I don't know his rate.  The statement comes from The Art of Howard Chaykin.  Bruzenak is interviewed, in relation to AF.  He is talking about the amount of work and makes this statement:

"We were producing pages in the relatively medieval fashion of the mid-80s, with hand lettering on the art boards, flat-color printing and mechanical paste-up.  Howard's use of double-tone board on Flagg posed a technical problem which led me to work with X-Actio chiseled marker pens, but that negated using White-Out for corrections.  I scoured the Dover type books, movie posters and record albums for fonts, and bought out an art store's old supply of Prestype rub-on letters for credits and SFX.  When a talking robot was introduced, I had type set and handed a $400 invoice to First.  None of this had been done before and it all sounds so primitive today, but computers were still five or six years away from easy use of economic accessibility."

Bruzenak doesn't elaborate further on that invoice, whether that was for an issue, a cover, a few pages or what; just that it sounds like a large invoice relative to other comics of the period.  Mostly, in the piece, he discusses their background, how he ended up working with Chaykin and the sheer amount of work both put into things.  I think he is mostly trying to get the reader to understand the dedication they had to making this series great; but, that it came at a cost and couldn't be sustained, forever; and it wasn't. 

It sounds like he went to a print house and hired them to set type traditionally (i.e., not "desktop publishing" on a Mac). If that's the case, it doesn't take much to run up a $400 bill.

ps Forgot to mention the cryptic comment from the militia soldier, "Ain't seen a kid in years." What is that all about? When you stop and think, we haven't seen any kids running around the Plex Mall.

American Flagg #3



In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking
But now, Heaven knows
Anything goes........

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

The missus takes over the coloring.

Synopsis: The media is covering the murder of Chief Ranger Hilton Krieger, which allows Chaykin to summarize the events of last issue....



...while commenting on the increasing tabloid nature of journalism, even in the broadcast media.

The People's Republic of Great Britain amuses the heck out of me, given UK politics from the 80s onward. For an interesting alternate view, check out A Very British Coup sometime.



Back to the intrigue.

Mandy Krieger bulldozes her way into helping Flagg with the investigation, pointing out she knows the city better than he does and she is the best shot in the Mall. Flagg agrees and Mandy goes to get her gear. Raul tries to tell Reuben something; but, Flagg is still mad at him for leaking to the media that Medea Blitz is the prime suspect. When Reuben and Mandy meet up, she says she is also hunting a keepsake that belonged to her mother, which wasn't on her father's body or in his apartment. John Scheiskopf sees them off, though Flagg thinks he is a creep and criticizes Mandy for wearing the Soviet jewelry. Mandy calls someone named Bill and bargains for info on the whereabouts of Medea and Cyrl, trading vintage tapes of "Amanda By Night" and two episodes of "The Twilight Zone" for the info. She says they will meet ion 3 hours, which puzzles Flagg, as it will take far less time than that to get into the city. Mandy has other ideas.



Flagg makes jokes about posses and Mandy informs him that the car's bed is hallowed ground and that she has wanted him since she laid eyes on him.

Chaykin then proceeds to do the most erotic scene in comics, without actually depicting intercourse and pretty much serves notice to everyone else in the business who has mistaken titillation for sex.

Nearly 3 hours later, Flagg and Mandy pull up to a saloon on Division, called the Chatterbox. It is run by The Witnesses, a group of senior citizens who act as literacy volunteers, undermining the propaganda education provided by The Plex. They also collect Pre-Collapse video tapes, as well as provide information services. Flagg ticks off the violations of the law: unlicensed poli-club, unlicensed saloon, illegal video library. Mandy adds a 4th, it is a strip club and Flagg sees the evidence, inside. Mandy introduces Reuben to Harris Angrilli, head of The Witnesses, while Mandy talks to "Bill." Bill gives her the info she wants, while Flagg asks Harris about the meaning of ASLC. Harris tells him, for free....



The ASLC is the American Survivalist Labor Committee, a reactionary group that split off from the Democratic Party, in the days before the collapse. They went underground, just before the bank collapse, with over 2 million members. Their politics are Pro-Nuke, Anti-Semitic, Anti-Italian and Anti-British. They haven't been heard from since the collapse.

