American Century is a comic book series published by DC Comics as a part of the Vertigo imprint starting in early 2001. It was co-written by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman.[1]
| American Century | |
|---|---|
 Cover for American Century #1, art by Howard Chaykin. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | May 2001 – October 2003 |
| No. of issues | 27 |
| Main character(s) | Harry Block |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Howard Chaykin David Tischman |
| Written by | Howard Chaykin David Tischman |
| Penciller(s) | Marc Laming Luke Ross Lan Medina |
| Inker(s) | John Stokes Digital Chameleon |
| Letterer(s) | Ken Bruzenak Digital Chameleon John Costanza |
| Colorist(s) | Pamela Rambo Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh |
| Editor(s) | Shelly Bond Assistant editors: Will Dennis Mariah Huehner |
| Collected editions | |
| Scars & Stripes | ISBN 978-1563897917 |
| Hollywood Babylon | ISBN 978-1563898853 |
The story concerned a former American pilot who fakes his death and goes on the run in the 1950s. Chaykin intended it as a "left-wing version of Steve Canyon",[2] and wrote all of the issues. The comic ran for 27 issues until 2003.
Plot
editHarry Block, a World War II veteran, fakes his own death and makes his way to Central America to create a new identity for himself as Harry Kraft, a hard-drinking smuggler. During a war in Guatemala, a CIA operative blackmails Block into assassinating Rosa de Santiis, a popular leader in opposition to the CIA puppet dictator General Zavala. Afterward, he heads back to the United States, taking a road trip from Hollywood to Chicago to New York, exploring myriad avenues of 1950s American culture.
The comic ends with Block essentially turning into the character he had created for the fictional "Starburst Comics", a vigilante known as "Dr. Dream".[1]
Collected editions
editSome of the series has been collected into two trade paperbacks:
- Scars & Stripes (collects issues #1–4, DC/Vertigo, 2001, ISBN 1-56389-791-1)
- Hollywood Babylon (collects issues #5–9, DC/Vertigo, 2002, ISBN 1-56389-885-3)
References
edit- ^ a b Irvine, Alex (2008). "American Century". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The Vertigo Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7566-4122-1. OCLC 213309015.
- ^ American Century #1 (March 2001, cover-dated May 2001)
External links
editFurther reading
editThis section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2010) |
- Arnold, Andrew D. (May 25, 2001). "An 'American Century' of Unrepentant Crime". Time. Archived from the original on May 6, 2008.
- MacDonald, Heidi (March 25, 2003). "DAVID TISCHMAN ON CENTURY'S END". Comicon.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2010.