American Flagg #8



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

Synopsis: We open with a fireside chat from Reuben and Raul, which conveniently recaps the previous issue...



At the present, Reuben and Raul are out on patrol, while the search for any survivors of the Bel Geddes crash continues (thanks to the mayor obsessing about Medea), despite the extremely long odds of anyone left alive. Raul asks Reuben about his own state, after "the big woman" was in his room. Reuben passes it off on shock, when they are interrupted by a call for animal mutilation at a farm complex. The farm militia has been aiding the search and are under-manned. The boys speed to lend assistance, believing it is the ASLC.

Reuben arrives at Rancho Deluxe (A division of Shaf's-Atomic rooster Ltd, a Plex Co....Home of Mabel, the Mutant Cow) and finds the perps in a shoot-out with the militia, with innocent bovine-standers caught in the crossfire. Reuben lows up their escape vehicle and smashes into the holding area, .666 Magrum blazing. A militia trooper yells about crazy Rangers who don't know how to use a door, but slips on entrails and goes down. Reuben battles two perps and nearly gets a saw from behind. Reuben avoids it and kayos the perps and then talks to the militia, in the aftermath. The perps were migrants whose ration books had run out, not ASLC. He tells the trooper to call the Mall and have them send out a Disper gang to repair the window and pay them in beef. he then reveals why he rammed the window, rather than entering the building through existing entrances....



Reuben then goes to the south Loop area and The Chatterbox, to meet with the Witnesses. Raul doesn't like this. He meets Harris and acts in typical cat fashion....



Despite Raul's objections, Reuben lays out his proposal: the Witnesses take over the operations of Q-USA. They agree and Raul sulks and Reuben gripes about getting the silent treatment from a talking cat!

Meanwhile, Gretchen Holstrum and Ernesto Klein-Hernandez are in a wooded area, near Warpath One, engaging in some kinky fun, out in the wilderness. They head back and spot a young girl hitch-hikiing and decide to give her a lift, despite Flagg's warnings about hijackers.

Back at the Mall, Mayor Blitz rags Reuben, who tells him to face facts and points out that Fourth World called off their company search party, which is news to CK, but not Ester De La Cristo, who is beside him, trying to finagle a pass into Chicago. Reuben goes off to the Ranger station, where militia leader Henry Chung reports that they have found the wreckage of the airship. He reports that there are 11 bodies in the wreckage, but 13 unaccounted for, including Medea Blitz and tracks suggest they walked away from the wreckage. The odds are bad, but Reuben says to do an aerial search for a 50 mile radius, then shut it down if they get no joy. However, Luther interrupt, as they have a visitor....



Titania Weis supports Medea as she reports in. Weis reports that the others are at the medical complex, but Medea forced her, at gunpoint, to bring her to the Ranger Station. She leaves, after a few racial slurs.

Meanwhile, Gretchen and Ernesto are under attack, despite having visa plates for the war zone. The little girl says it is her dad.

Back at the Mall, Reuben checks in on Medea. The doctor says she is in good shape, despite exposure to the elements. Reuben asks Mandy and Crystal to give them some privacy and he gets the report from Medea.



The officers were dead and Medea took charge of the survivors, rising to the challenge. They found a road and she tried to stop a car, with her badge, but found her gun worked better. She also tells Reuben that the airship did not crash...it was shot down! They are interrupted by Luther, who reports Gretchen's emergency call.

Out in the woods, we find ASLC goons, who pistol whip Gretchen and say they will keep her chained up for parties, while her looks hold up. They strip Ernesto and start to string him up, when the cavalry arrives....



They rescue the couple and find the little girl drugged and asleep, but alive (her father slipped her a seconal) They return to the mall and throw the survivng ASLC goons into the klink and the girl in the medical facility, where the doctor removes her cyanide impregnated tooth. Flagg returns to the Ranger Station and tells Luther to change his hologram head to Reuben's face, like he does when he thinks Reuben isn't watching. He wants him to impersonate Flagg, while he goes undercover, providing Flagg an alibi. He is to use the monitor only, and hide his torso from the camera.

Reuben breaks into De La Cristo's office, to view the flight recorder from the Bel Geddes and sees the attack. The recorder takes a round and the video goes out and Reuben rewinds the footage to look again and goes too far and finds a reference to the sale of the State f Illinois, to Fourth World Industries.



The next morning, Reuben is unable to reach Plex officials at Mars Plex. Luther decides that if Raul is going to pout and refuse to speak, he can play dumb animal and gives him to the little girl, Amy, to keep her company. Reuben then gets a call from De La Cristo, inviting him to dinner, to discuss her visa to visit Chicago. He accepts.

Reuben arrives to find that "dinner" is Ester, in a hot tub, filled with some kind of stew. She then tricks him with a mickey finn and he passes out. She goes to shower off and change.

Reuben comes to and goes to the Station and finds out that Ester, Ernesto and some bodyguards checked out a van and went to Chicago, with an authorization bearing Reuben's badly forged signature. Reuben notices an odor and Luther identifies it as Siphogene-K, a nerve toxin that affects higher order animals. Reuben finds Amy dead, and Raul in bad shape but alive (the toxin doesn't affect lesser animals as badly as humans). All circuits to mars Plex are still out and Reuben is mad, now. Someone murdered an 8 year old girl, to keep her quiet. Reuben smashes the monitor, with the repeated loop about all circuits being busy, gives Luther orders, then tosses his Ranger shield aside, as he tools up and leaves the office, telling Luther that he did not "forget his shield."

Thoughts: Whoo, boy; Reuben is put through the wringer. Lots of intrigue and bad doings a plenty. The airship was shot down, either to get at someone on board or to set up a distraction of the authorities. Meanwhile, The ASLC came close to murdering Ernesto Klein-Hernandez and Gretchen (or keeping Gretchen as a sex slave and then killing her when they grew tired of her). Ester De La Cristo drugged Reuben and forged a pass into Chicago and left. Reuben discovered the files about the proposed sale of Illinois. His faith in the Plex, such as it was, is completely shattered, now. They have been left hung out to dry and the vultures are descending on the corpse. Reuben has accumulated enemies by actually trying to maintain peace. It's a bad time for him.

