Alan Moore and Frank Miller get a lot of credit for "reinventing" comics in the 1980s (and deservedly so), but I don't think Howard Chaykin gets enough. I that's because "grim 'n' gritty" is an easy-to-sum-up catchphrase, but the kind of storytelling pioneered by Chaykin in American Flagg! is a bit more difficult to catagorize. For many years, when asked about the best of his work, Howard Chaykin woud reply that it was Time². Originally intended as trilogy, the final part was never published... until now (well, recently). Readers got their first introduction to DemocraCity and its hub in First Comics' American Flagg Special. The Time² Omnibus collects the special, the first two graphic novels, and the never-before-seen third. Before reading the conclusion, I refreshed my memory of what had come before.
AMERICA FLAGG SPECIAL:
I was a pretty big fan of Howard Chaykin's American Flagg! back in the day, and found myself very much looking forward to this link to his next major work. Bought it, read it, didn't understand it. So I read it again, and the second time I took notes. This represent the first time I had ever taken notes on a comic book, and the only time just for the purpose of understanding it. When I was done, the special made a whole lot more sense. It's not really so much a story per se as it is an introduction of characters. Once I had those down, everything fell into place. All three of the graphic novels are very much character-driven, so if you don't have a handle on who the characters are and how they relate to each other you're pretty much sccrewed. For the information conveyed in the special, it could have been present in a much more clear and straightforward manner, but that's not what Time² is about. Chaykin is a fan of jazz, and this is its visual equivalent.
THE EPIPHANY:
Armed with my notes from the Special, I set about reading the first graphic novel in 1986. I think I probably followed it better then (with the notes still fresh in my mind), than I did today, 38 years later. Still, much of what I remembered from my initial reads carried over.
THE SATISFACTION OF BLACK MARIAH:
What I remember about this from 1987 is that it was much more straightforward, more tradiational. (Either that or I was becoming more accustomed to Chaykin's style.) Rereadig it today, yes, I think it is a bit more straighforward, but the plot itself is somehow less interesting. (I thought that both then and now.) Which brings us up to...
HALLOWED GROUND:
I don't have 40-year-old memories to draw upon this time, so again I had a bit of trouble following it the first time through (not a lot, but a little). Here's Chaykin himself describing the project: "The stories and themes of Time² are often challenging and frequently non-linear. Some narrative elements are clearly delineated, others merely insinuated. and yes, there's quite a lot of what might be regarded as obligatory connective tissue that isn't there at all." I knew this was going to give me a headache, and sure enough: it did. Do I think it is Howard Chaykin's best work? No, I do not. But if you are familiar with the first two graphic novels and liked them, you probably owe it to yourself to read the conclusion. I probably will read the whole thing again some day... but not anytime soon.
Replies