The Dragon: Blood & Guts
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| The Dragon: Blood & Guts | |
 Cover to The Dragon: Blood & Guts #1, March 1995. Art by Jason Pearson. |
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| Publisher | Image Comics |
|---|---|
| Schedule | monthly |
| Publication date | March 1995-April 1995 |
| Number of issues | 3 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Jason Pearson |
| Penciller(s) | Jason Pearson |
| Inker(s) | Karl Story |
| Colorist(s) | Antonia Kohl & Reuben Rude |
| Creator(s) | Erik Larsen |
The Dragon: Blood & Guts was a three-issue limited series starring the Savage Dragon, created by Erik Larsen. It ran from March 1995 to April 1995. Chronologically, it takes place in between the end of the original Savage Dragon mini-series and the beginning of the regular Savage Dragon series.
[edit] Plot
The FBI in Chicago are investigating the super-powered hitman called Grip. His wife, Alicia Cordova, has agreed to testify against her husband, and an FBI agent known only as "Agent Sheridan" enlists the aid of the Chicago Police Department, and more specifically its super-powered officer Savage Dragon, to protect their star witness. Dragon, whose girlfriend had recently been murdered, is on vacation and is deep in a state of grief-stricken inebriation.
Dragon's partner, Alex Wilde, tries to convince him to end his vacation early and return to duty to protect Cordova, but the Dragon, enraged at not being able to grieve in peace, resigns from the police force. A superior officer informs the Dragon that Wilde (a normal human woman) has agreed to protect Cordova on her own. Meanwhile, in a church, the assassin Grip readies a gang for an assault on the police transporting his wife.
At the last minute, the Dragon joins the police escort for the sake of his partner's safety. Nevertheless, Grip's gang succeeds in slaughtering the entire police escort except for Wilde and the Dragon (who are beaten into unconsciousness), and Alicia Cordova is apparently killed. It is later revealed that she was pregnant, and authorities begin to suspect she might have colluded with Grip to fake her own death.
The Savage Dragon and Officer Wilde start searching the city for Grip, looking for the mysterious "Tadoberch" the wounded and semi-conscious Dragon overheard Grip talking about.
Back at Grip's base of operations, an abandoned church, Grip rails against his wife for threatening his freedom by offering to testify against him. The assassin is then confronted by his true employer, the FBI's Agent Sheridan.
Dragon realizes that his hearing had been compromised by the beating he received at the hands of Grip, and what he actually heard was not "Tadoberch", but "to the church". Shortly thereafter, the Dragon and Wilde discover the abandoned church Grip had been using as a base. They discover a number of corpses and a limousine apparently fleeing the scene. The Dragon and Wilde surreptitiously follow.
In the limousine, Agent Sheridan tells Grip that he himself has superhuman powers (a vaguely defined ability to burn other peoples' brains), and has been sent by the FBI to kill Grip if Grip does not murder his wife, as her testimony will reveal that Grip has worked as an international assassin for the United States government.
The limousine crashes into a gas station, and Grip becomes involved in a physical confrontation with the Dragon. Grip's touch ignites the leaked gasoline and he is killed in the explosion. His last words before he dies are offered to assure his wife that he never would have hurt her. Agent Sheridan takes advantage of the chaos to flee the scene.
