It’s back! The second volume collecting Howard Chaykin’s opus, American Flagg!, is going to be in stores this Wednesday, and you really shouldn’t miss it. For my money, Flagg! is the middle son of the three great 1980s comics; the other two being The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. American Flagg! debuted first and its satirical, sexual, sarcastic and cynical view of the future would certainly impact a decade’s worth – and more - of books that followed. (For a couple of years, 1981-1983, Miller was part of Chaykin and Walter Simonson’s Manhattan studio, Upstart Associates).

In this fascinating interview at Pink Raygun, Howard describes Flagg! as “an expression of how I felt in the 1980s. It reflected my feelings about the Reagan administration and about where the country was heading. A lot of people talk about what I got right in terms of predicting what the future would be like, but that’s irrelevant in the long run. It really was a screed about popular culture and my relationship with popular culture.”

Flagg! is the story of Reuben Flagg, a former actor who joins the Plexus Rangers when his TV career evaporates. He finds himself in a world of corruption, sex, satire, science-fiction, political intrigue, more sex, and a talking cat named Raul. The story is just as engaging and enjoyable (and dead-on timely) 25 years on.

Howard is a true multi-talent. He can write and/or draw his own projects (Flagg!, Power & Glory, Barnum), immerse himself within something as arcane and irrational as Marvel and DC continuity (like say Captain America, or Guy Gardner), or take an existing character like The Shadow and re-imagine him for a modern audience.

The official title of the Flagg! Collection debuting this week from Image Comics is HOWARD CHAYKIN’S AMERICAN FLAGG! Definitive Collection VOL. 2 Trade Paperback. This mouthful of a 256-page full color masterpiece collects issues #8-14 of the original series. Each page is beautifully designed, and incorporates the exquisite hand-lettering of Ken Bruzenak’s word balloons and sound effects.

This is comic books at its very best, and should be required reading for all. Highly recommended. (In the interests of full disclosure, I was once Howard’s editor, and I hold both him and his work in high regard.)
(Artwork: Cover to Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! Definitive Collection Vol. 2 Trade Paperback; ©Howard Chaykin)