American Flagg! Volume 1 Paperback – January 6, 2009

Has Moore just spoiled me? Did Gaimen raise the bar? (Even Miller might have improved my tastes...) Chaykin is good, interesting, decent. But, this novel lacks the wow factor, the "it" factor that could have taken it over the top. It's gritty, but not gritty enough, cool, but not cool enough, smart, but not smart enough. If it was a student I'd give it a B. Worth the read because of it's influence and the climate in which it was published but don't expect tooooo much.

80's cutting-edge comic that till holds up today. Artwork and adult-oriented storyline made for a great read. I'll be ordering Volume 2 in the near future.

good

Had these issues 15 years ago, and I really liked them. Thought it would be great reading this again, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. Started losing interest near the end of the first book. I also have the 2nd book... but haven't cracked it open yet. For some reason, this book is really rooted in the 80s... at least in my mind. I think it would be fair to say it is a great document of it's time. I can see how it influenced a lot of modern day storytelling, like WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. If they had re-colored this modern style... it would have been so much better.Bruzenak's lettering was still groundbreaking. Chaykin's storytelling is top notch.

This first volume is great and provocative on many levels. Volume 2 has a hard time keeping the standard.

I honestly can not tell if this is slightly racist and wildly misogynistic, or cutting edge satire of Reagan era attitudes.

"American Flagg!" is one of those comics that I have heard about for decades, and heard was great, but had never read. I finally picked it up and, no surprises, it is as fantastic as reported.Howard Chaykin and his series "American Flagg!" get the term "groundbreaking" attached quite often, and after reading it I see how true this is. Published in 1982 through First Comics (the same year  Blade Runner ] came out, which does not seem to be a coincidence), "American Flagg!" laid the groundwork and set the stage for the comic book revolution that would come in 1986 with  Watchmen  and  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns . In his introduction, Michael Chabon ( The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay ) goes so far as to compare "American Flagg!" to  Citizen Kane , as having shown the world what could really be done with a medium that hadn't yet realized its own capabilities.Aside from just upping the sex-and-violence quotient to be more adult - something Chaykin would continue with his own famous revamps of  The Shadow  and  Blackhawk  - "American Flagg!" mixes politics, anti-corporationalism, and tongue-in-cheek irony combined with an entirely non-ironic patriotism and love of the American ideals of free speech, free press, and free religion. And maybe free love.In 2031 (a day not quite as far in the future as it must have seemed to Chaykin when he wrote it), a eco- and war-devastated Earth has been abandoned by the rich and powerful in favor of a terra-formed Mars. The Earth has been almost entirely purchased by a mega-corporation called The Plex, who pits the remaining population against each other in violent battles that it sells as top-rated programming to Mars. Rueben Flagg arrives, drafted into the Plexus Rangers, a corporate security force. Flagg was once a video star of the series Mark Thrust, until The Plex realized they had captured enough footage of him that they could holographically simulate the character without the actor. Flagg, who is Jewish, finds that Earth is a cesspool of discrimination and racism, with gangs battling against each other every night for Mars' entertainment. The Plex broadcasts a TV show, Bob Violence, loaded with subliminal messages to ensure the Earth folks keep fighting. But Flagg is an idealist, who has grown up on the dream of America, and decides that a little underground rabble-rousing is just what the country needs. And maybe a pirate TV station.I was happy to see that "American Flagg!" is not at all dated. There is a bit of the early 80s here, especially with pastel fashion, white suits, and the pre-AIDS sexuality that has Rueben Flagg as a cavalier James Bond type who can't go thirty feet without a woman taking off her dress and throwing herself at him. ( Interesting that Chaykin had all that fun catch up symbolically a bit later, when in "The Shadow" the sex-driven couple both caught AIDS.) There are some political issues that seem dated; one wonders why a future-society so sexually free would still be freaked out by homosexuality.Ultimately, "American Flagg!" lives up to its reputation. This is Good Comics. And any true lover of comic books who hasn't read "American Flagg!" is missing out.

