Dragon's Claws retrospective #4 'Wild in the country."

by Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey

This baron rode in on a metallic horse with no name.

Cover date- October 1988
Price- 55p

Writer- Simon Furman
Artist- Geoff Senior
Letterer- Annie Halfacree
Colourist- Steve White
Editor- Richard Starkings
Managing Editor- Jenny O’Connor
Published by- Marvel Comics LTD

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synopsis

Dragon's Claws hit France.  Dragon has an escort mission gone wrong and the rest of the Claws are caught in a battle between two rival barons.  (D)

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Kev
What're your first impressions of issue 4, 'Wild in the Country?'


Dave
I think the cover is quite basic.   Steel does play a significant part in an issue, which gives us an insight to his character and his morals.


Kev
Yeh, Steel definitely gets a bit of character development here.  And for the first time really.  Certainly of any real significance.  The theme of this issue is definitely honour.  And as a samurai, Steel certainly is honourable.  I think that he in particular is also shown to possess an awareness of the innocent victims and the collateral damage of any conflicts the Claws may be involved in.


Dave
Yeah, Steel is definatley an honorable man.  He's steeped in tradition and possesses a code he is willing to die for.  I've always wondered about those numbers on Fastfax, as they are formatted in dates but jump alover the place.  They must be Fastfax logs.  Like "Captains Log."


Kev
I'm the same.  To start with, I thought they were supposed to be dates.  Then realised they didn't work chronologically at all.
I do love the way it provides background information to this issue, enriching it as a reading experience and also uses the footnote to tease a storyline that's two issues away yet.  That's a very nice touch.


Dave
Yeah.  It's again, a very verbal issue, but now mixed with action.  Both seem to be carrying the story along at a rapid pace given the number of pages in an issue at those times.


Kev
It is very verbose again, isn't it?  Furman perhaps being a little guilty of telling with dialogue rather than just letting Senior show with the artwork.


Dave
Yeah, 'cause Senior's character designs again, are very eyecatching and interesting.  A sort of mesh, with militaristic mercanaries and a hint of 'Mad Max: Road Warrior' characters.  Which is a good blend, I think.  What do you think?


Kev
Yeh, man.  I love this era Senior.  He was always my favourite on 'Transformers.'.  Mad Max has definitely been an influence of 'Dragon's Claws.'  And not just aesthetically either.  I love the splash page with Dragon, Legris and Ostleur tumbling down that bank.  It's very dynamic.  Especially with the gunfire all around them.
​

Slips, trips and falls. Where there's blame, there's a claim.

Dave
Looking at it again, I find it quite an interesting issue now.  Tackling again the ongoing socio-economic problems, but also the power of the media in how they portray these problems and how Dragon's Claws are the conscience left to, not only try and complete a mission, but make sense of what is truly going on.  As opposed to the tainted, one-sided viewpoint of N.U.R.S.E. intending to brianwash their hired killers.  Which is what they are using the Claws for.


Kev
Definitely.  The Claws, for all their faults, are still an honourable bunch.  Some of them more so than others perhaps, but certainly on the whole.  Dragon realises he actually has something in common with Legris and Ostleur and Legris cuts him pretty deep when he says,
"At least I fight for something.  You're nothing more than a paid mercenary."  It's also interesting to see Furman really begin to put them on an international stage here with the French setting and show that the problems that exist in Greater Britain in 8162 are mirrored in 8162 France.  The carving up of land,  rich barons fighting over the best farmland and the innocent, poor civilians get caught in the middle.  Quite literally in this case.


Dave
Yeah, interesting point.  Class divides and causing the poor to fight with each other for survival.  World politics all over.  


Kev
Yep.  We'll get a glimpse of this in Canada too, when the setting moves there in a few issues time.


Dave
Actually, looking at Colonel Gescaux, Legbois and the rebels in the jeep and the whole setting, it totally puts me in mind of the old Action Force/GI Joe issues we also used to read.  It's straight out of their type of story format.


Kev
The Action Force/GI Joe comparison hadn't occurred to me, but you're right, there are certain similarities there, for sure.  This issue is a fantastic showcase for Dragon's abilities as a soldier and his proficiency as a tactician too.  Great action beats by Furman and Senior.  I also like how Furman touches on the fact that revolutionary movements are so often bastardised into being criminal enterprises.


Dave
I like the little comedy moment with Scavenger when uses a lady's headscarf to fling a rock to takeout a warrior, then does the whole bow. Very showmanship like.

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Scavenger, ever the ladies' man.

​Kev
And chivalrous too, right?


Dave
And in the background you see a crowd looking at him, including Steel who just towers above everyone.


Kev
It's funny that Scavenger is looking at Steel like a bit lump of brute force muscle and obviously thinking,
'There's a smarter, sneakier and quicker way to end this.'  Ha, ha!  The conversation between Mercy and Steel highlights the differences between the two of them.  Steel is incredibly honourable and conscious, whereas Mercy is a hardened by her past and much more cruel.

"….. and I'll be in Scotland afore ye."

Dave
Mercy is ironically named, as she is hardened in battle and shows no hesitation in combat.  She's lacking Mercy.  Probably why she got the name as it's a quality she lacks.


Kev
Is it ever implicitly stated that she is ironically named?  Or is it meant to be an unsaid understanding?  'Cause it really is ironic, isn't it?  She's pretty vicious.  Which shouldn't be surprising to me, considering she was a vigilante.


Dave
One of the later issues focuses on Mercy and gives the reader a good character study of her.  It is something Furman covers well as he goes into depth with each character throughout the series.