Mandy and Flagg head out and Reuben asks Mandy about the Brit, Bill. She says that under the influence of exotic herbs, he has presented her with tangible proof that he is the legitimate heir to the British throne.



Except Chaykin was more optimistic about his hairline!

Meanwhile, dawn is breaking over the combat zone and Medea and Cyril are hold up and arguing....



Cyril hit Krieger, but Medea was trying to shake him down with a blood test that proved he (Krieger) was the father of Medea's unborn child. Krieger was ranting about getting back at her father, when Cyril hit him. They are interrupted by the arrival of Flag and Mandy and Cyril hurls a Molotov Cocktail, to try and hold them off. Mandy shoots out their tires, before they get to the bridge and Flagg pulls alongside and takes down Cyril, while Mandy yells out that Medea is hurt bad and she is miscarrying her father's child. They pile into Mandy's car and head back to get Medea to medical care and Cyril to jail. Cyril confirms that the child is Krieger's and they were trying to blackmail him, but he denies shooting Krieger, stressing he only hit him.

Back at the Mall, Medea is stabilized. Mandy asks if the doctor found any "foreign objects," which disgusts the doctor. Flagg confronts Mandy about her obsession with whatever she is looking for, from her father. She refuses to elaborate and storms off. Raul turns up and finally gets Flagg to listen to him....



He has the keepsake! He directs Flagg downtown, to a derelict area and the lock that matches the key. Reuben finds a surprise, inside...



It is Q-USA, the pirate video station, which was secretly run by Krieger. It is filled with banned programming and pre-Collapse video tapes. Raul directs Flagg to a tape with Krieger's last will and testament.



Krieger and Charles Keenan Blitz knew each other in high school and founded the Genetic Warlords. They were arrested multiple times, then found themselves drafted into the newly created Plexus Rnagers. They figured on scamming them for everything they could take; but, Krieger met, Peg, Mandy's mother and straightened out. Amanda came along and they were happy. They set up Q-USA, with Peg providing the technical know how, just for laughs, until the Plex outlawed sports. At that point, it became a rebellion. CK fronted the basketball team (the Skokie Skullcrushers) and they broadcast the underground games. Then, Krieger was sent to Caracas, to aid in a hostage crisis and came home to find CK and Peg, with a new baby daughter, a black girl with blond hair...Medea. Kriger kicked Peg out and kept custody of Mandy.

The tape explains Krieger's operation, broadcasting nostalgia programming, Black Market Basketball and porn..the real stuff, not the Plex-authorized tease. he kept a low profile and warns whoever to do the same. he warns about the Plex's plans....



he says they are established on Mars, with no intent to return and the Tricentennial recovery Committee is a front for removing capital from the country. He also says that Manacillin, the post-coital contraceptive and anti-biotic, is part of a sterilization operation, which Flagg snorts at, but the tape is interrupted.

Flagg turns to face John Scheiskopf, who tells him to remove his pistol, with his right hand (Flagg is left-handed). He then shows his badge, with Plex Internal Affairs. He was investigating Q-USA, after Flagg pre-empted the Bob Violence signal, which sent alarms through the Plex system. He witnessed Cyril and Medea trying to blackmail Krieger, then take off. He searched the room, when Krieger came through. he had enough evidence to hang Krieger, twice. Krieger offered him a bribe and then Scheiskopf murdered him. He mentions that Krieger said something about sublmininal messages and Flagg confirms they are in Bob Violence, but only he and Raul can see them. Scheiskopf asks who Raul is and the cat taps him on the shoulder, distracting him long enough for Flagg to take him down and knock him out.

Flagg returns to the Mall and finds Mandy rifling his desk. he tells her about the station, but says he is keeping the keys. he intends to use it to subvert the Plex and do something to restore the honor of the country. They have to go face the Go Gang attack, as Bob Violence is back on the air. Flagg tells Mandy he left the unconscious Scheiskopf on Warpath One, the main attack route for the Go Gangs. They go to meet them, when they attack.

