American Flagg #23



And for those too young to get the reference....



or....



Creative Team: Howard Chaykin-story & art, Ken Bruzenak-letters, Alex Wald-colors, Mike Gold-editor

The title for this storyline is "Mad Dogs & Englishmen".....



...though Chaykin may be referencing the Joe Cocker album, as well.

Synopsis: In France, a car crashes through a traffic checkpoint (possibly a border control station, with an armed guard, in Communist uniform (the red star is a pretty goof clue). It is pursued by another car, which is firing upon it. It stops in a wooded area to rendezvous with a helicopter. of of the two people trying to board it is Titania Weiss. the other, Anatoly Vronski, is killed by gunfire....



Titania tosses out a thermo grenade and the helo departs.

Meanwhile, Reuben Flagg, Sherman Peabody and Antonio de la Cristo have arrived in London and are taken to the Ranger station. Antonio is acting rather odd, while Peabody tries to keep him under control. Reuben is kvetching about being there; but, Peabody lays down the law. The People's republic of Great Britain and Ireland have reached a cease fire, whenever Mark Thrust is on tv. The Brazilian Union of the Americas and the Pan African League have withdrawn their military advisors. The Plex has agreed to take over London and try to broker a permanent truce. Flagg is there to make appearances to facilitate this, while de la Cristo is there to see a specialist. Apparently, mark Thrust is a big a hit in London as it was in Havana and the ladies show their appreciation to Reuben.



Reuben is introduced to Chief Ranger Panova, while Antonio breaks a rare Faberge egg. Arrangements are made to get him to his specialist, while Reuben is paired with Ranger Kholyakov, who was a barrel of laughs on the drive tot he station. Reuben is less than pleased. Panova passes on to Peabody that "Vronski is dead, but Titania Weiss has escaped to England, with the data." Peabody is overjoyed and does an info dump....




In short, Weiss' research into prosthetics allowed Vronski to create a synthetic duplicate of de la Cristo, who the Plex had replaced and field tested by having him interact with Desiree. Now, he is acting sqirrely and they need to fix it soon.

Reuben and Kholyakov hit the town and the Russkie drops the stoic act when he leaves the station. it was for Panova's benefit, so he doesn't get shipped home to Moscow. He actually is a fan of reuben's and, when he learns Reuben speaks Russian, hopes he can help him translate American Rock N Roll into Russian (starting with "Tutti Fruitti")

Back at the station, we learn that the real reason Reuben is there is that the Plex hopes to use Vronski's technology to replace Reuben, to keep a lid on the aborted sale of Illinois and have a puppet in Chicago. We also learn that Plex Internal Affairs has been running the government, after a purge of officials, in the wake of the Chicago mess.

Yuri shows Reuben around, but catches someone ripping off his loan shark partner and pursues. Reuben lends a hand and they crash throught he front window of a nightclub, where Reuben's old flame and co-star, Grace De Wolfe, is performing. They get reacquainted.....



Meanwhile, Antonio gives Peabody the slip.

Reuben and Yuri get a call about a disturbance and head over. Some foreigner is barricaded with two prostitutes from the local Love Canal. It turns out to be Antonio and the women are dead....slaughtered.

Thoughts: Chaykin takes us to Communist England, which has been in a war with Ireland. London is a free city, run by the Plex. Reuben is a target for Sherman Peabody and Titania Weiss is back. As reuben says, Bojemoi!

The issue looks great; but we are hit with a lot of plot and exposition. The Plex is stealing plots from Futureworld (sequel to Westworld)....



Not exactly a film I would emulate. Chaykin is running low on ideas, which isn't surprising. He never thought the series would even make it through the first year. Still, it's a change of pace, with some new chaarcters and a twist of an old love, for Reuben.

Raul back-up story:

Creative Team: Alan Moore-writer, Larry Stroman-pencils, Don Lomax-inks, Ken Bruzenak-letters, Alex Wald-colors, Mike Gold-editor

Synopsis: We are in Kansas, aka Loveland, where Reich has set up his "adult" theme park, where the Motor-Mater androids have been going haywire. Luther and Raul are investigating, though Luther was caught and reprogrammed. now it is down to Raul....



