The cover art for Savage Dragon #254, in stores today from writer/artist Erik Larsen and publisher Image Comics, promised a brutal throwdown with the Vicious Circle, and the issue itself delivered. By the end of the story, there were a handful of bloody, possibly-dead bodies strewn around the room, including those of some really major characters. Since it’s Savage Dragon, that’s not exactly unprecedented — anything can happen, just ask Dragon himself, who exploded into a puff of blood and a comical sound effect back in Savage Dragon #225. The key difference here is that the issue ends on a dramatic moment in the battle, leaving the question of some characters’ exact fates open to interpretation.