Chaykin continues to hit the political metaphors and Reuben's exposition fireside chat recalls FDR, as well as Jimmy Carter, as he talks of a general malaise. Meanwhile, it is the Wild West everywhere and the Plex has barricaded themselves in their fort and left the settlers to handle the attacking natives, coyotes, land barons and railroad assassins, while the doom cult kicks them around, for fun. This never happened to Randolph Scott!



He continues to mix dynamic action pages with interesting layouts and visual effects for dialogue and exposition scenes. Ken Bruzenak adds so much to things, with sound effect graphics, signage, interesting fonts and allkinds of little touches that make each page a complete graphic experience. Chaykin has a nice way with body language and expression, elements that he really developed by the time he started this, with his painting work. prior to that, he had his moments, but he was kind of stuck in his Kane/Adams beginnings. His studying of Robert Peake, in his painting, and Alex Toth, in his linework and storytelling, really upped his visual game, making him a more rounded artist. At this point, he was well ahead of most of his peers, with the possible exception of Walt Simonson, who was already there, himself, which always made Chaykin jealous (in his own words, especially his ability to letter and integrate it in his work). This series really made people sit up and take notice of Chaykin's work and took him from an interesting artist who popped in and out to a real industry star. meanwhile, Flagg is one of the most complex adventure series on the stands and its visual language would be strip mined for the next several decades.

The violence in the series continues to be in service to the story, as this is a tale of a lawman, trying to bring law and order to a corrupt society, by hook or by crook. The sex is adult, yet never outright pornographic. it is more than shock value, it is part of the complex lives of complex characters, in a decaying society. It doesn't take much to draw parallels with the increased fetishizing of sex in advertising and the media, that grew across the 80s, cheapening sex, while ultra-conservative groups used it as an excuse to push an agenda of censorship and governmental restriction on private lives, while spouting slogans about government keeping out of the market (unless the government wants to give industry subsidies, which is just allowing AMERICAN business to compete with those corrupt foreign industries). Chaykin is a Lefty; but, he doesn't hold back on attacking both Left and Right, via metaphor and satire. At the heart, his heroes are ordinary working folk who try to get through life by doing the best they can, with what they've got. He lays out the entitled for the soulless parasites that they are.

Meanwhile, Chaykin has created a great cast of characters and he puts them through their paces. Raul is a delight, as he is still a cat, despite the ability to communicate with humans. He is vain and selfish and "catty," and loyal and friendly, at the same time. Just like a cat.

Luther is growing beyond mere comic relief, though that is still his primary function. Medea grows into a leader here, as a crisis brings it out of her. We also learn that she is a diabetic, which helps explain some of her extreme reactions to past substances. One thing you learn in the military is that crises will really show you the true nature of a person. When I was a 22 year-old Naval officer, on my first ship, I was plagued by self-doubt and hesitancy, because I wasn't quite mature enough; but, when an alert went off, like a time we had secured from a drill and suddenly called Emergency Flight Quarters to bring in our helicopter, after they had a warning light, my anxieties suddenly disappeared and I was completely focused on my job, as Helo Control Officer, to get the helicopter on the deck as quickly and safely as possible. I bolted out of teh Damage Control Office, which was my GQ station, and ran up the passageways, headed to the ladder for the flight deck. We were just opening doors between compartments, after the drill, and many were still shut. I slammed into them and threw up the lever that moved the "dogs" and the other flight deck crew, behind me, shoved me through and we raced like this to the flight deck, where I climbed up into the tower. We were "manned and ready" in record time. Thankfully, the helo landed with no incident; but, it taught me that I had a cool head in a crisis and any anxieties disappeared when real trouble was at hand. It did a lot to boost my confidence and help me grow into my role. Ever since, I am usually the one giving out orders, when there is an emergency, or acting calmly and doing what needs done, thanks to training and something in my character, no doubt instilled by my parents, especially my dad (who had to rush me to a hospital, at age 6, after I got myself hit in the face with a golf club, shattering my nose and opening a gaping wound that spilled blood. You'd be amazed at how fast a Volkswagen will go when it is necessary!)

This is really, really good stuff and this storyline really defined American Flagg. All of the subplots and character development coalesced during this storyline.

American Flagg #10



I don't think Walter Cronkite would say John Scheiskopf's name on the air.

Nice tricky Dick pose!

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

Synopsis: John Scheiskopf is in communication with Plex ambassador Duetsch-Marx, as the senior Plex representative on Earth, since Mars Plex is still unavailable. He spreads a load of fertilizer to him, claiming that Reuben murdered Hilton Krieger (which he did) then tried to murder him. He also claims that the ASLC negative info was a smear job by Reuben....



Meanwhile, some of the ASLC goons are searching for someone and report in to Scheiskopf, saying they lost them in the carport but think their target is headed for the helipad and are headed there. Scheiskopf wants their target rounded up quickly.

Scheiskopf cons the ambassador into granting him full ranger authority, making him the law in the Chicago Plex Mall. Mayor Blitz turns up, after being herded there by the goons. Scheiskopf tells him of his new authority and he then surprises CK with his request that Medea become his deputy. She finished first in her class at training school and she is a local link, which works in his favor. He uses the threat of CK's black market basketball to make him fall in line but also tells him he knows that CK is wary, because of the ASLC; but, he assures him that he is his own man and doesn't care about the ASLC's racial views. Their chat is interrupted by another call, as his goons have cornered their target at the helipad. Scheiskopf tells them to be careful and take him alive, but the goons don't think he will be much of a problem. They are wrong.....



Never underestimate the destructive power of a motivated cat!



And that's a cat who wanted to cuddle up! Imagine if she had automatic weapons!

Raul escapes and leaves a trail of bodies.

Meanwhile, at the Chatterbox, Reuben is still unable to get in touch with Sam Louis Obispo, to enlist his help. Mandy shows him something that Bill (aka The Prince of Wales) was working on: the Sprite Soviet weather satellite that is responsible for the freak snowstorms. Flagg asks Mandy if she can shut it down; but, she says it will take time. They are interrupted by the sound of a helicopter's rotors and think trouble might be on the way in. Reuben goes to the roof to check it out and Raul makes a shaky landing on a highcycle. They go below and Raul tells Flagg about what has been happening at the Mall. Reuben is worried that he might have led the ASLC to them; but, Raul reassures him....