Raul wants to "play" with a mouse, but Ignatz has other ideas....



He chases the mouse, then runs into an amorous robot bulldog. All of the sex robots are out of control, including dogs. Raul is in deep litter. He radios Medea for back up and she and Jules head south, to Kansas.

Thoughts: Lot of goofy hijinks, as the robot sex doll storyline continues through the supporting cast. Don Lomax is definitely doing the heavy work on the art, as it looks more like his work than Stroman's. Aside from the perverted Little Orphan Annie Satire, we now have Krazy Kat in the picture. This mostly seems to be Moore doing his homage to Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder's Little Annie Fannie. It gets pretty weird, as Daddy Fleshbucks (Reich), uses the Luther body as an abuse robot and has the hologram head replaced with one of Marie Osmond and asks her to sing "Paper Roses," while she beats him.

That's just not right!

"Deep Purple" would be more appropriate.

American Flagg #25



Creative Team: Howard Chaykin-story & art, Ken Bruzenak-letters, Alex Wald-colors, Mike Gold-editor.

Synopsis: We open at some dingy place, where the National front are holding Ingrid Weis. The boss is speaking to Chief Ranger Panova, over the phone, saying they have her chained up. Panova asks about a micro-casette and the guy smiles and says they have "searched" her pretty thoroughly and no tape. They are told that someone will be retrieving her, as the boss goes to have some fun. Ingrid takes a fork and jabs it into his fun and takes his pistol, using it to blast her way out and escape, again, which angers Sherman Peabody, when he gets the news. He and Panova argue and Peabody tells her to find Flagg and Kholyakov, quickly.

Peabdy feeds Reuben half truths about Weis and tasks him and Yuri to find her. He introduces him to Cameron Parkehouse, of Internal Security, who is Reuben's double (and who Reuben used to distract fans so he could meet up with his lady friend). Reuben questions Peabody about the erasing of the cathouse, where the robot Antonio went amok, but is warned off. After Reuben leaves, Yuri is given his orders by Panova. He kills Flagg and Weis and brings back their intact bodies or he gets his head blown off by an explosive implant, revealed last issue.

Reuben makes a detour to Grace De Wolfe's and tells her they can't play tonight and that he is hunting Weis. Grace tells her to keep her mezuzah safe. We soon learn why; it has a bug planted by Grace, who is working with the Underground...



Peabody heads off with the tour and sends Yuri on his way, whilke he jams the bug/explosive implant and tells Yuri he is disappointed with Panova. if Yuri does a good job, a new Cheif Prefect/Ranger may be in order.

Yuri takes Reuben to a bar, called Slimehouse Loo's, where criminals trade goods. They hope to find info about Titania; but, when her name is mentioned, the bar gets quiet and all eyes are on the disguised Rangers. The bar erupts and Reuben and Yuri use Buzznucks, to even the odds, but Reuben gets pistol-whipped by the owner, Loo, herself. She turns out to be a fan of Mark Thrust, which gets him preferential treatment.

At the Ranger station, Panova gets a report on Antonio and they then turn on the vid-screen for the Birmingham tour stop coverage. We see a group of "Undergrounders" kidnap Sherman Peabody, live, on camera.



Antonio flips out and breaks his cuffs. he grabs Panova's pistol and shoot her aid, then escapes out of the building. Panova orders every Ranger to hunt Antonio down and kill him.

The back up story finds Medea in Loveland, the amusement park in Kansas where everyone is going sexually nuts and she gets caught up in things. There is a scene of a take-off on the Wicker Man, were a Wicker Woman is added, which I will not illustrate or describe. It's just more pointless sctick, until the next chapter, when Mandy gets involved. this has gone on long enough.

Thoughts: I'm getting all kinds of confused in all of the twists and turns in this. Peabody is playing everybody, Reuben is trying to stay alive, Grace is working with the communist Underground, while Panova seems to work with Peabody and also the National Front, which is some dual fascism. Ingrid Weis is on the run and Yuri has been ordered to kill Reuben & Ingrid or have his head blown off. Peabody tells Yuri that if he pulls that off, he may replace Panova with Yuri. Mad Dogs and Englishmen is an apt title, as this is madness. the scenes in Slimehouse Loo's are probably the highpoint, as Chyakin has kind of twisted this into a pretzel. I get the impression that he is burnt out, as this isn't quite up to previous standards, though there are the odd moments.

