Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! is a series that played an important role in the development of comics in the 1980s. However, in discussions of significant comics of that era, it’s one that’s often overshadowed by the likes of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. In fact, I hadn’t ever read Chaykin’s opus until I got hold of this new trade paperback edition from Titan, which collects the first six issues of the original series (comprising the first two story arcs) along with a short nine-page prologue story.

Michael Chabon provides a lengthy and complimentary introduction to the book--at one point comparing American Flagg! to Citizen Kane. Chabon notes that whilst both Orson Welles and Howard Chaykin might not have innovated all of the techniques that they used in their respective masterpieces, they were the first to combine them in such a way that they opened up such new possibilities for their medium.

Chabon’s observation is a good way of describing Flagg’s appeal. Whilst it’s difficult to point to one specific element as particularly groundbreaking, the way that Chaykin combines the futuristic setting, the dense storytelling techniques, the innovative layouts, and the sharp satirical details work together to make a book that’s unusually layered and sophisticated.

Chaykin’s story revolves around Reuben Flagg, a former action movie star who has been living on Mars for much of his life. As the story opens, Flagg is embarking on a new career on Earth as a “Plex Ranger” law enforcer in the Chicago of 2031.

We are introduced to Chaykin’s dystopian vision of the future through the eyes of the uninitiated Flagg as the writer gradually lays out the details of the complex organisations and social groups that govern this society. He also introduces us slowly to a reasonably large cast of characters that weave in and out over the course of these first six issues.

These characters range from familiar clichés of pulp fiction (the femme fatale, the street-level gang leader, and the hard-bitten boss) to uniquely absurd creations like Raul the Cat--an otherwise ordinary feline that just happens to be able to talk. Over the course of these densely plotted six issues, a complex network of relationships between the characters evolves--with genuine character development rather than a reliance on a static status quo. Some character rise to prominence whilst others fade into the background, and others change their roles in the story entirely--making for an unpredictable read that demands the full attention of readers if they’re to keep track.

However, it’s as a satire of modern society that American Flagg is most successful. Chaykin peppers the world of the book with interesting and often prescient details that remain surprisingly sharp more than two decades on--such as the futuristic Esperanto-esque vocabulary that draws on several different languages, or the global network of computers and media outlets that gives users of the Plex access to a constant stream of information at their fingertips.

Chaykin also reinforces the idea that almost every aspect of this dystopian future is owned and trademarked by a corporation via the frequent insertion of the “TM” symbol into dialogue and text--allowing the sinister shadow of the Plex to hang over almost every aspect of the story. In fact, the only thing that blunts the edges of the book’s satirical elements slightly is the fact that the hyperbolic details of Flagg’s futuristic world are a lot closer to the realities of life in 2009 than they would have been for readers in the early 80s.

After all, Chaykin’s dystopian future--in which multinational conglomerates are as powerful as state governments; the population is kept diverted and occupied by a constant multimedia assault of sex, violence, and reality TV; news outlets are so heavily censored or spun as to be little more than tools of the ruling structure; and popular actors are rendered obsolete by CGI duplicates--suddenly seems a lot less implausible and ridiculous when you’re living in it.

That said, Chaykin’s vision of the future often takes these elements to absurdly extreme lengths. A notable example is the “Bob Violence” TV show, a seemingly plot-free barrage of violent imagery that pumps subliminal messages into the minds of its viewers--encouraging them to riot at the same time every week, as soon as the show ends. These riots are then filmed and broadcast as a reality-TV show--thus explicitly addressing the way in which cycles of violence are actually perpetuated by media coverage that purports to merely reflect them.

Whilst the extent of the violence and the mindless nature of “Bob Violence” are exaggerated, it’s still an uncomfortably accurate commentary on the desensitisation of the public to extreme violence, and to the provocative effects of the presence of such violence in the media. It’s no accident that one of Chaykin’s female characters is named “Medea Blitz”, an amusing pun that evokes the likes of Sand Saref from Eisner’s Spirit.

The book’s attitudes towards sex are less extreme and exaggerated. There are several sex scenes (Flagg is depicted as a womaniser in the James Bond mould) and there are frequent references to pornography and the sex industry--but they’re so prevalent that they quickly become so commonplace as to be virtually unnoticed.

Perhaps Chaykin’s view of futuristic attitudes towards sex is positive and hopeful--a view that doesn’t include the hang-ups and taboos that are often associated with the subject in the present day. Or perhaps Chaykin is again suggesting that society will simply become more and more desensitised as extreme sexual imagery becomes more and more prevalent in the media. Either way, it’s interesting to contrast the book’s heavy emphasis on extreme violence with its matter-of-fact attitude towards sex.

At the same time, as he moves comics into more sophisticated territory in terms of his writing style and subject matter, Chaykin also pushes the boundaries of comics art with this series. One of the book’s most distinctive qualities is the use of complex, dense layouts that pack a lot of information onto the page--a trait that can seem a little daunting and challenging at first, especially if you’re used to the more leisurely pacing of modern comics. However, Chaykin’s style quickly becomes familiar and accessible--conveying complex plot details or character information with the utmost efficiency.

Working as both writer and artist, Chaykin is able to co-ordinate his story with his depictions more closely than most collaborative efforts between separate creators might manage. The line between writing and art is frequently blurred here due to Chaykin’s coordinated efforts with his letterer of choice--Ken Bruzenak.

For instance, there are many examples of sound effects being used as graphic elements in their own right, and instances in which Bruzenak’s lettered captions and speech balloons begin to meld with the linework--such as the opening page of issue #2, which sees Chaykin and Bruzenak lead a character’s speech balloons into and out of the piping of a neon sign).

In addition to Chaykin’s innovative layouts, he also distinguishes his work from the flat, two-dimensional comics art of the past by adding extra layers of texture to his images. The careful application of tiny dots in addition to the more defined traditional linework creates differences of texture that have a similar effect to the zip-a-tone look of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s Daredevil (a contemporary of American Flagg). It’s yet another small way in which Chaykin’s subtle innovations lend the book a more complex and sophisticated quality, opening the possibilities of the medium up for those who followed him.

Titan’s American Flagg! volume is a fine collection that is only weakened by the sense that it’s incomplete. Several plot points and characters that are set up over the course of these six issues receive little or no payoff by the end of the volume, and the way that the story is cut-off mid-flow means that the collection ends rather abruptly, rather than coming to a natural close--a clear indication that Chaykin was not thinking of how his series would break into collected “graphic novel” editions when he was working on it nearly 25 years ago.

Thus, I’m keen to read volume two to see how the second half of Chaykin’s run holds up for a modern-day audience. On the strength of this first volume, it should be a dense, entertaining and thought-provoking read.

Titan Books is publishing the American Flagg! collection for the UK market; Dynamite Entertainment is publishing the same package for the US market.

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