Harris gives Raul a lap to rest on, while Mandy shows Flagg something else she discovered: pirate tapes of Bob Violence, with the subliminal messages intact. Reuben gets a huge grin on his face and an idea.

Scheiskopf talks to Decker, the ASLC head, who wants to raze the population of Chicago to the ground to make way for his people. Titania Weis is not in favor of "indiscriminate mayhem" and Scheiskopf goads her about the history of the Nazis. She starts to threaten him and he tells her to cool her jets, that they can turn around and do the same thing to the ASLC and eliminate their threat. Weis calls him traitorous, but he prefers pragmatic. She doesn't actually object to his idea.

At the Love Canal, Gretchen is drinking up a storm, mourning the death of Ernesto while all also believe that Ester was killed with him. Crystal is spinning her wheels, while Fourth World tries to sort out their power vacuum. Medea tells her father that Ambassador Deutsch-Marx's vouching for Scheiskopf makes him kosher, in her book and her loyalty lies with the Rangers. She goes to report in and CK heads his own way. Medea checks in as Titania Weis leaves, to sell Scheiskopf's plan to her CO at the Gotterdamacrats. There is an icy chill between Medea and Titania, which is to be expected, when a black woman shoves a pistol into a neo-Nazi's face to force them to stop and take survivors of an airship crash in to receive medical attention. Scheiskopf immediately (and unknowingly) puts Medea to the test when he shows her the prisoner, William Windsor Jones, and asks if she has seen him before. She feigns ignorance then thinks to herself about her unquestioned loyalty to the Rangers.

meanwhile, the squad the Scheiskopf mentioned to Titania has reached their destination, a remote location, in Skokie, which happens to be the home of the Skullcrushers. They are there to remove undesirables and think they have an easy target with the anesthetized team. They were wrong.....



Flagg and Mandy are en route to Skokie, on a snowmobile. Flagg tells her they don't have the muscle, yet, to spring Bill. They hear gunshots, coming from the roundhouse where the team is stored. They rush into the combat zone and find Sam leading the Skullcrushers out of the building, killing ASLC types as they go. Sam figured they were in danger, with the way things were going at the Mall and headed to get them out, ahead of the ASLC. They head out to someplace warm, so Reuben can fill in Jules and the rest of the team and they can make a plan.

At the Ranger station, Scheiskopf fills Medea in on what happened to him, after Flagg left him staked out on Warpath One. The Ethical Mutants found him and used him as a punching bag, but were ambushed by the ASLC, who Scheiskopf was able to con into helping him, while he pledged allegiance to them. He is interrupted; first by a call from the ASLC about the Skullcrusher break out, then by the arrival of Desiree Deutsch-Marx Overholt. She goes off with Scheiskopf in private and tells him she is there after Obispo. She further tells him that where Obispo is, you will find Flagg. She suggests they combine resources to find common enemies.

Meanwhile, Reuben makes his pitch to the Skullcrushers....



He plans on hitting the Mall with a Go Gang assault, by using the Bob Violence subliminals, while they also use the weather satellite as an artillery weapon, and the Skullcrushers form the nucleus of Flagg's team to retake the Mall. He offers them a pardon for the black market activities and the right to organize for their own financial benefit. They smile.

Sam and Flagg confer and we see Ester helping move out the Witnesses, while heavily tranquilized, to keep her docile. Flagg tells him she makes Sam's old flame (Desiree Deutsch-Marx) look like a nun.

At the Ranger station, Medea takes a call from Ambassador Deutsch-Marx. She asks him a question and doesn't like his answer, but accepts it....



Medea then makes a call to Scheiskopf, who is in bed with desiree. She tells Desiree that her father would like to speak with her, then tells Scheiskopf that she was mistaken and has seen Bill, with Flagg, at the Chatterbox. Schieskopf curses himself for not realizing that Flagg would be tight with the Witnesses. Desiree suggests eliminating several problems at once. Scheiskopf listens and then takes to the airwaves to offer a bounty for Flagg, who already has a 25,000 intercred reward for his capture and he adds a 1000 intercred reward for the heads (emphasis on "heads") of any of the Witnesses, the Skullcrushers and Sam Louis Obispo.

It just became Rebel Season!

Flagg sends the Skullcrushers off to do their part of the plan, then intercepts the ASLC as they try to attack the Chatterbox. if things weren't bad enough, Sam shows him ester's compact and the Chiclude tranquilizers in it, indicating that she has been shamming her medicated state. She is also riding shotgun, with Tiny, of the Skullcrushers. Flagg sends Sam after them, while he continues holding off the ASLC, until he can get to Mandy, on the highcycle and make their escape. They set off boobytraps in the Chatterbox, which takes the ASLC down.

They rendezvous at an abandoned subway tunnel, which Harris indicates no one outside the Witnesses knows about. Mandy gives Flagg more bad news, as Tiny's vehicle had the program for the weather satellite and it is still missing. She tells Reuben they will have to break Bill out of jail to hack its programming, now.

Meanwhile, a pair of Headhunters finds Tiny's vehicle, with Tiny dead, in the cab, a nail file jammed into his throat. They cut off his head for the reward and move on to ambush a few bounty hunters, to see if they can get some extra cash. They miss Desiree slipping out of the back of the vehicle and making her way away from it.

Thoughts: So Scheiskopf has consolidated power at the Plex Mall, with official Plex blessing...or as close as he can get to it. Meanwhile, he and Titania Weis and now desiree deutsch-Marx are planning on using the ASLC as cannon fodder, let them cull the heard of the population of Chicago, take down Flagg and get revenge on Sam, then make their own bids for power.

Can't trust anyone when you are a racist, nutjob conspiratorial group!

It's obvious that Chaykin is headed for an epic conclusion as we have Scheiskopf, the ASLC, the Gotterdamacrats, Fourth World Industries and Desiree Duetsch-Marx (the woman scorned) all on one side and Reuben, the Witnesses, the Skullcrushers and Bob Violence on the side of freedom. Reuben has a few aces up his sleeve, to boot; but, Medea and Ester are major wild cards.