I bought both trades of American Flagg and attempted to read it over the course of a week. I own literally thousands of graphic novels and can honestly say that American Flagg is one of maybe a dozen stories I couldn't finish. The most interesting part of American Flagg is probably the sci-fi setting, but none of the ideas are particularly original or well executed. It honestly felt like a mash of a hundred other futuristic settings. (Judge Dredd, Dune, Star Wars, Bladerunner, etc.) The book is completely plot driven, yet the massive amount of interchangeable characters with similar appearances makes the story very difficult to follow. You are expected to piece together the political climate, the technological setting, and the remember the convoluted relationships of about thirty actors who are all having affairs. Even reading a few issues per day I had to constantly flip back to identify characters and understand the politics. There are a lot of explosions, fight scenes, and sex. The action is executed with a good degree of artistic skill, but I was hoping for more depth and intellect from a series that is so highly regarded.The worst part about American Flagg is that the author made no attempt to develop his characters or even tell us who they are in the first place. The main character, Reuben Flagg, is the most generic protagonist comic book hero I've ever read. Honestly, this could be a parody of any number of bland Golden age superheroes (Captain America, Superman) if it weren't completely lacking in humor.This book just wasn't for me. Its all action and sex,tied together by a confusing sci-fi plot.

American Flagg.If Watchmen is a symphony, if The Dark Knight Returns is an elegiac funeral march, then American Flagg is in your face Rock 'n' Roll, loud, exciting, dirty, and sexy. Written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin at the very top of his form and with amazing lettering by Ken Bruzenak which here is utilised as an integrated part of the art, this is a graphic story of the like you have never experienced before.It's 2031, the environment is in a mess, society has fragmented, the Plex (government) has relocated to the safety of Mars, and fired porn star of Sexus Rangers, Reuben Flagg has joined the Plexus Rangers and is the new guy in violent and corrupt Chicago where the gangs run rampant, the women look like a fetishist's wet dream, there are names like mananacillin, Bob Violence, Jerry Rigg, the guns sound like PAPAPAPAPA OOOOOOO MOW MOW! and there's a talking cat named Raul. Is Reuben the man to sort it all out, if he can keep his pants on long enough that is? Packed with action and every panel packed, overflowing with sex and violence, delicious in its wit, satire and inventiveness, this is a science fiction comic of the like you have never seen before and it stands comparison with those two mentioned up above. 27 years old and it's still as fresh and funny as it always was. A magnificent achievement.This, and volume 2, contain the first 14 issues of the ongoing series which stands comparison with the best American comics. As with Swamp Thing, I have all the original issues but I wanted these collected editions which are printed on much better quality paper than the originals. If you can afford it and though these are nice, go for the one volume hardback -I wish I had.

I got these when they came out in the 80's.They still look superb now and alot of restoration work went into getting these fit for print.Ground breaking then and certainly set the way for many comics that followed.Give it a look.Chaykin at the top of his game. A true master at work.

Even though over twenty-five yeasrs have passed, Chaykin's seminal work is still refreshing, funny and well worth a read!Strongly recommended!

Uma das maiores referências em histórias cyberpunk já escritas, American Flagg foi uma quebra de paradigma no mundo dos quadrinhos, tanto por seu roteiro de ação quase contínua, quanto por sua narrativa gráfica estilizada e fragmentada, onde os cenários raramente são silenciosos. Além disso, o futuro caótico criado por Chaykin -onde a violência brutal e a indiferença fazem parte do dia-a-dia das pessoas e o reality shows são o principal entretenimento- chega a ter uma verosimilhança desconcertante com a nossa realidade. O extremismo das ideologias sócio-políticas e o abuso do Poder por parte das autoridades -assim como suas consequências nefastas- são jogados na cara do leitor sem o menor pudor, às vezes chegando a ser constrangedor. Mesmo sendo uma obra já com mais de 30 anos de idade, ela não é, de forma alguma, datada, já que ela pode ser, basicamente, uma predição do nosso futuro próximo.

Quando criança eu comprei os 2 primeiros HQ do American Flagg... não entendi bulhufas e desisti... após comprar este volume belíssimo e integral...entendi... American Flagg é sacanagem... é safadeza..."iguar noise"...American Flagg é humano... herói sem querer ser...American Flagg é da hora...todos os estereótipos como o Batman, não tem relação com o Reuben, que se aproveita das situações, principalmente " mulherescas, bonitas é claro(tudo é comercial e comercio)"... herói anti-herói, Reuben por mim na infância não foi reconhecido, agora entendo porque Howard Chaykin está sendo reconhecido além de seus desenhos pessoais únicos...estava evoluído demais para a época...