Thoughts: So, Krieger was the video pirate and he was murdered by John Scheiskopf, who was from Plex Internal Affairs. The Plex is bleeding the country dry to fund their operations on Mars and is using Manacillin to sterilize the population, according to Krieger. Scheiskopf was surprised about the subliminals, which means it wasn't Plex doing; so, that mystery remains. Flagg inherits the pirate operation.

Chaykin also introduces The Witnesses, geriatric rebels who provide information services and alternate education for the public. Plex education is geared towards combat, making good little drones of the populace. This part is a critique of the modern education system, which was getting bad in the 80s, as arts programs were dropped, due to budgetary constraints. the government was underfunding education, nationally, forcing the problem down to the state level, which became a modus operandi of the Reagan and Bush years (and the Clinto Administration, after), which deliberately underfunded Federal programs that weren't in favor with their constituency, while massively increasing the military budget and law enforcement. They also increased government programs which aided corporations in expanding globally, such as subsidizing Campbell Soups to advertise in Europe, despite talk of the Free Market System. Education was badly funded and the state became overwhelmed and pushed it down to the municipal levels. Schools were closed, due to budget cuts and student dumped on already crowded schools, until they were overwhelmed. Meanwhile, things like Pell Grants and scholarship programs were de-emphasized in favor of Guaranteed Student Loans, in which the Federal government guarantees the lender (the banks) the money lent to the borrower, to attend college. if the student defaults on the loan, the government pays the banks, while the borrower carries the debt and the consequences of it. The bank has no risk. The end result was graduates saddled with debt, from decades, as tuition skyrocketed, at the same time. Meanwhile, the military was heavily promoted as a way to pay for college, without massive debt. That was how I attended college, on an NROTC Scholarship, which paid my tuition, books and fees and provided $100 per month stipend, which was used towards room and board (though didn't begin to cover it). In return, I served 4 years in the US Navy, as an officer. other programs included the Montgomery GI Bill, which provided matching funds for funds put aside, while serving on active duty, in the US military. A servicemember would set up an allotment, which was deducted from their pay and the government matched the amount. The funds could then be used later, for college expenses, though it took a long enlistment to earn enough to pay for most degree programs. The original post-WW2 GI Bill covered far more of college expenses.

So, Chaykin is making comment on these factors and extrapolating forward. A large army needs someone to fight and the US was deeply involved in the affairs of Latin American, in the 80s. Flagg extrapolates a Latin America crisis that draws Krieger away and pushes Peg Krieger into CK Blitz's arms, leading to the birth od Medea and the end of Krieger's marriage. It explains why Mandy's mother is a sore spot between them, meanwhile, Krieger and Blitz were the original leaders of the Warlords, but were drafted into the Rangers, when the Plex formed them. Blitz used it to build his political career, while Krieger became the law. They put together the pirate video set-up, to thumb their noses at the Plex, then to counter their aims.

The video piracy angle kind of comments on criticisms of television and entertainment, as becoming increasingly violent, sexualized and devoid of anything for the brain. This is a long debate. Chaykin is also commenting on the corporate influence of things, which further inhibit artistic expression within film and tv, not to mention other arts. The Reagan Administration cut funding to the arts, heavily, leading public broadcasting to court more corporate sponsorships and have to resort to fundraising efforts more often, so that annual pledge drives became semi-annual and even quarterly. The National Endowment for the Arts was all but defunded and used to create political attacks by the Right, particularly in relation to gay imagery.

On a more satirical angle, Chaykin introduces us to William Windsor Jones, aka William Windsor-Mountbatten, aka Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and second in line for the throne of the united Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. At the time of the series, William was a year old and people still gushed over Diana and considered their marriage to be some kind of fairy tale. Chaykin is a bit too cynical for that, though he doesn't comment. he mostly has fun with the idea that, at some point, The UK became a Communist state and the monarchy was abolished. One presumes that William took refuge, in secret, in the US. He will pop up, from time to time. Chaykin draws him with a vague likeness to Prince Charles and Prince Phillip, emphasizing the Mountbatten features, more than the Windsor/Saxe-Coburg features. He gives him a receding hairline; but nothing like William would have, as an adult. Harry wasn't around yet, so nothing about siblings. Given his history, he could have been aligned with the Gotterdammacrats!