The scenes of Medea talking to Ambassador Deutsch-Marx, who admits that the country is falling apart and tells her the Rangers are the only thing holding it together, is rather reminiscent of the complicity of the Wehrmacht with the Nazi agenda, when they came to power, in Weimar Germany. The military had been operating in secret, hiding formations of men and equipment, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. At first, they didn't trust the Nazis, nor did the industrial powers and wealthy elite, until it became clear that the Nazis were gaining the acceptance of the German working classes, with their promises of work and better days ahead. Medea has found a calling in the Rangers and that conversation makes her decide where her loyalty lies and she chose the Rangers and Scheiskopf. the question is, will she still feel the same when she comes face to face with Reuben and when she sees the ASLC and the Gotterdamacrats carrying out their "ethnic cleansing?" Does Scheiskopf's assurance that he is his own man really protect her from his associates?

CK Blitz seems rather neutered in all of this, but never underestimate a corrupt Chicago politician, especially one with combat experience in the Go Gangs and Rangers!

Chaykin is making a lot of satirical points about fascists, showing how they sell one another out for power and how they destroy all in their path. Meanwhile, he also shows a disdain for politicians and bureaucrats who refuse to make moral decisions and allow things to reach this point, acting only in their own self-interests. He also gives us the most layered heroes that comics have seen in a long time. Reuben is a crafty SOB and not above a little corruption; but, he has principles that he won't compromise and will fight for them and fight dirty. He is aided by a talking cat, with deadly aim, a group of senior citizens who know that "Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill" and a band of athletes who are masters of melee combat. He also has the Bob Violence tapes, with the subliminals, to send the Go Gangs on the warpath, again, to tie down Scheiskopf and the ASLC resources, while Reuben and the Skullcrushers attempt to get to Bill, to use the Sprite satellite as a weapon. This makes the Dirty Dozen sounds like a youth choir.

For a long time, Chaykin has been building heroes, with feet of clay. He started with Ironwolf, who evolved into Cody Starbuck, who begat Dominic Fortune, who morphed into Reuben Flagg, who kind of combines the best of those previous characters, in a very believable package. He was a cynical hero for a cynical age.

American Flagg #12



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

Synopsis: John Scheiskopf feeds more propaganda to Fasfax, recapping events and painting Reuben as a traitor. Elsewhere, Mayor Blitz talks with Gretchen Holstrum, who is acting decidedly strange...



She leaves CK to go check in on Medea, since he is under house arrest.

Elswhere, Scheiskopf and Desiree Deutsch-Marx head over to the Fourth World offices to use their computers as the detonation system for their doomsday weapon, financed by stolen funds from the Tricentennial recovery commission, allocated to rebuild the heliport, destroyed by Raul. Desiree is itching to start filming a "pornita lupita," with Medea in an adaptation of The Story of O that would "..gross out the Marquis De Sade!" John says the surgery will have to wait until after the gas attack. They arrive at the fourth World offices and discover Titania Weiss, who is examining the corpse of Ester De La Cristo. She says she has been dead for 48 hours.

At the subway HQ of the Video Rangers, Bill informs Reuben that the Sprite energy cells are tapped out and the satellite is now useless. He apologizes that they waisted their rescue effort. Reuben says it proved that the ASLC are a weak bunch and they can hit them again. Bill has an idea for a digital attack. Mandy and Crystal present the re-activated Luther Ironheart and pass on a report from Jules and Cyril about activity near the hub of the city.

We cut to a building site for "Deutsche-Marx Plaza," which nobody buys. One of the foremen tells a worker, in confidentiality, to stay away from the tanks and drums that they have staged. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a different kind of "lunch wagon."



The foreman decides to get a "hot sandwich" and "Pete Zarustica" shuts the door behind him. For his troubles the foreman gets his cyanide tooth ripped out, by Luther and Mandy and Crystal start interrogating him, while Luther shakes the van to maintain the illusion, outside the vehicle.

Later, Scheiskopf finds out about the "nooner" and rants. Titania says the Gotterdamacrats are busy elsewhere, evacuating friends and families. Desiree turns up and says she has disposed of ester's body. She also decides to needle Titania about her New years Celebration, with Reuben and mentions them both having one night stands with him. Scheiskopf loses his namesake!



Meanwhile, the Video rangers prepare to launch their assault on the Plex Mall. The Gotterdamacrats are occupied with evacuating family and only the ASLC is on guard. The Witnesses will handle the building site and Raul and Bill launch their digital assault on the Plex airwaves....



All hail Ken Bruzenak!

Then, Bill drops in a broadcast equivalent of a hollowpoint to the skull.....



The building site comes under assault. Scheiskopf heads to the Fourth World offices and finds Titania destroying records. He gets word that there is a shoot out on the main concourse. Jules and the Video Rangers hit hard and Luther seals the exit with a half track. Reuben and Mandy strike from the air and liberate Mayor Blitz, who takes an assault rifle and shows Reuben some old school streetfighting. He, Mandy and Gretchen head to the Ranger station to break Medea out of her cell, while Reuben heads for the Fourth World offices to stop their computers from releasing the gas.

Titania and John fall out and he sets the doomsday weapon in motion, after backhanding Titania. Reuben spots him headed across the concourse and gives chase and tackles him. CK and Gretchen get Medea out of the cell and they turn up at Fourth World, where Medea proceeds to beat the Aryan out of Titania, until she says the clock is ticking down on the gas release. Gretchen keeps touching Mandy, trying to say something to her, when Mandy jumps on the computer to try to stop the countdown.

Scheiskopf gets loose and runs for an elevator and Flagg tosses a grenade in after him.

The Rangers have Desiree and she tries to act like she was a hostage, acting under duress. Reuben tells Jules to keep her bound and gagged and runs off.

Mandy is unable to stop the countdown and Gretchen pushes her aside and takes over....



Gretchen stops the countdown and reveals that she is Margaret Rand Krieger, Peggy, to her friends. Mom, to Mandy and Medea. CK takes her away from everything, to rest.

Later, Reuben and the Video Rangers mop up and neutralize the siphogene gas, making things safe. Reuben recalls Jules and orders Luther to hunt for Schieskopf's body. Mandy tells Reuben of her talk with her mother. When she fought Ester to stop her revealing the location of the rebels and ester was accidentally killed, Gretchen's memories snapped back and she recalled her identity of Peg Krieger. Mandy doesn't know what to make of things. Reuben heads for the sack and turns down Mandy's offer of company.