Kev
Yeh.  They're definitely each getting their time to shine, aren't they?  Even if it is a relatively brief moment, he's definitely rounding out the members of the team.  I like how Mercy was more than happy to just kill the two barons.


Dave
That's the basis for the clash in this story with her and Steel.  A vigilante code and a samurai code of honour, and what we get is Steel driven by this code to do what he thinks is right regardless.


Kev
Yep.  Regardless of whether it is the road less travelled or the most difficult option or not.  Look at panel 3 on page 22.
Dragon's faith in honour is proven right and even though his head hangs in disappointment his face is fully lit.  Contrast that with panel 3 on the next page, where's Steel's faith in honour is shown to have been unfounded, or at least misplaced, his head hangs in  disappointment too, but his face is obscured by the darkness of shadow.  Very nice stuff.  Furman and Senior firing on all cylinders there.

Hang your head in shame, young man.

​Dave
Yeah, good storytelling.   Probably why there is so much verbal in this story, as it is definitely a thinking man's action story.



Kev
I think that's a big part of the reason why I love this series so much.  It's like my favourite kind of action movie, in that it has enough brains behind it to not feel like a dumb action film.


Dave
What I think Furman is also doing is giving us, the reader, a sense of how each character reacts differently to a given situation and by the time the main story unfolds later in the series, we now have got to know these characters through these situations.  It's also showing us the old bond between the Claws and why they are such a strong team, who in effect all need each other more than they realise.


Kev
That's a really good point, man.  I suppose it's that old technique of putting your characters in the worst possible scenario for them personally, to see how they react, and as a result, show what it reveals about them.  Dragon's Claws as a team is definitely more than the sum of its parts, isn't it?


Dave
Well said.  


Kev
It goes back to that revelation in the first couple of issues, in that none of them fared particularly well in a life without 'The Game' and ultimately, without each other.

Dah, dah, dah, dum.

​Dave
Yeah, they will need that unity for the next issue.  I love the last page of the issue.  Back in The 'Pool with a nice sinister turn of events, the first appearance of the much loved Death's Head.  I like the final panel of him appearing.  Quite Terminator-esque, which im sure Geoff Senior was aware of and probably borrowed.  What do you think?


Kev
Definitely.  There's a big 'Terminator' influence where Death's Head is concerned here.  Even the way he arrives at his destination in time is very reminiscent of 'The Terminator,' with the ball of blue light and all.


Dave
Especially as this was written and drawn in 1988 and Terminator was '84 and was still big in the public consciousness as an iconic character.


Kev
Oh, of course.  Especially considering things moved slower in those days.  You were about a year before a film arrived on home video to rent, never mind buy and it was years before they were first broadcast on TV.


Dave
Yeah, even the way all the cans are blowing about and the rubbish, also with the bright light, straight out of The Terminator.  Haha.

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Dah, dah, dah, dum.

​Kev
Right enough.  All the garbage blew away in the alleyways in the movie because of the displacement of air as well, didn't they?  Good catch, Sir.


Dave
It's also clever artwork and storytelling.  One page can just set up and tell the reader all they need to know about what the next issue will be about and, as I said, it's a real change in tone, going back to being really dark and sinister and menacing.  Especially as issue 3 and 4 are similar in tone and colour and predominately set in daylight, this takes it on to a more apocalyptic setting again and also back to this idea of no dialogue and the use of the power of images uninterrupted by captions to visually impress the reader.


Kev
Yeh.  This issue has been very bright, hasn't it?  It's all taken place outdoors and in broad daylight.  I remember Furman saying that to us when we spoke to him about 'Dragon's Claws that day, that he liked to have the end of one issue lead into the next, to create an ongoing storyline, to hook the reader with a cliffhanger of some sort and give them something to come back for next issue.  And I have to say, it definitely worked with me when I was young.   I hear what you're saying about the images being uninterrupted by caption boxes, this final page has one line, one word of dialogue actually, just Nell exclaiming, "What-?"  It's a quality epilogue for sure.


Dave
I would say issue 3 and 4 are almost like a two part story, as they are similar to each other in terms of tackling socio-economics and, as you said, are very bright and also very dialogue orientated.  I think they make an interesting change but also probably I think, a deliberate break before the main story unfolds in later issues and the behind the scene manipulations of N.U.R.S.E. goes into full swing. 


Kev
True.  Back to The 'Pool.  Back to 'The Evil Dead.'  Back to the dystopia.   I agree, these two issues are very much like two procedural episodes of a TV show.  Something that Furman probably would've loved to have done more of, had the series survived beyond it's initial arc.  What about casting ?  Do you have any casting suggestions for this issue?


Dave
Not really sure.  I'm a bit stuck here.  How about you?


Kev
I only have one for this issue, and it's for Golding.  I reckon either Dash Mihok or Kenny Johnson would be great in that role.


Dave
Yeah.   Good call there.  I was trying to look for actors for Legris and Ostleur but can't come up with any.


Kev
When I think of French actors, I just think, Vince Cassell.  He's superb.


Dave
Perhaps Vincent Perez.  Especially as he is a bit older now.  And what about Karl Urban for Legris?


Kev
Those are great choices, actually.


Dave
In conclusion, what's your take on this issue as a whole?


Kev
I have a real soft-spot for it.  It's one of my favourites.  Yet, as you said, it only tangentially connects to the overall storyline.  Come to think of it, that might be why I like it so much, purely because of the fact it actually feels like a detour, a welcome weekend break in the countryside and as a result, it  kind-of stands on its own two feet, so to speak.

​(D) & (K)

​Next: 'Here's Death's Head.'

Clearly littering fines are not enforced in The 'Pool.