Chaykin wraps up the first storyline nicely, with a continuing subplot about the subliminals and the ASLC still hovering about, to carry things forward. The next storyline will take up the subliminals, though the ASLC will still lurk in the background. We will also get some more clues about the fate of Peg Krieger, as the tape says Hilton had no further knowledge of her, when he threw her out. We will also get to see some basketball and meet the star of the Skulkie Skullcrushers, Jules "Deathwish" Fouquet.

Before I forget, it may be obvious, but Chaykin has been having fun with character names, with John Scheiskopf. For those who lack a familiarity with German, kopf means head. You can work out the rest for yourself or try Google translate. It's a little juvenile; but, it probably went over the heads of at least half the audience. Then again, I sometimes wondered if some readers understood the origin of the name of the Love Canal Adult Centers. Anyone these days, under the age of 50 probably doesn't. It actually works on a couple of levels.

One last thing; Chaykin isn't shy about sex in these stories; but, he also doesn't go nearly as far as he would with Black Kiss. First was not a Code-approved company; but, they also didn't go out of their way to be purely "adult." They had no outright nudity in their books for a long time, before you saw a naked woman, in Jon Sable. usually, the important bits were hidden and more was left to the imagination. Chaykin is more explicit than Grell; but, he suggests more than he shows. The sex scene between Reuben and Mandy just gives you a few racy panels, then lets your mind do the rest, which quite frankly, works better, in my eyes. The trappings are very fetishistic; but, the sexual appetites are pretty honest and above board, rather than the imagery that permeated things like X-Men, with fetishistic trappings and BDSM themes, but no actual sex. if you ask me, Flagg was a healthier book; and, Chaykin sexualized everyone, male and female. Look at Flag's Ranger uniform and you can see that it is designed to be just as sexy as what Mandy wears. hell, the heels of his boots are almost as high as her stilettos! Also, Chaykin is pretty equal with who does what to whom, as the series unfolds.

American Flagg #5



Boy, you can say one thing about this series; Chaykin knew how to grab attention with a cover!

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

Synopsis: Fasfax recaps the events of last issue as Reuben sends Medea on to her Ranger indoctrination, in Brasilia and Bill to start tracking the subliminal signal. Meanwhile, the Ricardos look on....



Fred and Ethel must be at the newsstand.

Reuben and the Skullcrushers catch their ride to their hotel, before their game, while Crystal goes off to file her report with Fourth World Industries, about the hijacking. Reuben sees the masses of humanity, on the streets of Havana, plus the various signs about how New York ball teams should go home. They arrive at the Rectory of St Beryl the Leper (which, we are told, is a front for Blitz Corp) and Reuben tells the driver he wants to take a walk and the man points to a giant billboard of Reuben, as Mark Thrust, Sexus Ranger and warns him that half the population would kill him for perpetuating Yankee Imperialism and the other half would tear him apart in lust. Reuben is still not content to stay in a hotel room, so he dons a disguise to go out. He gets into a rickshaw and asks to be taken to the "lowlife district." The cabbie takes him to the Yanqui Strip, at the corner of Benjamin Siegel Blvd and United Fruit Ave. Reuben is in heaven....



The ladies then proceed to attack Reuben, but he is rescued by Ned Beaumont, Hotel Roland Security, who gives him his card, as he helps Reuben up, then runs off. Reuben reads the card, which says "Tom Slick Investments," and discovers his wallet is gone!