When he gets to his quarters, Mandy calls Reuben and tells him that Desiree got off a call to her father and he is offering Reuben and the rest amnesty, in exchange for Desiree's immunity from prosecution. reuben says he will deal with it in the morning; but, someone else has other ideas....



Mandy rushes down, armed, while Scheiskopf tries to murder Reuben. Reuben fights for his life, despite severe injuries. He grabs a shard of glass and flings it into Scheiskopf's throat, then grabs his pistol belt and yanks him face first into the monitor. Mandy arrives and finds a shaken Reuben muttering about Scheiskopf being a golem and soothes him, telling him it is over; he killed Scheiskopf.


Thoughts: Tremendous finale to this storyline and the original American Flagg novel. In essence, Chaykin created one big year-long novel. At the start, Reuben Flagg, ex-video star, arrives as the new Plexus Ranger Daputy, to the Chicago Plex Mall and discovers a world of decay and corruption....and a calling. Life imitates art as he finds he is a better Ranger than his old role, Mark Thrust, Sexus Ranger. He makes new friends and powerful enemies, while discovering that someone is orchestrating attacks on the Mall. He stops the assaults and discovers who murdered Chief Ranger Hilton Krieger. He then traces the subliminal messages that set of the Go Gang rampages to South America and follows the lead, where he finds a conspiracy that involves Chief Ranger Golum and adjutant to the Plex Ambassador, Ivor Overholt, who also masquerades as Peg Krieger, in a twisted love affair with Golem. They are part of the American Survivalist Labor Committee, a group of ultra-Right Wing survivalist nutjobs, who want to save America by purging it of anyone who isn't white, supports Great Britain, Italy, Israel and probably anyone who likes puppies. The ASLC make their move, while an antique weather satellite unleashes a winter hell on Chicago, creating massive chaos. The ASLC descends on Chicago and uses the chaos to take control, with the aid of the presumed-dead John Scheiskopf, murderer of Hilton Krieger. Reuben recruits a band of rebels to stop them and launches a guerrilla war against Scheiskopf and the ASLC. In the end, Peg Krieger, formerly known as Gretchen Holstrum, deactivates the doomsday weapon, while Reuben finally puts an end to the ASLC and John Scheiskopf.

It's been a tremendous ride, as Chaykin weaves a dense tale of a future dystopia and a hero, with failings, who tries to save a little of the American Ideal out of the mess. It's a sci-fi tale, a political and social satire, a crime story and a western, all rolled into a dense package. Chaykin took an opportunity of creative freedom and good money out of a financial necessity and worked his ass off to deliver a shot across the bow to the status quo of comics. Chaykin had been a name that swung in and out of comics, did interesting things, but never quite made his mark on the industry and he changed all of that with this series. He launched a revolution in storytelling and graphic design techniques, for comics, aided by Ken Bruzenak, who showed what you can really do with text and lettering, if you want to do more than just write out the dialogue.

The series is about the 80s, seen through the lens of the future, while showing how the past shapes the present and how it carries on to the future, if cycles aren't broken. It was a cautionary tale of where we were headed, a comment on what was happening, a notice of our dark past and a peek at our darker future, all wrapped in an entertaining cover.

As much as I love what Mike Grell was doing on Jon Sable, American Flagg was the real masterpiece, at First Comics. It was the potential of comics to be a mature medium brought to fruition.

Now, Chaykin has exhausted the material he plotted out, because he didn't thinks this would make it more than a year. fate called his bluff and made it a hit and now Chaykin finds himself having to follow his masterpiece. It won't be easy and he never really succeeds, though he still makes some excellent comics.

Next, we get the epilogue to things, as Reuben deals with the fallout from the Plex and we learn how Peg Krieger, technician, wife and mother, became Gretchen Holstrum, madam of the Love Canal Adult Center and how she met Ranger Golem, sparking an insane obsession. Chaykin will be taking a break from art duties, as James Sherman handles the next issue, followed by Pat Broderick, both with Rick Burchett giving them a feel of Chaykin. Then, Chaykin returns for issue #15, as Reuben heads up to the Great White North.

American Flagg #14



Creative Team: Howard Chaykin-writer, Pat Broderick-pencils, Rick Burchett-inks, Ken Bruzenak-letters, Alex Wald-colors, Mike Gold-editor

Synopsis: Jules, Raul, Bill and Peg Krieger are guests on Fanfax Live, where Nadine Domeczek is singing only Raul's praises. Raul, being a cat, likes being the center of attention and is becoming a bit insufferable. Meanwhile, there is a news item about Canada joining the Plex system; so, beauty, eh?

Peg later catches up with Medea and talks to her about the problems with Mandy. Medea has tried to talk to her, but Mandy won't budge. Elsewhere, Mayor Blitz oversees the sentencing of Ingrid Weiss at the war Crimes Trial and dismisses a potential sentence of death for transportation to Mars Plex to turn over her work and continue research on advanced prosthetics. The crowd outside the court doesn't like this and there is trouble...



Reuben subdues the crowd, while Luther subdues the tank.



Later, Reuben meets up with Crystal, who is back commanding the Raymond Loewy for Four World Industries. She shows Reuben the new Ironwolf helicopter, delivered by the Plex. Reuben recognizes it for an attempted bribe by Ambassador Deutsch-Marx.

At the Ranger station, Desiree is railing again and Luther is growing tired. Reuben returns and threatens to staple her lips shut. She warns Reuben that she has known the Plex rep, Sherman Peabody, since she was a little girl and he will be on her side.

Reuben and Mandy are in bed together and Reuben tries to broach the subject of Peg again, but no dice. In frustration, they turn on Fasfax, as they show footage of the ribbon cutting ceremonies for the first Plex mall in Canada, at Saskatoon....



The ceremony is interrupted by the arrival of a band of masked horsemen, including one who calls himself The Black Beaver,....



...who calls the Plex corrupt and vows to fight them.

The next day, Reuben meets the visiting dignitaries, Sherman Peabody, from Mars Plex, and Antonio de la Cristo, head of Four World Industries. Desiree is there to ingratiate herself, too. Antonio is fascinated by Desiree and they go off to "talk." Raul introduces himself to Peabody, who is delighted to meet Raul and says he might have an offer of a vidseries. Raul tells him to talk to his agent, William Windsor-Jones.

