Erik Larsen Interview
March 2007

Erik Larsen has worked on lots and lots of Marvel and DC characters.  It would be futile for me to list them all here.  The cliff notes version would be that he was an acclaimed artist on Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man in the early 1990's, and he was one of the creators who broke off from Marvel to form Image Comics.  At Image, Larsen has been the writer and artist of his childhood creation:  The Savage Dragon. 

Interview conducted by Christopher Hoerdemann

You created the Savage Dragon when you were quite young, and worked on it all the way up until the Dragon got his own series at Image. Is he the only character you created when you were younger that ended up in one of your comics, or have some other ones popped up in stories too?
A LOT of characters have popped up. The Deadly Duo, Star, Mighty Man, SuperPatriot (kind of), Dart, Zeek, the Shrew, Bloop, Animal, Jennifer Dragon, Angel, William Jonson, the Fiend and Horridus are ALL from comics I drew as a kid.

You have said that you had a habit of following Todd McFarlane on titles such as on Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man. Would you say that following him helped you because so many people read his runs on those books? Did you benefit from people sticking around after his runs were over, and having them realize, "Man, this guy isn’t to bad!"
Todd recommended me as a replacement and I happily went along with it. They didn't just do whatever Todd told them to--I still had to prove myself--and in the case of the Incredible Hulk my "run" was only a single issue but it was nice having a bud championing me and my work. Certainly the books I worked on were high profile. Todd had something to do with it--but these were big characters. Regardless of Todd's involvement, the Amazing Spider-Man is a big book and a good gig. 

   

You've worked on a lot of characters at both Marvel, and DC. Which one is your favorite one that you've worked on and why?
I know that I only drew a few issues--but I really felt at home drawing Thor. The first issue I drew was my first Marvel work and the story ended up being scripted by Stan Lee and inked by Vinnie Colletta. My first book and I was subbing for Jack Kirby in the classic Thor creative team. That was the last issue of Thor either of those two ever worked on and it was a treat to be part of history in that way. 15 years later I drew three issues with inker Klaus Janson and, again, it was a gas. I've been a fan of Klaus for years and we'd often talked about working together and this was just a dream come true. It was a fill-in run. I was just filling the seat until the new creative team stepped in--but I could have stayed on forever.

Your art has evolved quite a bit over your career. What was the cause of that?
I don't know. Things just work out that way, I guess. Like most artists, I have trouble looking at my older stuff without cringing.

Did you change your style to fit certain stories or anything of that nature?
Sometimes, yeah. 

   

You were, in my opinion, a member of the great 1990's Spidey artist triumvirate. Between you, McFarlane, and Mark Bagley, there was some quality art there. One thing about the 1990's is that people don't think of it in a positive light. My thought is that some things must have been going good because if three pretty prominent artists came out of that era, then how bad could it be? What do you think about that statement?
I'll take what I can get.

Do you have any funny convention stories? Anything outrageous?
The only thing that comes to mind is some guy barfing. He was so nervous to meet me that he actually threw up. I wasn't even aware that it had happened but Chris Eliopoulos was sitting next to me and he witnessed the blessed event. Fun times.

From your column on Comic Book Resources, I have gathered that you love Jack Kirby. Sum up, in one sentence why you love him so much.
One sentence isn't enough. The guy created a way of drawing that was incredibly direct and powerful and compelling and that alone should put him on the top of everybody's favorite artists list but that was just the tip of the iceberg--he created a million fantastic characters and wrote some of the created comics put to paper. He's not called the "king of comics" for nothing. 

   

In the same vein, what are the positives of having a column that you can sound off in on just about any topic?
The good part is simply breaking the ice. When you read a column like that you feel as though you're engaged in a conversation and that you know the person to some extent. That kind of familiarity has lead to conversations that have resulted in actual Image Comics. It starts with a colum and ends with folks saying, "Hey, I like this guy--I'd like to work with him."

Are there any negatives?
The negatives generally come from those looking for an excuse to get pissed off. Eventually I'll say something that sets these guys off and then they're threatening to never buy my book or anything we publish. That kind of behavior may sound pretty childish but it happens. reading comics tends to keep people young at heart, I guess.

What's the state of Image comics right now? From the fans perspective, things look pretty strong (Invincible, Walking Dead, etc.). Is that the case?
Absolutely. Our lineup is really strong right now and getting stronger. It's really exciting to be part of.

Do you plan on ever doing anymore Marvel or DC work? If so, what characters do you want to put your stamp on?
No plans. I really feel as though I've said my piece and as the Publisher of a competing comic book company--it would be bad form to do work for either of these two. But really--there's nothing there that excites me. I'd rather create something new than be a brick in somebody else's building.

If you had to give the comic book industry a grade when it comes to quality, and overall health, what would you give it? What things are going good, and what things need to change?
I'd give it a "C-." I really don't find a lot of comics to be that imaginative. The trend toward realism is an unfortunate one. Kids aren't reading comics and little is being done to encourage them to read. The growth in the bookstores is a big plus but overall, sales are not what they were 20 years ago. Compared to any period in the history of the medium, sales are very bleak. The only time they've been worse was a few years ago when the industry bottomed out. Things aren't THAT bad but they're far from healthy.

Reflecting on your departure from Marvel in the early 1990's in order to form Image, would you do it again the same way, or would you do some different things?
No regrets.

What do you have coming up? Any projects you can give us a preview of?
Savage Dragon continues to be an ongoing concern but I'm doing some outside work at Image as well. I've been coloring Paul Grist's Jack Staff and now I'm coloring Jack Kirby's Silver Star. The first four issues of Silver Star were colored flat and the last two were all blotchy and airbrushed. I'm re-coloring the last two issues so that the series looks like a cohesive whole and the first four issues are getting new separations as well. We're fixing mistakes and making it sing. But my main gig is Savage Dragon.

Erik Larsen
Savage Dragon perpetrator
www.savagedragon.com
www.imagecomics.com