Reuben goes on to the game, at the Bonnano Dome, where the Skullcrushers are destroying the locals, with a halftime score of 96 to 37, which Jules "Deathwish" Foucquet attributes to Reuben getting them real meat, not processed crap. They go out for the second half and find the opposing team carrying jai alai cesteras, with claw teeth. Tiny goes to the ref to protests, who claims "No habla ingles," and Tiny send the guy flying. Problem is, he is the mayor of Havana and a riot breaks out. The team gets behind blast doors, in the arena and Reuben tries to escape through the crowd, but it is total chaos. He tries flashing his Ranger badge; but, that just eggs the crowd on. Reuben fights, but the numbers are against him, when his savior turns up again. He learns his real name is Sam Louis Obispo (uh-huh....). Sam helps him to escape and invites him to hide out at his place, where his rich main squeeze is waiting, with a blond friend. They go inside and Reuben, aka Pete Zarustica, meets "Mistress Veronika" (the Sugar Momma) and "Mistress Bettina" (the blond), who are into dominance and we are treated with a visual display of zoftig pulchritude and leather couture. Why Mistress Veronika chains up Sam, and straps on his ballgag, Mistress Bettina tells "Pete" to "clean a path across the floor" with his tongue. "Pete" says he is too tired for this and Bett sticks her whip handle in his face and "Pete" has had enough and knocks Bett out, cold. Veronika applauds.

Reuben is back aboard the Raymond Loewy, the next day, as it transits to Brasilia. Upon arrival, Reuben checks into his hotel, in the El Dorado Plex Mall and also with Bill. he tells him the signal originates within the city limits, but hasn't pinpointed the source. Flagg dons his uniform and heads to the expo for Ranger Assembly. He runs into Chief Ranger Emmett Golem, the former technical advisor on Mark Thrust. He introduces him to Pelham Riverdale, Chief Ranger at New Orleans Plex Mall, and his deputy, Arcadia Driftwood....



Golem then brings him to the Adjutant General, Ivor Overholt, an ex-tormentor of Flagg's, from his youth. Ivor and his bigger sycophants used to harass and haze Reuben, which the Plex gave a pass, to, especially since Reuben was Jewish. Reuben dropped out of flight school, as a result. Overholt is still a p#$%& to Reuben, then tells the group that there is an anti-Plex demonstration at the spaceport, where the Mars delegation is due to land and wants the assembled Rangers to make a show of force and drive them off.

The Rangers assemble in riot gear and Reuben shares Go Gang troubles with other Rangers and learns that they all have the same problem, except New Orleans, after Riverdale took charge....



The Rangers form a skirmish line, fire Nachtmachers, arm Kruncheons, and take it to the protesters, in standard fascist fashion....



Flagg runs across Sam Louis Obispo, who came down with Bettina and Veronika, to work the crowd. Flagg gives him an escape route and then they mop up the crowd. Flagg is disgusted with the sight of the aftermath and is filled with self-loathing.

Later, Crystal dresses for a recpetion, to which Flagg was snubbed, by Overholt, but CG is taking him as her escort. He checks in with Bill, who tells him the signal is coming from inside El Dorado Plex Mall. He also notices a flutter in the transmission and says they are being bugged and switches to Russian. he warns Flagg to watch his back. Bill then sends a signal through the carrier wave that fries the surveillance gear of our eavesdropper, who is a ranger. We see a photo in his wallet, which says "Love, Peg."

At the reception, Flagg and CG get caught trying to party in an office and then go back to themain reception, where they find Medea, with her new Ranger trainee haircut and a waiter's uniform, as recruits get the menial tasks. She is horrified and Daddy can't help her. Reuben meets Ambassador Roger Deutsch-Marx, who introduces him to his daughter, Desiree Deutsch-Marx Overholt, aka "Mistress Veronika." They separate for a private chat and Mistress Veronika wants to party and Flagg tells her no way, and especially not with the wife of a man who would see him dead. She says Ivor hasn't touched her in years, but Reuben refuses and smirks, to which she threatens to wipe off his face. They part and Reuben gets back to the main do, just in time to hear the announcement of a planned raid on an illegal basketball game.

Reuben borrows CG's car and meets with Sam, to try to save his career and warn the team. Meanwhile, our mystery couple meets with a co-conspirator, who is also wearing Ranger dress uniform and has been in contact with the ASLC, in Peoria, who he says is ready to move aboveground, at Christmas.



The man is Chief Ranger Pelham Riverdale, of New Orleans.