Reuben takes Peabody on an aerial tour of the city, while pitching the legalization of Q-USA. Peabody isn't buying the necessity; but, before he can counter, Reuben gets a call from Henry Cheung, about a Rad-Anarchist attack on his convoy. Reuben lends air support and Sherman Peabody jumps into the fray to add covering fire, on the ground.



They break the back of the attack and the militia is able to mop up. On the way back, Peabody offers a vidseries for Reuben and raul, when Reuben counters with a threat to braodcast undisputable evidence that the Plex tried to sell Illinois to Four Worlds. Peabody is surprised that Flagg knows about that, but tries to play hardball, claiming all involved were purged. Flagg says the public won't buy that and sticks to his guns. Peabody relents an announces a limited license to Q-USA, for "humanitarian services." Later, Mandy asks Flagg about it and says all that evidence went up on the bridge, but Flagg knows how to bluff.

Still later, Reuben dons his dress uniform, but Mandy refuses to go to the ceremony. Reuben leaves her behind and then officiates at the wedding of Peg Krieger and Mayor Blitz, as well as Antonio de La Cristo and Desiree Deutsch-Marx. Raul handles the music.....



Thoughts: This sort of acts as an epilogue to the first year and sets up the next storyline, for the second, as Reuben is about to Take Off, to the Great White North.......



Sherman Peabody turns out to be more than a bureaucrat, but not enough to see through Reuben's bluff. So, the Plex is back in Chicago and Reuben is back to wearing his badge, while Desiree connives her way into marrying the head of Four World Industries and Peg Krieger marries her old lover, Mayor Charles "Charlie" Keenan Blitz. Mandy is still estranged from her mother.

The Canadian stuff will also address something that has been mentioned in passing, earlier on in the first year: the birth rate had plunged within Plex territory and children are very rare. In his video will, Hilton Krieger mentioned Manaciliin (a post-coital contraceptive and anti-biotic) and the Involuntary Sterilization Act of 2010, which Reuben passed off as conspiracy lunacy. We will see more of this.

Pat Broderick is a bit better match for this than James Sherman and he uses the duo-tone boards, which gives it more of a consistency with Chaykin's work. The layouts look more like Chaykin, too, which makes me wonder if he did them for Broderick, or just closely directed Broderick, or Broderick just was closer to Chaykin's style. It works, while still maintaining a certain Broderick sensibility.

Raul's arc is fun and he demonstrates a cat's personality of insinuating themselves wherever they want, whether invited or not, and a certain selfish attitude that is pretty darn feline. He also has a tendency to groom himself while people try to talk to him. Pure cat fun.

American Flagg #16



Now will ya give me some fightin' room?



Love Raul fighting with Petey, from The little Rascals!

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

Synopsis: The Democratic people's Prairie is having their Mayday celebration, and Reuben Flagg, aka Pete Zarustica, is joining the festivities, dancing with Tish Talltrees.....



...in a manner rather reminiscent of Marshall Wyatt Earp and Clementine Carter....



Karl Bullock watches from a balcony and tells Ranger Maris that Flagg has done nothing but start trouble with his men and consort with a prostitute, instead of stopping the Black Beaver. Maris says he will taker care of it, while Bullock starts the festivities to launch the Plex programming. However, the Black beaver has pirated the feed, with accusations about Bullock, and the Plex, by association....



Tish introduces Reuben to Father Philippe Huie, the other resident outcast, while Maris tries to chastise Reuben and gets told off.

Reuben and Father Huie go to the saloon, for lunch, where Reuben gets a proposition from a saloon girl and Father Huie gets racist insults. Reuben rejects her as a terminal VD-ridden hag, when he gets sucker punched by her pimp. Reuben fires back and a brawl breaks out. Reuben and Father Huie slither out of the melee and the priest says it goes on about every day, as Big Karl promotes it as a pressure release. he has no love for Bullock or the town, since being Asian, Cathlic and French, he is the town target of abuse.

Meanwhile, in Chicago,Mandy Krieger announces her candidacy for mayor...



Raul is back from scouting out Bullock's warehouse and has a packet of Manacillin stuck to his fur. Reuben notes that it wasn't supposed to be hitting the area until summer and that it's expiration date is postdated to 6 from the present, despite the shelf life of it being 2!

Elsewhere, Tish gets a call from someone named Beaumont....



...who is the Black beaver, yet he knows nothing about the video piracy. he tells Tish to don a spare costume, to occupy Maris, while he creates chaos at Bullock's ranch.

Reuben and Luther go out to Tish's trailer to see her about the Manacillin, interrupting her as she gets dressed as the Black beaver. She throws on a robe and says she has a client coming and can't talk to him and Reuben notes the little beaver decorations on her boots, sticking out from under the hem of her dressing gown. She pulls a gun, but Luther smashes through the wall and grabs her hand. Reuben arrests her, after revealing his name and rank, then locates the video piracy equipment. Tish admits to being the Beaver's sidekick but claims ignorance to the video gear. She says the only person who could have put it there, without her knowledge, is Megan, the blind maid, who went to town.

Megan goes to see Father Huie and Beaumont sneaks past the perimeter fence, at Bullock's ranch, only to be spotted by Ranger Maris, in a highcycle.



He hits Beaumont with the highcycle, then beats him down with a Kruncheon. Inside the ranch house, Bullock dismisses his wife (?) and talks to Claude, the butler, who is actual a colonel from the Pan African League. Claude mentions loading a consignment of drugs on a train, destined for the Midwest, then he will be returning to Botswana, with a heroe's welcome. Bullock is a puppet of the PAL, who they intend to use to corrupt the Plex from within, in the area. They discuss Reuben, who Claude says can't be bought, but figures Maris is another matetr. Maris turns up, with his new prisoner.

The remainder of the issue is taken up by more fact and character sheets, including....

Chemicals of the future....



and a bit about the Pan African League....



Also, Peg Krieger/Gretchen Holstrum, Mandy Krieger, Hilton Krieger, Luther Ironheart, and Sam Louis Obispo.

