Review- Dragonslayer #1 and 2

Dragonslayer #1 and 2 (Marvel, cover dates October- November, 1981)

Writer: Denny O'Neil

Artists: Marie Severin and John Tartaglione

Like the movie, these comic books are an unremarkable footnote that few people remember. It's odd, considering that Disney and Industrial Light and Magic (George Lucas' special effects company) were involved. I remember it though, because in the summer of 1981, while visiting my aunt one day, she gave my sister and I each 50 cents to buy something at Lawson's. Lawson's is a long defunct convenience store chain that could be found throughout Michigan and Ohio, later becoming Dairy Mart and then Circle K. Today they have a radically reduced presence here in the Detroit area. There was a Lawson's a few blocks from her house, back in the days when it was okay to let an 8 year old kid roam around unsupervised.

This was the architectural style of the Lawson's store that I went to, although this picture looks like it is from the 1960s. I could not find any pictures of the actual location nor of the company logo circa 1981. Fun fact: Lawson's Frozen Coke mix was superior to the 7-11 Slurpee of the day.  

I picked #1 off of the spinner rack because the cover was awesome. Conventional wisdom says not to judge a book by its cover. In comic books the cover is the hook. All of those comics on that spinner rack with my having money enough for only one. Yes, the cover was the most important part of the comic circa 1981.

The story itself isn't very original, a retread of so many concepts that it would take some time to ascertain exactly what was lifted from where. There is a lot of Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars at play here. Dungeons And Dragons was also popular, and popular culture of the day such as Heavy Metal reflected this trend.

What is notable about this two issue limited series are the creators involved. Denny O'Neil deftly handles the adaptation, driving the point home and condensing 90 minutes of story across 44 pages of story. Marie Severin is an industry legend with a career that spanned decades. Both have been involved in some of the finest comic books ever made, and I got a real kick out of seeing them on this. 8 year old me enjoyed this comic but didn't have a clue who they were.

This was originally released as Marvel Super Special #20, which was a magazine size title printed on superior paper stock and subsequently split across two standard comic books (reviewed here) before being reissued as a full color paperback. The paperback-sized book split the panels across 157 pages of story. I used to own it but the binding on the copy I had was failing and I got rid of it. You can get copies of that book on eBay for cheap, or you can get the single issues out of .50 or dollar boxes like I did with these two issues.

I still have my original copy of #1 from 1981 but it is missing the back cover and is held together with Scotch tape. I read it so many times as an 8 year old kid that it fell apart. And I never got to read #2 until I was an adult. I did see the movie on cable years ago and it was okay. Unremarkable and honestly a bit boring.

Rereading these comic books was a pleasant way to spend an evening. If you want to read this title I can almost guarantee that they are waiting in a dollar box near you.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- There is no OCD zone on original single issues.