Superheroes are the backbone of the comic book industry.  Sure, in the last few decades, comics have progressed by leaps and bounds, encompassing an impressive variety of genres, even portending to literary status in some instances.  The ambitions of comic book artists grow loftier and grander, and that’s constructive.  But regardless of taste or intention, it’s impossible to deny that the capes and tights sustain our beloved medium.

I have a love/hate relationship with superhero comics.  They’ve changed radically from what I grew up with.  The structure of the writing – which tends to favor sweeping, epic arcs that comprise multiple series – and the predominant art direction – hyper realistic with heavy color rendering – are a far cry from the comics I was raised on.  I might love Spider-Man as a character, but I don’t care to read many of the new comics that feature him.

That’s where Savage Dragon comes in.  Savage Dragon is not only the one superhero book I ardently purchase and read, it’s also the longest running book I’ve kept up with.  I’ve bought every issue since its debut, and I am still as enthusiastic about it as I ever was.  There have been dips in that enthusiasm, I’ll admit, but even when it’s seemed time to throw in the towel, a few issues later, series perpetrator Erik Larsen throws out something that makes me realize what a fool notion that had been.

The current arc running in Savage Dragon is Emperor Dragon, and it’s a compelling take on the “good guy gone bad” plot device.  Mark Waid’s running this riff over in Irredeemable, also, but in Savage Dragon, it’s a bit more effective.  We’ve got 150+ issues of the title character being a hero and winning the day.  We’ve got his mysterious origin coming back around to play a crucial part in the proceedings.  Waid trades on tropes and conventions in Irredeemable; with Emperor Dragon, Larsen subverts them.

Larsen himself has said of Savage Dragon on the FAQ page of savagedragon.com, “It’s the missing link between Marvel and Vertigo. More mature than Marvel–less pretentious than Vertigo. The kind of comics I want to read. This book is REALLY self-indulgent.”  I couldn’t say it any better myself.  While it carries a whiff of nostalgia that would appeal to any comic fan, it is also decidedly modern, utilizing “real time” – whereby events are contemporary with the times, and characters age as you and I.  Characters die and are rarely resurrected.  Pregnancies are often the most dramatic revelations in the book.  When something major happens, it has real, lasting impact.  It’s not going to be retconned, or revealed as a dream, or any other such Big Two ballyhoo.

And that’s the biggest perk of reading Savage Dragon, the security.  There’s no worry about a new hotshot writer taking over and wrecking things.  There’s no chance of an artist not befitting of the material putting pencil to page.  Larsen is in for the long haul, so provided you enjoy his style, his kinetic take on the Kirby tradition, then you can rest assured you’re going to get your fix, issue in and issue out.

I understand it can be intimidating to pick up a book with such a high issue number, but we all started somewhere, right?  It’s not like every X-fan started with X-Men #1, is it?  And in this day and age of bargain back issues and reprints, it’s not so hard to catch up.  Matter of fact, as of December, the bulk of the series will be available in three black and white volumes ala Marvel’s Essentials and DC’s Showcase: Savage Dragon Archives (volumes one and two are available NOW, three ships in December).  And I’ll admit a tinge of jealousy for those of you who can start reading now with Emperor Dragon, and subsequently go back to fill in the blanks for yourself.  When it comes to comic books, that’s something of a Holy Grail.  And you get to do it with my favorite superhero book.  Lucky dogs!