Thoughts: The basic genesis of this storyline is Chaykin, returned from a break (in which he had to try to patch up his marriage, as well as let off some steam), wanted to do a western story, to force himself to draw horses, for which he felt deficient. I read at least one interview where he talked about growing up, watching Johnny Mack Brown westerns and this is pure western stuff, right down to Wyatt Earp vs Mr Clanton, in John Ford's My Darling Clementine, with a bit of commentary about apartheid reaping what it was sowing. The former is basic plot that matches Ford's fictionalized account of the Gunfight at the OK Corral (like Hollywood has done a truly accurate account, in any form), with some modern drug running added, and then a political conspiracy, involving the Pan African League. Chaykin satirizes the world powers by turning things on their heads, with the 3rd World rising up from the ashes of the breakdown in the 1st World, to become new power blocs. The PAL threw off apartheid and European and American-dominated governments, with a Leftist system, that sees them unite the continent of Africa, reversing the equation of apartheid, so that Whites are the oppressed minority, instead of the entitled minority, oppressing the majority. They grown beyond the continent to envelop the Middle East, which saw a nuclear exchange between Israel and Iran and also hold sway of Communist United Kingdom. Now, they are trying to spread their influence to Western Canada and then use the Midwest as a gateway into America, with Flagg smack in the middle. Later, in Howard Chaykin's American Flagg, the revamped series, Chaykin will explore Communist Britain and the Pan African League.

There are lots of nods at old westerns and some nice character moments. The early part with Father Huie kind of reminded me of Cat Ballou, and the character Jackson Two-Bears, the Native American who was taken in by Cat's father, who believes that the native Americans are the Lost Tribe of Israel. He is similarly the target of bigotry by the entire town, including during a dance, where Cat and her friends are occupied, as Cat's father is isolated and murdered at their ranch, by Tin Nose. I doubt that Father Huie will develop along the same path; but, he is likely a factor in gumming up the works in the PAL/Bullock plan.

It would seem that the Manacillin packets are actually drug shipments, intended for Chicago, which puts a conspiracy inside a conspiracy, as the Plex is using Manacillin to sterilize the populace.

American Flagg #18



Chaykin is homaging a Bettie Page photo, published by Irving Klaw...

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

Synopsis: Claude Albury, butler to Big Karl Bullock (and secretly Pan African League Colonel Saitoti) has given a speech that riles up the citiizens of the People's Prairie, demanding swift justice for his murder, which he pins on The Black Beaver, aka Sam Louis Obispo and his accomplice, Tish Twelvetrees, who are in Plexus Ranger Daniel Maris' custody. Maris adds fuel to the fire, saying it is an open and shut case. So, why bother with details, like a fair trial by jury of your peers? Maris calls to congratulate the colonel, who is busy snapping the neck of Bullock's wife (mistress?), after she mentions overhearing him on the phone (post-coital) talking about his scheme. Maris says there is a crowd forming outside the jail and it is getting angrier by the minute and he seems pleased about that.

Sounds like a necktie party!

Meanwhile, Reuben is in a freezer, cutting open meat carcasses to reveal smuggled Manacillin, laced with a bio-weapon that breaks down the immune system. Someone has the drop on him, but misses his shot and Reuben uses the hanging carcasses as both a shield and a weapon....



Reuben beats the snot out of one of Bullock's People's Range Riders and shoves his .666 Magrum^tm into his mouth, asking what the story is, while raul tells him that he and Luther have found megan and she is safe with them. Reuben tells them to hold tight while he gets the lowdown.

Reuben later meets up with the "boys"(well, a male cat and a male-shaped robot) and gives them an info dump.....



Megan tells her stories. Bullock's men burned down the ranch belonging to Megan's family, killing her parents. They raped her and blinded her with a poker. Tish found her, still alive and took her to Father Huie to nurse. He was an expert in electronics and prosthetics and made her radar cane and glass eye. She fell in love with them and she went to work as a maid, for Trish. Father Huie had her hide the video unit nder the trailer, which fed the pirate footage. Meanwhile, it turns out that the glass eyes he made for Megan had another function.....



...cameras!

Reuben and his posse head to the Ranger station and find that the mob have taken Sam & Tish (after Reuben smacks Maris around, a bit). He gives up the location for the hanging party and they head off to save them.

Reuben arrives in the nick of time.....



and exposes Claude as Col Saitoti. he shoots his way out and gallops away and Reuben gives chase in the roadster. He leaps onto Saitoti's horse, but gets backhanded away. Reuben recovers and hears what sounds like thunder, but realizes what it is...



Saitoti has a jet waiting in a secret hanger and starts to taxi for take off, when Luther hurls something into the turbine intake, destroying the blades and engine and the plane crashes into Luther and then goes out of control and explodes.

A Q-USA update follows...



The Manacillin shipment was intercepted, Maris confessed and is taken into custody, Bullock is exposed as an agent of the PAL and that they were behind an attempt of genocide, on Chicago. The PAL representatives barricade themselves in their embassies.

Reuben and Raul say their goodbyes to Sam, Trish and Megan, leaving them as temporary Ranger deputies, until the new Ranger arrives, which will be Arcadia Driftwood, which thrills Sam.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Mandy talks with Bill Jones about her plan to get Reuben to endorse her mayoral candidacy.

The issue finishes with more dossiers: VideoRangers, Bob Violence, Ranger Weapons and combat vehicles, Titania Weiss and The Witnesses.

Thoughts: Terrific ending to our western story, complete with an attempted hanging, last minute rescue, chase between car and horse and a fight on a jet. Pretty much straight out of the Republic serial playbook.

It is interesting to see Chaykin twist things in this political allegory/satire, as the Pan African League maintain a reverse-apartheid, in their territory, which includes the continent of Africa and most of the Middle East. Colonel Saitoti talks about "grey mongrels" when he kills Bullock's woman. In this future, the oppressed turned on the oppressors, then gave them a taste of their own medicine, but it devolved into the same irrational nonsense. There is a precedent for the idea, as after Robert Mugabe came to power in Zimbabwe, he pretty much turned a blind eye to acts of violence against white citizens of the former Rhodesia.   Like the French Revolution, not everyone was guilty of acts of oppression, but they suffered the same fates as those who were.

Part of Chaykin's satire is showing the former World Powers laid low and new power blocs emerging, from the 3rd World. These groups are more than happy to take what they want from the former 1st World. It serves as a commentary on colonialism and economic exploitation of weaker nations and peoples. These were topics of the period, as the people of South Africa protested the apartheid system, while the US government continued to be embroiled in Latin American politics and economic missions, in the 1980s.

