GRAPHIC FANTASY #1, #2 & #3 — THE COMPLETE ERIK LARSEN / SAVAGE DRAGON TRIFECTA

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GRAPHIC FANTASY #1, #2 & #3 — THE COMPLETE ERIK LARSEN / SAVAGE DRAGON TRIFECTA:
$17995.00

GRAPHIC FANTASY #1, #2 & #3 — THE COMPLETE ERIKLARSEN / SAVAGE DRAGON TRIFECTA

CGC × JSA 9.6 / 9.8 / 9.8 — WHITE PAGES
ORIGINAL 1982–1983 AJAX COMICS GROUP EDITIONS — NOT FACSIMILES

Offered together is an exceptionally rare opportunity toacquire the complete original Graphic Fantasy #1, #2 and #3, tracing theearliest published beginnings of Erik Larsen's Dragon years before SavageDragon, Image Comics, or Larsen's celebrated work on Spider-Man.

These are the genuine, individually hand-numbered 1982–1983Ajax Comics Group originals.

They have been in my personal collection since they werenew, approximately 44 years, and were only recently professionallygraded by CGC, with the original creator autographs authenticated by JSA.

The grades:

GRAPHIC FANTASY #1 — CGC × JSA 9.6 WHITE PAGES

Individually numbered #133/300

Original Ajax Comics Group edition — 1982.

Features the first published appearance of The Dragon,Erik Larsen's early incarnation of the character that preceded the SavageDragon readers would later come to know.

Erik Larsen story, cover and art.

Original creator autographs on the back cover authenticatedby JSA.

CGC itself has previously described the original GraphicFantasy #1 as the "holy grail" for Savage Dragon and ErikLarsen collectors.

Original copies are extraordinarily scarce. Survivingexamples are known with unusual hand-numbering reflecting the extremely small,independently produced nature of the original publication.

This example has survived more than four decades in anexceptional CGC 9.6 with WHITE PAGES.

GRAPHIC FANTASY #2 — CGC × JSA 9.8 WHITE PAGES

Individually numbered #22/450

Original Ajax Comics Group edition — 1982.

Second published appearance of The Dragon.

Erik Larsen story, cover and art.

Original Erik Larsen autograph authenticated by JSA.

Graded an extraordinary:

CGC 9.8 — NEAR MINT/MINT — WHITE PAGES

From a hand-numbered edition of only 450 copies, finding anoriginal copy is difficult in any grade. Finding one preserved at 9.8more than four decades later is something altogether different.

GRAPHIC FANTASY #3 — CGC × JSA 9.8 WHITE PAGES

Individually numbered #189/500

Original Ajax Comics Group edition — 1983.

An early appearance of The Dragon from a hand-numberededition of 500 copies.

Original creator autographs authenticated by JSA.

Graded:

CGC 9.8 — NEAR MINT/MINT — WHITE PAGES

Original Graphic Fantasy issues rarely surfacepublicly, particularly in exceptional high grade.

BEFORE SPIDER-MAN. BEFORE IMAGE COMICS. BEFORE SAVAGEDRAGON.

The history behind these books is part of what makes themextraordinary.

In the early 1980s, Erik Larsen was a young comic-bookcreator with roots in Bellingham, Washington, producing independentcomics in extremely small quantities.

Graphic Fantasy introduced readers to an earlyincarnation of a character called The Dragon.

He looked considerably different then.

Larsen's career would eventually take him to Marvel Comics,where his dynamic artwork became familiar to readers of The AmazingSpider-Man.

Then came 1992.

Larsen joined six other superstar comic creators in leavingthe traditional comics establishment and co-founding Image Comics.

Among the creations Larsen brought to Image was hisradically reimagined Savage Dragon.

More than four decades after those early Graphic Fantasyappearances, Larsen continues to write and draw Savage Dragon, making itone of the most remarkable long-running creator-owned superhero comics inAmerican comic-book history.

But the published story of Dragon began here.

Graphic Fantasy #1.

A PERSONAL CONNECTION — AND 44 YEARS TOGETHER

There is something else about this particular set that can'tbe recreated simply by purchasing three slabs individually.

These books have been together since they were new.

I grew up in Bellingham, Washington, and discovered ErikLarsen's artwork while I was still in elementary school.

Western Washington University hosted small comic conventionsduring those years. My school friends and I would attend, and I remember seeingErik participating on panels and displaying his artwork.

At the time, of course, none of us could have imagined wherehis career—or this strange character called The Dragon—would eventually go.

I acquired these Graphic Fantasy comics during thatera from King Arthur's Book Shoppe, a wonderfully nostalgic Bellinghamcomic book and specialty shop that I remember from its locations on JamesStreet and later Cornwall Avenue.

