If you missed the last one…
Last time I wrote about dragons with an eye to showing many different kinds of dragons from space monsters to cute and cuddly beasties. This time my agenda is simply who drew the most interesting dragons? There are plenty of cartoon dragons that look an awful lot alike, without any really eye-catching features. I wanted artists who put their own spin on the creatures, whether fearsome or friendly. Not surprising are some of the names you’ll see here: Ken Hultgren, Ernest Schroeder, John Rosenberger, Maurice Whitman, Nick Cardy, Ernie Colon and John Celardo. Professionals all, with their own style and feel. There are also surprises like Dave Berg, better known for his work in Mad Magazine.
Dragons are a natural for heroic fantasy and movies. Sleeping Beauty, Dragonslayer, Sinbad, Hercules, etc. For more on heroic fantasy movie comic dragons, go here. As with so many early comics, the writers are often unknown. They are indicated where known.
Golden Age
“The Duke and the Dope” (Giggle Comics #25, January 1945) was written and drawn by Ken Hultgren. Not a real dragon story but Ken Hultgren’s cartoony is always fascinating. I would have liked to see a tale with a real one.
“Bugs Bunny and the Dreadful Dragon” (Four Color #187, April 1948) has Bugs in a fantasy land called Dragonwych where he wanders into a cave that is a giant’s mouth, talking carrots and a witch before he stumbles on a baby dragon. Papa dragon proves a danger but Bugs get rid of the dragons and the witch by the end. Ralph Heimdahl’s Papa dragon is fearsome for a child’s comic.
“David and the Dragon” (Fairy Tales #10, April-May 1951) starts with David fleeing the mean couple who use him like a slave. He hides in the Haunted Wood where he finds a Wishing Tree. The plants get uppity but the dragon burns them and saves the boy (though he is trying to eat him at first). The two team up, escape the wood and go home. Things are different for a boy who has a dragon for a pal. The last frame shows the dragon selling hot cheese sandwiches cooked with dragon breath. This story is similar to Dave Berg’s “Sir Butch” comic though not so heavy on parody. This tale is eleven years later. Berg went onto to become a feature at Mad Magazine with “The Lighter Side of” series. Fairy tale comics were big back in the Golden Age. Walt Kelly drew some of the best dragons here.
“Duel of the Dragons” (Airboy #105, November 1952) is a Heap back-up story for Airboy. A tale set in Japan has a mechanical dragon built to appease a volcano. General Vung has one built for him to ride to victory. It is up to the Heap to save the family of innocent dragon builders from the ruthless tyrant. In the end, a real dragon living in the volcano shows up and it and Vung go into the fire. Ernest Schroeder’s art is always miles ahead of other Golden Age artists.
“Pop’s Dragon Suit” (Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories#169, October 1954) was written by Del Connell. Another fake dragon. This one is the Big Bad Wolf dressing up like a dragon after L’il Wolf is told about a dragon in his future by a fortune teller. Poppa gets hurt for his trick, meant to capture the Three L’il Pigs. Practical Pig sends Big Bad flying with an ejector trap. Gil Turner does a better than usual job with the dragon. Funny Animal cartoons often have the worst drawn dragons.
Silver Age
“One Exciting Knight!” (Forbidden Worlds #37, October 1955) has Frankie Nesbitt playing Gawain in a play. He is teased by Kayo Jones until he gets struck in the head and has a dream. In the dream, he is in the real Camelot, where his fountain pen amazes the locals. A scheme to steal Excalibur is offered but Frankie is jailed when he refuses. He escapes by lassoing a dragon that pulls the bars out of the window. He has to use a sword to fight the dragon but he saves the girl he is sweet on. The dragon’s tail hits him in the head, sending him back. When he wakes up he gives Kayo a trouncing with his new sword fighting skills. One of the other actors looks at his sword, which has the name EXCALIBUR written on it. The dragon fight is more comical than scary. More than a little Mark Twain in this one. John Rosenberger is best known for drawing superheroes. His dragon looks pretty good.
“A Dream of a Dragon” (Atom the Cat #10, December 1957) has Atom reading about knights and dragons in a book. He goes to sleep then wakes up to see a dragon. He thinks it is a dream but it proves real. He uses his super powers to defeat the monster then insists the others call him “Sir Atom”. Again funny animals with a better than average dragon by Maurice Whitman.
