The American Way - Softcover

Ridley, John; Jeanty, Georges; Story, Karl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1401212565 ISBN 13: 9781401212568

Publisher: WildStorm, 2007

Synopsis

Critically acclaimed novelist and screenwriter John Ridley (Three Kings) offers a unique vision of U.S. history in the thrilling graphic novel THE AMERICAN WAY!

The 1960s were a decade of incredible change for America. It was a time of innocence. It was a time of optimism. It was a time of heroes.

In the early '40s, the United States government hatched a plan to create the Civil Defense Corps: a group of "super-heroes" who could fight alien invasions, evil super-powered beings and communism, all in front of an adoring public, courtesy of television. But that dream was far from reality by the `60s, as new C.D.C. Marketing Director Wesley Catham is about to discover. How far will America go to protect its dream of a better tomorrow?

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

The operative question with The American Way is, do we really need another Watchmen? An amalgam of Alan Moore's watershed comic and its numerous imitative series, like The Authority and Marvels, this miniseries is a complicated take on the superhero myth seen through the Cold War politics and civil rights upheavals of the early '60s. The U.S. government has created a team of fake (though some are inexplicably real) heroes who fight fake villains so that the government can appear strong to its Cold War enemies. Protagonist Wesley is a just-fired ad man for cars who is called into service to serve as the propaganda man for the superteam. Needless to say, Wesley's ethics and belief in his country are challenged as he becomes embroiled in the politics and realities of the situation, particularly when an African-American hero joins the team. And even more needless to say, the government's superbeings become unhinged and catastrophe follows. Ridley, whose résumé includes both screenplays and novels, is a competent writer with ambitious ideas, but they often lose focus, especially as the story gets more convoluted, and Jeanty's art is energetic but does little to delineate the many characters. Still, fans of superhero revisionism will find much to chew on. (Feb.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: WildStorm
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1401212565
• ISBN 13: 9781401212568
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192