Chaykin seems to be having a blast with the Western angle, as everything has a sort of Western flavor to it, with elements of future technology. He also seems to have fun in showing that the divide between Communism and Capitalism isn't that great, in reality, when you see the Party Elite help themselves to the trough. Some are more equal than others. Bullock put a facde of Communism on things, as he got rich off everyone, then joined the Plex to get richer. In reality, he was a tool of Saitoti and the PAL, who sought to use Canada as a base to move into North America.

The cover reminds us of Chaykin's tastes, as we have seen throughout the series. Had Chaykin's career not worked out as it did, he might have found himself as the next Eric Stanton, though with better storytelling skills. The Art of Howard Chaykin, from Dynamite, presents a few examples of such things and Black Kiss demonstrated what Chaykin could do with full on pornography, if you want to call it that (too much story to just be pornographic, but not really erotic enough to be erotica). Really, Chaykin is more of a satirist, as this proves, as does much of his later work. His heroes have feet of clay to undercut the heroism, satirizing the stereotypes. He throws in plenty of sex because he writes adults and it provokes a reaction from people. He pokes fun at society's hang-ups as much as he does politics.

This wasn't up to the standard of the first year; but, was still pretty good and better than most of what was on the stand, at the time. Going forward, though, we see that Chaykin is still struggling with a direction. Next up, we look at the race for Mayor of Chicago, as well as the visit of another Ranger, on a mission.

American Flagg #20



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

Synopsis: Fasfax catches us up on last issue, while reuben and Bullets Kisco fly over Chicago, in a highcycle. They are headed for SouthSide Militia HQ, to look for the escaped felon, Roy Magruder, but Bullets suggests a pitt-stop, on the way. Meanwhile, at Stagolee's, a party is going on and Magruder's brother is a guest of honor, along with some of the biggest gang lords in the area. he feels out of place, but Angel Hollywood is taking care of him. She has one of the girls lead him away to another room, just as he is asking about Stagolee and if he had Gregorio whacked. The other ladies leave, to, which creates a bit of spherical azure in their wake, but the owners of said spheres get a bit of a surprise....



Elsewhere, Q-USA is having a Go Polo fundraiser, with two teams , led by mayoral candidates Mandy Krieger and C Keenan Blitz on opposing sides, as they steer their "iron horses" to go after the ball. Sportsmanship is rather sparse in the match; but, Mandy hasn't totally turned heel.....



Mandy still gets a dig in when she mentions some juicy revelations in Jules Folquet's upcoming book, and we are told that Raul's new show premiere's after the match. Mandy and CK go to their changing suites and find suprise packages for each of them.

We cut to Raul's new show, and his guests Antonio de la Cristo and his new bride Desiree Deutsch-Marx-Overholt de la Cristo. Raul gets a bit "catty."



Harris and Raul discuss the missing tape, stolen in the previous issue. Harris has done an inventory and it was one of Hilton Krieger's private loops, not old programming. It might be nothing, but I wouldn't take that bet.

Elsewhere, Cyril proves that the tape is something to worry about, as he is the one who sent the surprise packages to Mandy and CK and is waiting to squeeze them for money. He figures that whoever wins will be in their pocket.

Further elsewhere, Reuben and Bullets are.....um....setting off primer caps?

They finish their business and then descend on the Magruder home, but only find Ma and the kids (armed to the teeth) and bust in looking for Russell and fugitive Roy. Reuben saves Bullets from a knife to the back and she then threatens to beat her assailant into hamburger, unless he tells where his father and uncle are. He says they have had no contact with Roy, but dad is at some meeting, with some new poli-club.

We cut to a van, driven by Angel, with Russell Magruder riding inside. He hears about the massacre and that Stagolee let him live, for whatever reason. Someone else is watching and radios someone called Luba. She is busy with Stagolee, but decides it is time to leave, before Angel arrives and expresses her displeasure at finding another woman, with her man, again. Luba gets out just in time and Angel tells her man that the job is done. he is watching Mandy give a campaign speach, on video and says he wants her. He doesn't mean like Luba or Angel...he wants her dead. mandy is talking about decentralizing mall services and creating streetcorner mini-malls to various neighborhoods, bringing the Plex to the city. Stagolee fears the loss of his enterprises if she does. Angel asks why he let Magruder live and he says it is her business, then assigns Angel to find out who has been muscling in on Gregorio's extortion rackets, which he took over, and deliver a message to them.

Which means Cyril may be @#$%&*!

Thoughts: Well, lots of intrigue, in this one, as we don't know what is on the stolen Q-USA tape; but, we do know that it is something damaging for both CK and Mandy and Cyril has it, intending to control whoever wins the election. Stagolee continues wiping out the rival ganglords and consolidating power, but has learned that Cyril and the Video Rangers have moved in on the extortion rackets that were controlled by the late Pamplona Family, which Stagolee took over, after blowing Gregorio off the face of the map (well, Angel and the girls did that).

Interestingly, Stagolee has some kind of connection to Russell Magruder, as he doesn't have him killed. Add to that, Roy Magruder has not been in contact.

Reuben and Bullets' little interlude is about par for the course, for this series, as Reuben seems to sleep with everything in stilettoes, except for the rabid fans in Havana, back in Southern Comfort. Then again, Reuben doesn't go for every exotic opportunity. However, Reuben doesn't exactly seem to impress Bullets, in a lot of ways. It's interesting to see a character who has enough experience and smarts to make Reuben look like a rookie, as he has been the extremely talented hero throughout the series. Nice to see Chaykin doesn't let his hero be too cocky.

I have a sneaking suspicion about what is on the tape, but will wait on my theory. Given the nature of things in this series, it isn't much of a leap, though there is an icky factor, of sorts.

Raul as a talk show host is fun, as a cat's ego would fit right in with a network host. He needs an Ed McMahon to stroke his ego (and his fur), though. Maybe Luther, when he is off-duty..... The scene of Harris giving him a lift in his wheel chair is fun, as Harris just tears through the Plex Mall, without regard for pedestrians. It's almost like a scene from Death Race 2000, if it had featured Lionel Barrymore and Morris the Cat.