I didn't assemble this set decades later from sales,dealers or other collectors.

I have been their sole owner since these books were new.

They remained together in my collection through the 1980s,the birth of Image Comics in the 1990s, and the decades that followed.

Only recently did I finally have them professionallyencapsulated by CGC and their original signatures authenticated by JSA.

After approximately 44 years, the grades came back:

#1 — 9.6 WHITE PAGES

#2 — 9.8 WHITE PAGES

#3 — 9.8 WHITE PAGES

That was quite a moment.

ALSO INCLUDED — THE DRAGON'S JOURNEY CONTINUES

To complete the story beyond the original Graphic Fantasytrilogy, I am also including two additional CGC-graded issuesrepresenting important later stages in the evolution of Erik Larsen's Dragoninto the character the world would come to know as Savage Dragon.

MEGATON #3 — CGC 9.2 WHITE PAGES

Megaton Comics — 1986

An important early appearance of The Dragon,published several years after the extraordinarily scarce Graphic Fantasyappearances and years before the founding of Image Comics.

Megaton #3 represents a fascinating bridge in thecharacter's publishing history. By this point, Erik Larsen's Dragon had movedbeyond the tiny self-published Graphic Fantasy fanzines and into aprofessionally published comic.

This copy is professionally graded:

CGC 9.2 — NEAR MINT- — WHITE PAGES

For a collector interested not merely in owning rare books,but in following the evolution and publishing history of Erik Larsen'scharacter, Megaton #3 is an important part of that story.

THE SAVAGE DRAGON #1 — CGC 9.8 WHITE PAGES

Image Comics — 1992

And then, ten years after Graphic Fantasy #1,everything changed.

In 1992, Erik Larsen joined six other superstar creators inleaving the traditional comics establishment and co-founding Image Comics.

Larsen radically reimagined his old Dragon concept for a newgeneration.

The result was Savage Dragon.

This is The Savage Dragon Limited Series #1,published during Image Comics' historic first year and representing thebeginning of Savage Dragon as comic readers around the world came to know him.

This copy is graded an exceptional:

CGC 9.8 — NEAR MINT/MINT — WHITE PAGES

FIVE COMICS — ONE REMARKABLE TIMELINE

Together, the five CGC-graded books included in thiscollection trace approximately a decade in the evolution of Erik Larsen and hissignature creation:

1982 — Graphic Fantasy #1 — CGC × JSA 9.6
First published appearance of The Dragon

1982 — Graphic Fantasy #2 — CGC × JSA 9.8
Second published appearance of The Dragon

1983 — Graphic Fantasy #3 — CGC × JSA 9.8
Early appearance of The Dragon

1986 — Megaton #3 — CGC 9.2
An important early appearance bridging the Graphic Fantasy era and thecharacter's later development

1992 — The Savage Dragon #1 — CGC 9.8
The Image Comics launch of Larsen's reimagined Savage Dragon

From a few hundred hand-numbered independent comics producedwhen Erik Larsen was a young artist...

through Megaton...

to Larsen's career at Marvel...

to the founding of Image Comics...

and finally to Savage Dragon #1.

All five CGC-graded books pictured are included in thissale.

FIVE BOOKS — ONE PIECE OF COMICS HISTORY

Original Graphic Fantasy comics seldom surface.

High-grade examples are considerably more difficult.

A complete #1–3 group preserved together by its originalowner since the early 1980s, with grades of 9.6 / 9.8 / 9.8, white pagesand authenticated creator autographs represents an opportunity that may beextremely difficult to duplicate.

Combined with the included Megaton #3 CGC 9.2 and TheSavage Dragon #1 CGC 9.8, these five books tell an extraordinary storyspanning the obscure beginnings of The Dragon through the birth of SavageDragon at Image Comics.

For the serious Erik Larsen, Savage Dragon, Image Comics,independent-comics or Bronze/Copper Age collector, this isn't simply agroup of five graded comic books.

It's a timeline of the Dragon's history, beginning withbooks I personally acquired when they were new and preserved for more than fourdecades.

PLEASE NOTE

The three Graphic Fantasy comics are the original1982–1983 Ajax Comics Group editions.

THESE ARE NOT THE MODERN GRAPHIC FANTASY FACSIMILEEDITIONS.

Please carefully examine the photographs showing the CGC/JSAlabels, grades, original hand-numbering and authenticated signatures.

The five slabs pictured are the exact books the buyer willreceive.

Because of their rarity and value, the books will be exceptionallywell protected for shipment, fully insured, tracked and shipped with signatureconfirmation.

Additional photographs can be provided to seriousprospective buyers.

Serious offers are welcome.