The back up needs to go. I love Alan Moore, but this has just stretched beyond the narrative needs, just to fit a length and it isn't funny anymore. The debauchery has reached the point of sadness and the satire is like a blunt hammer to the face.

The whole series is pretty much crumbling under the weight of itself and Chaykin is bailing soon. I don't really intend to do more than summarize the issues after he leaves and will return to full issues, when he comes back, to wrap up the series and relaunch it, with a hand-picked crew.

I still have one more installment, before that full issue finale and glancing at it, I don't think I am going to dwell on it much.  It is pretty clear that Chaykin was burnt out by this point.  The finale features Moore and Lomax, then Chaykin writes, with Joe Staton on art.  I love Joe Staton, but this isn't quite what I would call his forte.  You can tell Chaykin was withdrawing, as he follows that with getting Steven Grant going, then he is gone, until he returns with issue #47.  To be honest, I have never read the non-Chaykin stuff and will likely just summarize it, to lead to his return.  Heck, that is what issue #46 is, with First admitting that the book was too idiosyncratic to turn over to other people.

Chaykin, in The Art of Howard Chaykin, talked about how the level of work on the book put a strain on his marriage, at one point and I think it is pretty clear that after the first year, he was really working on the fly and the pressure was getting to him.  He probably would have been better to put this out as a series of minis, all things considered.  Easy to say, in hindsight.

So, as you may have figured out, I have been kind of burnt out on reviews, lately, and part of it has been lackluster material, in more than one thread. So, I am going to wind down some of these. I plan to continue the Suicide Squad, up to the end, and review the major storylines, of Power of Shazam, and am going to wrap up American Flagg, with this installment. I have a couple of other things I want to do; but, I want to clear the deck, first.

So, Howard Chaykin, for all intents and purposes, as done with Flagg, at the end of the trip to the UK. It was his last art, aside from covers. He wrote a few issues, starting with a three issue run, with Joe Staton, which wasn't quite a hit, because of the cartoony nature of Staton's art, compared to what Chaykin had done. The Alan Moore back-ups suffered similar criticism, for Don Lomax. personally, I like both their work, elsewhere; but, felt their stuff wasn't working here. AF is so very CHAYKIN that it just doesn't work with someone else on the art. I had the same problem with the fill-ins, with Pat Broderick, at the end of the first year.

Chaykin got Steven Grant going on the next storyline, with Mark Badger on art, then Grant continued as sole writer. That involved a robot that could change appearance, with a bit of pro wrestling thrown in, because this was the era of Hulk Hogan and the WWF all over the media (and to a lesser extent, Ric Flair and the NWA on cable and the AWA on ESPN). JM DeMatteis came on as writer and Flagg quits the Rangers and goes on the road, in search of himself and it didn't work. They di a Bob Violence storyline, set within the premise of the show, which didn't win anyone over. The series was Chaykin and wouldn't sell without Chaykin. So, First got him to come back. To set the scene, they did a single issue (#46)that summarized what had happened under Chaykin and what followed, with a lot of satirical comment, which both took shots at fanboys and admitted that the material wasn't up to snuff....



It ends by saying Chaykin is coming back, to pick up the pieces. Well, he was, but not on art. Instead, we got a hand-picked team, with Chaykin writing and, essentially, editing.

Issue #47 starts the last storyline of the original series. The setting is that Flagg has finished his journey of discovery and is returning to Chicago. Mandy Krieger is dead, having been murdered. She was the mayor and there is no one running things. A group called The Merry Pranksters are running around, trying to start a revolution. Flagg enters the fray, to put it all back together. A new fusion powered airship, piloted by the much missed Crystal gayle Marakova is arriving with new Chief Ranger, Anson J Schreinhundt, wo looks a lot like Inspector Fenwick, from Dudley Do-Right.



