28 AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Yet despite widespread acclaim, the series proved controversial as well. A 1984 essay
in Psychology Today argued (while missing or downplaying the satirical aspects of the
series) that it was an example of a pernicious moral rot and hollow cynicism typical of
the era’s comics, and the book’s letter column roiled with debate over Chaykin’s depiction
of sex and of women generally.
Th ough American Flagg! is primarily associated with its creator, the book contin-
ued for several years after his departure. Chaykin gave up art chores on the title with
issue #26 but, after an issue penned by Alan Moore , returned as a writer for three
issues with Joe Staton as artist. Th e book subsequently passed through a number of
hands, with Chaykin occasionally returning as co-writer. Although each new creative
team brought its own voice to the series, they also developed the themes and ideas
established by Chaykin. Moore’s tale featured the Plexus Rangers’ attempt to thwart a
pornographic entrepreneur who used subliminal manipulation to transform the former
state of Kansas into “Loveland,” an orgiastic theme park. Steven Grant came aboard as
a writer with issue #31, joined by Mark Badger on art, with stories spotlighting Flagg’s
pirate television station and supporting character Bill Windsor-Jones, the rightful king
of England. Badger stayed on for J. M. DeMatteis’s eight-issue run, a story in which
Flagg nearly succumbs to despair as he confronts the seeming impossibility of mount-
ing any eff ective resistance to the pervasive Plex. After a tongue-in-cheek all-apology
issue (#46) addressing Chaykin’s absence from the book, Chaykin returned for four
issues to close out the fi rst volume, joined by co-writer Mindy Newell and artists Paul
Smith and Mike Vosburg. Th is four-issue arc saw Reuben and his allies uncover sur-
prising truths about Plex leadership, and it ended with Reuben himself as the leader of
the newly sovereign and independent state of Illinois.
Th e series was relaunched as Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! in 1988. Chaykin
was credited in early issues with “story, editing, and art direction,” though John Francis
Moore eventually took over writing duties, with Mike Vosburg on art throughout. New
stories dealt with Reuben’s diffi culties in fostering a participatory democracy in Illinois
without being tempted into fascism, and his exploration of the U.S.S.R of the 2030s,
a “brave new world of rampant consumerism” (#6) in which the political ideologies of
Marx and Lenin survived only as empty rhetoric and merchandising slogans. After
12 issues, this second series came to a close as well, though Chaykin has occasionally
revisited the setting and characters in recent years.
Brannon Costello
AMERICAN SPLENDOR. A long-running autobiographical comic book by Harvey
Pekar , American Splendor began in 1976 as a self-published comic book that Pekar put
out once a year, but eventually moved to larger established comic book publishers. It
also was adapted into a theatrical play and a motion picture.
In 1962, Pekar became friends with Robert Crumb over their mutual interest in
music. Encouraged by Crumb, he dabbled in writing stories in underground comics. In
1976 he decided to write and publish American Splendor with stories based on his life
