This series feels like it would have been a really big deal in 1985; written by Chris Claremont during his legendary run on X-Men, and at what was arguably still his peak period, The Black Dragon was also famous for Marvel once more utilising the superb British artist, John Bolton.

Despite the promise and potential of the creators, a beautiful cover and the fact that the six issue series was also released with less restrictions than their usual fare, being part of Marvel’s creator owned imprint (Epic Comics), it doesn’t get off to the greatest start in this first issue.

The story seems to take forever to get going, and doesn’t really seem to gel into a coherent whole, with all kinds of weirdness thrown into the mix, such as dragons and even Robin Hood, which still don’t stop it from feeling incredibly dull.

Bolton’s art is not consistent either, though most of the oddness there is due to the flat, oddly psychedelic colouring choices. The pencils themselves are great, but the weird colouring pretty much undoes the great work that Bolton does there.

Problem is, Bolton was also responsible for the pencils, so it’s not as if the blame lies elsewhere, other than with the artist himself.

Anyway, it’s a comic that probably would have been a good deviation from the usual superheroes and sci-fi back in ’85 (interestingly, it was released in March of that year, making it almost exactly 40 years old), but it’s definitely not aged particularly gracefully.

Even if there was no issue with the colours, Claremont’s script is self-indulgent and boring, which has unfortunately characterised his work for a very long time at this point. It’s odd to see it so clearly from a time when he was both at the height of his popularity and arguably a creative powerhouse too, though.

I picked up my copy of The Black Dragon #1 from the excellent Coffee and Comics in Clacton-on-Sea.

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