Meanwhile the Merry Pranksters have stolen some serious firepower and intend to shoot down the liner. Enter Reuben and Raul to stop things, but he is too late. The group fires, but they aren't downing the liner, just covering it in graffiti. Schreinhundt catches up with old friend CK Blitz, while Peg/Gretchen acts all bonkers, after the death of Mandy. She runs into Medea, who has no time for Mandy grief, as she is busy trying to keep the peace. Yuri and Luther Ironheart aren't much help and Reuben turns up, smelling of the sewer he and Raul fell into. The place is a mess and everyone seems spooked by Schreinhundt. Harris, of the Witnesses, talks to the new Merry Pranksters about the originals, and Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, and the music of the Grateful Dead, yada-yadda-yadda. Some revolution.

There is a Ranger Ball, where Col Schreinhundt announces who will be the new Chief Ranger......



Yuri gets tapped, to everyone's surprise. The merry pranksters fail in their attempt to disrupt the ball, thanks to bad luck and the fact that they are idiots. Meanwhile, the entertainment at the ball turns out to be Grace De Wolfe and Reuben walks out on CG Marakova to shtupp Grace. Elsewhere, a figure sneaks off of the zeppelin, in its mooring and turns up in Grace's room, it is Seamus, from the UK adventure.

Seamus and Grace recruit the merry Pranksters to be their foot soldiers in an operation to hijack the new Mars shuttle. Meanwhile, Col Schreinhurdt is involved in trafficking of fetuses, with a Dr Muerto, whose medical facility seems to be doing some dastardly things, using ultra-sexy nurses to lure in morons with brains in their pants. The Pranksters and Seamus and Grace steal the shuttle, as Reuben catches Schreinhundt red handed in corruption, but, the theft of the shuttle forces him to focus on it. he gets on board before launch and confronts the hikackers, in mid-space flight.

While this goes on, Peg/Gretchen, in a drug induced stupor, runs into the memorial statue (head only) of Hilton Krieger and totally loses her @#$%.

After a battle to retake the shuttle, Reuben takes control and uses Seamus as a shield, as Schreinhund tries to shoot him. Reuben threatens to throw the colonel out of an airlock and he spills the beans that the Plex is made up of old men who have control of things and have extended their lives through science, using fetal tissue to develop rejuvenations, as well as Dr Weiss' experiments. The shuttle was re-established to ferry the fetal remains to Mars. Raul broadcasts the confession, via Q-USA. Yuri was picked as chief Ranger because he was controllable. With Raul's help and a bit of treachery from Schreinhundt, Reuben turns Grace's revolution into a real one, as they land on Mars and infiltrate the quarters of the Plex president, and launch their revolution, via video....



We learn that when Chicago was under assault from the freak winter weather and they couldn't raise the Plex, it was because there had been a coup, led by internal security officers, hand-picked by Sherman Peabody. They set up a military junta...



The junta soon went Stalinist and started purging the ranks, until it broke down into Stalinists vs Trotskyites (metaphorically, if not politically, since these guys are really all fascists) and full scale civil war, with deadly consequences for the population on Mars...



The survivors, with peabody, the Pres, Schreinhundt and others, went about trying to repopulate, which lead to the android thing, with Antonio de la Cristo, then the fetal thing. The Pres throws in the towel and hands Reuben the key to the Plex. What follows is apathy and chaos and Reuben can't find a way to make it work. Harris sugegsts a vote and the result is the lowest voter turn out in world history. So, President Silver takes it back, but Reuben throws him a middle finger by retaining Illinois as a sovereign state (Oh, we are so f@#$ed!)

Reuben and Grace return to Chicago, expecting to be hailed as heroes, but he gets a lot of grief and they retreat to his quarters. They are about to get down to some polling of the electorate, when a surprise turns up: Mandy Krieger!



When things were getting dicey, she faked her death and hid out, until the smoke had cleared. Now, she is ready for some fun and the trio settle in to make a Reuben Sandwich.

Thus endeth American Flagg.

