CONT'D: Taming the Savage Beast | Page 1, 2, 3

How has this added workload affected your production of Savage?

It hasn't effected it. I always have a down period where I'm thinking about the layout and struggling with making all the pieces fit and now I can take a break and do something else. When I come back to Dragon I can think more clearly and the stuff just flows.

What lies in the future for Savage Dragon?

At some point, there will be a character running around in this book called the Dragon. She-Dragon won't be starring in the book forever. As for the future of the book--most of Dragon's major bad guys are still out there. The SOS is still there as a government super-team. All the things that have been set in motion will continue to unfold in new and surprising ways.

You've received a lot of criticism, both good and bad, for your work on Savage Dragon. How has the negative comments on your use of language, nudity and "odd" situations (i.e. Having God and Satan guest star; Working in Hitler's brain as a character) affected you and your approach to the comic?

Nothing changes the book but me. Had the few vocal negative voices had an effect, the book would lose its unique voice. I think of Savage Dragon as a stepping stone between Marvel Comics and Vertigo. Those that are growing out of Marvel comics but like some of the aspects of far-fetched origins and gaudy costumes find that Savage Dragon has more involved and intricate plots than what they're used to. They find that the world in it is more consistent because there has been a single writer/artist on it from day one. And they find that the characters have sex lives and relationships that are more mature and involved than in their old Marvel comics. They also find that the language is more like that from a movie or real life. It's not as "shocking" as, say, Preacher which dredges up the "F" word to the point that it loses its effectiveness, but there isn't a lot of "Gosh" and "Heck" being said either.

Fans seem to mean a lot to you. You have a large letters column and do things such as this interview for your fans. Why?

Because I'm a fan myself and every move I make is along the lines of what I'd like to see--what I'd like to read. I still bitch about writers and artists just as I did as a kid-- only now I'm in the field. Still-- I haven't lost what it means to enjoy this stuff. I still go to the funnybook store once a week. I still keep in touch with friends who are readers. I like fans.

Any "psycho-fan" stories?

Not really. The only real negative stuff was the result of a character contest I had where the winner got to have their character meet the Dragon. A couple guys thought that either I ripped them off or that I passed their characters out to the other guys at Image. I didn't keep a single character or drawing, actually. It was all done as a thank you to the fans but a few took it the wrong way. It was fun, to an extent, but I'll never do it again.

In retrospect, was splitting from Marvel and forming Image the right thing to do? If you could do it all over, would you?

Yes and absolutely. Owning and controlling my own characters is great and it's good for the industry to have a viable alternative to Marvel and DC. It's healthy for the industry.

What are your thoughts about the financial problems of Marvel? of DC's acquisition of Wildstorm? How are those two situations affecting the comic industry?

I don't know enough about either to comment. I find both situations a bit sad, really. It's too bad that Marvel was so poorly managed that they lost money and it's too bad that Jim felt the need to sell off his characters to DC.

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