“The Dragon of Times Square” (The House of Mystery #74, May 1958) has Miss Brown telling us of how the knight Gawain appeared out of nowhere during “Storm Mary”. He rescues her then explains he disappeared from his time when lightning struck. A dragon also appears and the knight must fight it. Both disappear in another lightning strike. The news explains a time warp was created that linked the present day with the Middle Ages. What it doesn’t explain is why Miss Brown could understand Gawain’s Middle English speech. Bob Brown’s art is stunning.
“The End of the Silver Knight!”/”The Haunted Castle”/”The Sword in the Lake” (The Brave and the Bold #19-21, August-September 1958-December-January 1959) were written by Robert Kanigher. Three separate stories, each featuring a similar-looking dragon drawn by Irv Novick. Kanigher knew that the stories needed a good fight scene so dragon after dragon… The Brave and the Bold gave us the Viking Prince fighting the odd serpentine foe. For more, go here.
“We Fought the Last Dragon!” (My Greatest Adventure #49, November 1960) has two men searching for treasure. They find some odd objects in a cave. One containing powder creates a fire-breathing dragon. They have to use the rest of the items to defeat the monster. Nick Cardy gives us a dragon with a unicorn horn.
Bronze Age
“There’s a Monster at My Party!” (Richie Rich Vaults of Mystery #6, September 1975) The double-headed dragon in this comic is a ghost like the Red Knight who is its master. Richie and his ghostbreaking friends send both of them packing. Ernie Colon does a great job on the artwork. Six years later he’d be co-writing and drawing the heroic fantasy comic, Arak, Son of Thunder. For more on Richie Rich Ghostbreaker, go here.
“Dragon Fires” (Wally the Wizard #5, August 1985) was written by Wally Green. The Strumpshire Dragon is wreaking havoc on the knights of the land. Wally the apprentice wizard and his friend, the bard, Jay, run into the dragon. The monster doesn’t eat them but asks about Jay’s lyre. The bard promises to write a song about the dragon. He is actually a nice dragon, largely misunderstood (We know that story!) Sir Flauntaroy plans to attack the beast next but the boys explain it just wants to be left alone. Jay’s song tells of the merciful and admirable dragon and it catches on quickly. Ben Brown and Jon D’Agostino’s dragon is almost Archie Comics cute at times but can deliver a good fire-breathing scene all the same. Brown and D’Agostino were veterans of the Golden Age.
“The King and the Dragon!” (The House of Mystery #284, September 1980) was written by Bud Simons. Sir Tristan goes in search of a dragon to slay. He fights it but eventually speaks with it and learns the king just wants the monster’s wealth. The dragon comes up with a plan that gets Tristan the girl and the king a nasty surprise. This is an example of the Sword & Sorcery stories that peppered the DC Horror lines in the 1970s and 1980s. For more, go here.
“Dragon Slayer” (Starblazer #210, 1988) Technically after the Bronze Age, this comic started during that time and its contents were visually exciting in a Bronze Age way. This makes a nice farewell to our theme for this post. Starblazer started as a space opera comic but by #210 it had gone on to Sword & Planet (since it still takes place on another planet.) Brax and his dragon, Gorth, comes burning and killing. Bix goes in search of the Dragonslayer after magic takes out his father. Together the Dragonslayer and the boy defeat the evil one. The dragon is aved and becomes the mount of our hero.
Conclusion
There are many more cartoon and comic book dragons out there. We will see more of them later but I doubt you’ll find a better drawn bunch than these I have used today. The drawing of an iconic creature is a challenge to any artist. The thing must be close enough to a dragon that the reader immediately knows it to be such. But at the same time the artist wants to put some personal spin on the thing so it doesn’t look too generic. These artists have succeeded more than most. Most of the funny animal comics, of which there were a few here, fall back on a poor version of Disney’s The Reluctant Dragon.
A good example of this conundrum is Moebius’s dragon for Ron Howard’s Willow (1988). The thing sprouts out of the body of a troll. The two headed beast looks like the giant sausages at Mundare more than a dragon. Hollywood has a legal challenge that writers and comic artists don’t have. You have to make your dragon look different or you’ll get sued. Imagine telling the artists that Smaug doesn’t look different enough– redesign it!
Next time…the Dragons of Archie Comics…