Chaykin satirizes a lot of things there, including the failure of the 60s "revolution," which mostly turned out to be a lot of wind and little action. The Mars Plex bunch could be said to be the "old white men" who seemed to be in charge of things, no matter which party was in power and how America, post-Watergate, tore itself apart, partied hardy, fell apart economically and then went nuts for nostalgia and the Reagan Revolution, soon followed by corporate domination of society. Sadly, Chaykin didn't get a chance to satirize the 90s and beyond, as he nails a lot of the zeitgeist of the 70s and 80s, by the end of it, from all angles. Chaykin pretty much lets both sides have it, recognizing that he's mainly a cynical smart-ass about it, with no real solutions, either. And that is much of the way things continued, after the series. Corporations, via their financial influence, gained greater and greater power, globally, until their bad business decisions threaten to plunge the globe into economic chaos, unless they are bailed out, slapped on the wrist and allowed to do it again. Left and Right become buzz words, as both sides take the money and keep their heads down and distract society with culture wars that don't address the problems at the heart of the situation, because they don't have any answers for that situation. Jon Stewart said it well on CNN, recently; when you have no idea how to govern, you resort to distractions. That was the Plex, as it distracted the populace with video programming, consumerism, cheap sex, tasteless processed food and blood and circuses. It was Rome at the fall and it is much of the modern world, both in the 80s and since.

It also highlights the problem of this series. There is really only so much you can do with the series, without just repeating yourself and just updating the jokes for new current events....much like Saturday Night Live, since about 1978. Even in the original 5 years, they fell into a comfortable routine that was no longer challenging, so much as mocking and it continued on down the line, until it became predictable. Satire is a powerful weapon for fighting authoritarianism; but, if the audience doesn't care that the emperor is walking around naked, then pointing it out doesn't have much impact.

Chaykin really only had one story to tell and he did that in the first year. He never expected the series to last and didn't plan for beyond. So, he resorted to road trips and sit-coms to tide things over until he thought something up; but, the pressure of that much work just got to him, contributed to the break-up of his marriage, and his withdrawal from the series. First tried to continue, since they still had publishing rights, but it wasn't working. They enticed Chaykin back, with a free hand to pick his own crew to handle the art, while he handled scripts. They closed up things with this finale, to set up the next volume.



The series is relaunched as Howard Chaykin's Amerikan Flagg (the correct spelling is maintained on the indicia), with Mike Vosburg on the main art, Mindy Newell scripting, Ken Bruzenak back on letters, and Chaykin plotting, editing and art directing.

The series picks up with yet another summary of what went on in the glory days, plus with Chaykin's return, omitting the parts he didn't handle. Reuben is basically the authoritarian ruler of the State of Illinois, but he is distracted by a triangular relationship with Mandy Krieger and Grace DeWolfe (and is probably trying to figure out how to get CG Marakova into the mix). Q-USA is his propaganda channel, as Raul explains the history of things for new readers, with an opening quote from Fritz Hippler, who created propaganda newsreels and films, under Joseph Goebbels: "In a totalitarian state, it is the responsibility of the media to serve as the advertising and promotional wing of the state."

That explains a lot about the modern media landscape.

We see a recap juxtaposed to Jules Folquet returning to Chicago, with the Skullcrushers, as well as Peg Krieger preaching some weird religion, centered around Hammerhead Krieger, who's personality seems to have manifested in Peg. Reuben, Mandy and Grace are busy with their bedroom adventures, while Medea Blitz turns up at an organized crime operation, to see the head man. We see Desiree Duetsch-Marx working out, while viewing the porpaganda broadcast and receiving a lecture buy a BUA mouthpiece. The BUA is trying to establish trade with Illinois, as a way to gain additional power.

Medea is making a deal with the crime lord, a woman named Siobahn, who has a thing for Medea and a physical history and I don't mean they competed against each other in sports. Jules talks with reuben, after a trip to Europe, which is under the control of the Pan African League, saying they have a lot in common and suggests Reuben visit it to learn. Reuben points out that the PAL have set up a reverse apartheid, in their territory, which Jules dismisses as a temporary solution.

Yeah, those kinds of things usually are...right up to the point that you kill off and/or enslave the population under the thumb of the authority.

