Savage Dragon VS Megaton man One Shot

Savage Dragon VS Megaton man One Shot

Synopsis :

This issue opens with  the Dragon, in a bad mood apprehending or trying to anyway, The Nixed Men. Whom scatter to look for their  more powerful ally. 

Meanwhile in the Megahero verse, the resident heroes  look in on the Image universe, but because they cant be sure who the good guys and the bad guys are, in this brave new world  !

They decide to send an envoy  via the time turn table  first,  in the form of Megaton Man  !!!

Naturally, he gets in the way  of  Dragon and in true  crossover  style,  they fight  but  put their differences aside in the end, just in time  to deal with The Nixed Men and their  new ally ! 

And just in time for the last page too.  

Credits :

Story\Art\ Ink\ Erik Larsen And Don Simpson 

Letterer, Chris Eliopolous

Color, Gregory Wright and Steve Oliff

Editor, Jannie Wong.

Notes  :

This is  according to the essay at the back the first intercompany crossover  for Image Comics.

This issue takes place  after  Image 0 and before issue 1 of the  ongoing Savage Dragon  series.

Release date march 1993.

This issue is 26 pages.  

Review :

This is a bit of an odd issue. ( As if you couldn't tell  from the synopsis. ) 

It's one of the first  intercompany crossovers by Image Comics.  ( A few more would follow, mostly with Spawn. )   And  its  also the first  Dragon crossover,  even before his  own  ongoing series, which was  kickstarted on 1 June 1993. 

Which considering the tone of the comic, is a bit  odd that Larsen is willing to throw his character in such a weird story, with out so much as an ongoing to back him up. 

Or maybe it was just  a way to keep  the  character  in the spotlight. The  3 part mini series had wrapped  up in 1992, the TPB had been released with the  mini reshuffled and image 0  added  and the ongoing was several months  away.  

Or maybe Larsen just thought it would be fun, which seems most likely. 

He is already aware of the  image err Image Comics is fostering. and  isn't  above  poking fun at it. 

The comic is a combination of  Larsen's  semi realistic  violent  Image Comics style  and Don Simpsons  silver age comics aesthetics. Right down to the  over the top  warbling  speech balloons, which are  jam-packed in the mighty marvel manner !

I'm not sure if this is a  affectionate parody or homage or both. 

I don't really read  Megaton Man or any other of Don Simpsons  work  outside  his pencil work on TMNT Adventures. This is  the only other work of Simpson I encountered. 

Megaton Man  himself however, is obviously a  silver age pastiche of spitcurl boy,  Superman in other words.  

As for Dragon, this issue takes place after Image 0 and it shows. Dragon is surly, meanspirited, grouchy and  quick to jump to the gun. 

Which off course  leads to that  old crossover cliché. 

Two heroes meet up, have a misunderstanding and spend most of the issue  beating each other up, before the real  enemies show up. 

And while Megaton Man provides a lot of fourth wall breaking meta commentary and  dragon has a  good reason to be pissed, the battle is still contrived and it was a cliché even back in 1993.

This is not a  great or even an essential comic.

If you skip this  after Image 0  in favor of  Savage Dragon 1, you  don't miss much other then The Nixed Men. Who are a parody  of  Byrne's Next Men  and  who  will be mentioned a few times after this. 

But what this comic is, is a place where  you  can see  two totally incomparable artstyles  clash  and somehow Larsen and Simpson manage to make it work. 

And above all its an insane  piece of  fun, that makes fun of it self,  the Image Comics style and universe and comic conventions. 

It's a piece of fluff  and it knows it and its gloriously silly. 

Next up, issue 1 again !