SAVAGE DRAGON #112

Erik Larsen seems to have hit upon a formula that once made Modern Age pamphlet comics worth their cost - each issue's story was self-contained with a satisfactory beginning, middle, and end. Of course, each individual issue was tied into a large ongoing saga, but the reader got a fully realized self-sustained chapter. "To be continued," wasn't the cheat it is now when most individual comics read as if they're made of any random 22 pages in some 150 page epic.

It would, however, be incorrect to say that Larsen's comic SAVAGE DRAGON is actually very good. It's barely toss away entertainment, mildly amusing in the way brain rot sometimes is. It reads like something you read before, especially if you read comics in the 1980's. In fact, if not for the absurd cover price of $2.95, one could mistake Savage Dragon for a 80's title.

There's nothing in this series to really make it stand out, to make it seem like more than just another competently produced superhero comic by creators without the imagination and/or talent to really do something. The art isn't even pretty; it manages to not offend the eye, although the storytelling is admittedly good. This is issue is better than the series as been in months, but I have no need to recommend this beyond saying that if you already read the Dragon and like it, keep reading it. GRADE C