As they talk, we see that Reuben hasn't reined in the paramilitary poli-clubs and he has to call in shock troops to quell a face-off, despite a cease-fire agreement. After the crowd is sundued and they put out the fires, Reuben is presented with a strongbox, hidden by Hilton Krieger; it is filled with video-tapes (Chaykin didn't foresee DVD). He returns home to find Mandy and Grace in a catfight and he is not welcome in it, as hatred of him seems to be their one common ground. He retreats to the ranger station and watches the tape of the Skullcrushers, from Europe. Reuben sees a face in the crowd and zooms in, in disbelief. he calls Jules and asks him to set up a tour of Europe, with the PAL.

In Germany, Reuben runs into his old producer, who works for the PAL, producing video content that outdraws Bob Violence. He also has a porn tape that he switches with a tape of Reuben's halftime interview, at the Skullcrusher's game. Said tape leads to Reuben getting arrested for smuggling porn into the PAL and his diplomatic immunity is not recognized, because he is white and an outsider, and caught red-handed. Chicago has had enough of Flagg, as have Mandy and Grace, who find common ground in their disdain for Reuben's selfish nature and realize that half the sex they were enjoying was coming from the distaff side. Goodbye Reuben, hello Mandy and Grace, couple. Yuri is holding the fort, while Medea is leading her former Warlords cronies, in crime. Chicago rejects Reuben's vision and bring back the Plex.

Raul tracks down Jules and they plot to free Reuben. Reuben's old boss is told by his boss, a PAL colonel, to get the master tape back or else, as he is screwing with their money-making operation. Not everyone is driven by ideology in the PAL. Jules & Raul meet with someone named Rocky, to find a way into Spandau Prison, to release Reuben...



Something familiar about that.

Meanwhile, Medea leads a hijacking of a massive transport vehicle. It turns out that Desiree is behind the criminal gang, using the hijacking to target competing companies. They plan to take the operation into Europe, to use it as a front for their real estate acquisitions.

Rocky leads an aerial assault to spring Reuben, while Jules and Raul infiltrate it, by replacing some PAL officers. They get to Reuben in time and get him out, with Rocky's aid, as it is revealed that Rocky is a shapely woman under the flight gear. meanwhile, Yuri responds to a hijacking of another mammoth truck and finds Medea in action. A shootout incurs, but the highcycle that Yuri was piloting crashes and the shattered rotor kills the driver. the out of control juggernaut speeds straight for the Chicago Plexmall and ends up recreating the end of Silver Streak (and Airplane)...



Rocky takes Flagg to Moscow, where he masquerades as her courier.Raul and Jules continue their popular vide show, via KMaRX-TV and Plex Programming. When raul gets "catty" about a singer with powerful connections, a stand-off, at gunpoint ensues. Chief Ranger Perspektova, aka "Mother Russia", intervenes. She puts an end to the siege and tells Reuben, who is with Rocky, who represents the singer, that he has been drafted back into the Rangers, as her deputy. We also learn the man Reuben spotted in the video of the basketball game is his father. Meanwhile, pop and his friends are stealing the body of Lenin, to sell to a PAL colonel, who seeks to up his standing.

Reuben goes hunting for the body snatchers and runs into pop. The colonel extracts the hoods, but not the body. Reuben wants to follow after them and Mother Russia sends him to the Black Sea, where they seem to be headed.

There is a surf competition going on there, and a plot by the KGB to re-establish the Soviet Union, without the Plex. Reuben finds that he is the object of affection for the singer, after he laid hands on her and she disrupts his mission. He also runs into a new svelte Desiree, so he knows things are in bad shape. The KGB mines the are, to disrupt the surf competition and they go off prematurely, creating a tidal wave that is headed for Reuben and Eurydice Khan, the singer. After some surf jokes, Reuben is rescued by Rocky, who is looking for Eurydice. Said girl is saved by surfer Ian Cambridge and turns her lust to him. Cambridge turns out to be Plex Internal Affairs and he helps Reuben catch the bodysnatchers, who are part of the KGB underground. The colonel heads back to PAL-controlled Germany, followed by Eurydice, who is hot for him and his red leather uniform.

