue of Invincible, Kirkman’s long-running superhero comic that was recently adapted into a very successful animated series. Much like Larsen did before him, Kirkman creates an entire superhero universe around main character Mark Grayson, who becomes a superhero to follow in the footsteps of his famous father Omni-Man, only to discover that his dad’s actually an "Evil Superman"-esque alien warlord bent on conquering the planet.
Invincible Creator Robert Kirkman’s Favorite Comic is Savage Dragon
Kirkman is very open about found in the Marvel and DC universes. Both creators are also free to follow their instincts, changing the status quo of their books with wild plot twists and shocking character deaths, oftentimes handled in brutal fashion. Both Invincible and Savage Dragon pull no punches in their depictions of superhero smash-ups, and neither book is shy about reveling in ultra-violence along the way.
Savage Dragon Offers Fans An Expansive Universe
Anyone who loves how Invincible honors and simultaneously subverts superhero narratives should check out Savage Dragon - a series with its own voice, and yet the same sense of all-action fun, complete with Robert Kirkman's personal recommendation.