Thoughts: Hot time in Havana! Chaykin goes nuts with references to Bugsy Siegel, United Fruit Company, Joseph Bonnano, Fulgencio Batista and the history of Havana and the Mafia and organized Corporate Crime. Somehow he left out Meyer Lanskey! We are kind of led to believe that the Communist Government of Cuba fell, at some point and the Mafia returned, in full force. We also learn that Mark Thrust was a big hit in Latin America and Flagg is well known. We also learn that Lucy and Ricky were visiting relatives, again. No sign of Little Ricky.

Chaykin also makes some points about the growing trend, at the time, of using riot police to break up peaceful demonstrations, by conservative governments, such as used by the Thatcher Government during the Miners' Strike and in our own recent past. Chaykin makes very clear his feelings on the subject, as Reuben hates what they are doing. The Plex is the stand in for fascist oppression, in the form of a certified Nazi, in Ivor Overholt. Chaykin doesn't sugarcoat the antisemitism, either, using ethnic slurs, as well as swastikas. We can see a glimpse of why Reuben has little loyalty to Mars or the Plex, as an organization.

Sam Louis Obispo makes his sensational debut and Chaykin gives us another great character, a con artist and thief, with a heart of gold (or at least pyrite). Then he adds Desiree Deutsch-Marx Overholt, who isn't done with things, either. Chaykin has fun with names, turning Betty and Veronika into German dominatrices. Once again, Chaykin isn't shy about sex and fetishism; and, as we see in quick images, has the males on the receiving end of the chains and gags. Fetshism and BDSM imagery have long been a part of Chaykin's original work (as opposed to his stuff like Star Wars or Batman) and he has also contributed art to adult magazines. At one point in The Art of Howard Chaykin, he remarks that he would have been quite contented drawing bondage comics for men's magazines, had comic books not provided a career. He is honest, in his use than things like the old Fiction House covers, which were awash with bondage and damsels in distress, or Martin Goodman's "sweats" magazines, with their images of Nazi war criminals torturing buxom maidens, while bare chested GI's fire machine guns at them. Chakin knows sex sells; but, he at least gives honest sex and gives it a bit of style.

Throughout this series, Chaykin flexes a design muscle, as he mixes fashions of the 40s and early 50s with the technology of tomorrow, giving a rather lived in feel that would match future things, like babylon 5, which did similar things in its costuming.

Chaykin gives Ken Bruzenak a chance to go nuts, in this issue, as it is lousy with logos and typography, from neon signs to street signs, Ranger battle cries and sound effects. Flagg always felt like it had a soundtrack that mixed jazz with synth, bathed in a neon glow and a staging that Ridley Scott would approve.

So, we know there is some kind fo connection between the subliminals and the ASLC, via the mystery couple and their allies; and, that the attacks aren't just happening in Chicago. Someone is sowing chaos into the Plex Malls. Usually, that kind of thing is in advance of bringing an authoritative state. Look at Weimar Germany, where street battles between the Nazis, the Communists and the Social democrats created untold violence and mayhem, leading to harsher and harsher response, until the 1929 Stock Market Crash launched the Great depression, which fueled further hate and anger. The Nazis came to the forefront, preaching a return to greatness for Germany, while re-establishing order and driving out those they labeled as the cause of the unrest and economic chaos, which just happened to include anyone who opposed their policies. There is much of American Flagg that resembles Weimar Germany and further reflects much of recent history. The 80s were a period where fascism seemed on the rise again, as repressive governments were allied with the US, labor movements found themselves under attack, Communism was the big boogey man, and authoritarian leaders abounded, in East and West. If American Flagg seems prescient, it is because it was commenting on the times and history tends to repeat itself, since no one seems to listen to Santayana.

Or Billy Joel.....



Meanwhile, Chaykin has some fun with the Riverdale gang, between Chief Ranger Riverdale, Bettina and Veronica, though, sadly, no Jughead. The name Ironwolf gets name dropped and we will see more of it, next issue, as Chaykin references his own work. We will also see more about that photo, from "Peg," in our Ranger co-conspirator's wallet.