Our final storyline sees Desiree's hijacking operation transported to Europe, where Axel Flagg joins the operation, with Siobahn. We also run into Titania Weiss and the remains of the ASLC. We learn that Desiree's mysterious black partner is Sam Louis Obispo and Flagg runs into his ex-wife. The ASLC are out to wipe out Siberia, while the KGB aids her with an android. There is also a fight involving video pirate Master Programmer. Meanwhile, Bullets Kisco is on the trail of psycho, Rafferty, who is working with Weiss, It all comes to a head and ends with a wedding.

In the end, the revamp didn't take. The art was done to look like Chaykin; but, the storylines were pretty much retreads and Chaykin was pulling away from it, by the end. It isn't bad; but, it isn't special, either.

The final assessment is that the first year of American Flagg stands up and some damn fine work, groundbreaking visuals and storytelling techniques which were greatly copied by those that followed. The second year and a half had entertaining stories, but the plot was kind of repeating itself. The formula got old, but the characters at least kept you entertained. When Chaykin left, it fell apart and his return showed that he had nothing new to add, other than some character and setting changes, which petered out quickly. It was like one of those series revivals, where you find out it was best to have let the original show be remembered as it was, rather than try to recapture it or remake it.

Thus ends American Flagg, a prescient series that like all good speculative fiction actually comments on the present. Chaykin mixed in pop culture, as the final storyline involves a Pee Wee Herman doppelganger mixed into the KGB mess, while adding things like Rocky & Bullwinkle touches, a nod to Gilligan's Island, Elvis Presley, beach movies, Desi Arnaz and what would soon be current events in the Soviet Union, when the KGB and hardliners tried to stage a coup (though Chaykin beat them to the idea). In the end, the Plex stands triumphant and Reuben beds some more babes, though his marriage seems out of left field, because it was the end. HCAF add some visual fun with end pieces that produce fake advertising and media pieces, adding to the texture, showing that form was greater than content. The true content was year one, then it was just Chakin playing in the template, trying to play dolls with his characters. He grew as a writer and showed how great he had become, as an artist. He spent a long time trying to reach those heights again, but never quite made it, though he produced some great stories and fine art. For my money, his American Century comes closest, in the writing (though Chaykin had a partner on that) but he has never really topped the visuals he created. He moved with the times and the techniques that made Flagg great were mechanical and digital tools don't provide the same results. These days, Chaykin plays the veteran, trying to tell a good story, rather than an innovative one.

Truly, if there is one comic that defines the 80s, it is, arguably, American Flagg.

Yeah, that was the AF Special.  I was never big on it, so I just kind of left it out.  It seemed more to exist to promote Time^{2 than anything else.}

If you are talking about the ones that First Comics published, the very first volume, Hard Times, collecting the first three issues, did have 2 or 3 extra pages, at the beginning, set on the shuttle coming into Chicago, with Reuben onboard.  It mainly consisted of the flight crew watching the pirate broadcast of the Skokie Skullcrushers' game and talking about their celebrity passenger.  It then goes right into the splash page of the original first issue.  I don't recall the second or third having any additional story; just pin-ups included in the original comics, though I could be misremembering.  I had the soft cover editions and I only recall the first one having new pages.

Later, when Image published the Definitive Collection, it had a brand new short story, at the end of the book.

The Eclipse Rocketeer graphic novel also had a few pages added, which were not in the original comics, from Pacific and Eclipse.  There was an extension to the chapter in Pacific Presents #1, where the Nazi spies have Betty tied up in their car, showing her kicking one of them and trying to escape (the original issue just had the last page, which shows someone discovering her in the back of the car, bound and gagged.  There is a scene of Doc Savage (alluded to, but never named) hypnotizing one of the Nazis to get info from him, about the whereabouts of the rocket pack.  Then, there is a scene of Betty and Cliff arguing, after he has been bandaged up, before he helps recover Doc's experimental plane, from Nazi agents who have hijacked it.

Like I say, I only recall Chaykin adding two or three pages to the intro of Hard Times, plus it had a forward from author Michael Moorcock, with whom Chaykin worked on the Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell graphic novel (for Heavy Metal), as well as mentioning being a fan of Cody Starbuck (the origin of my screen name).