First Graphic Novel

    (First, 1984-1987, 1999)
™ and © First Comics, Inc. and Star*Reach Productions

By the late 1980s, graphic novesl had gone from expensive experiment to become prestige item for any self-respecting comic publisher. First Comics got into the act with their own line of graphic novels, giving some of their better properties a chance to tell longer, more detailed—and certainly better presented—stories than in their normal comic titles.

Book 3 of this series covers Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg. In the near future, Chicago is controlled by the conglomerate Plex, and the decadent populace is continuously bombarded by media-produced images of sex and violence. Enter Reuben Flagg, a soap-opera porn star sent to urban Hell when his career hits the skids. As a Plexus Ranger, it’s his job (so he’s told) to protect the civilized (so they claim) citizens from numerous terrorist gangs (funded by the Plex, of course).

Flagg gets fed up pretty quickly with the constant battles, corrupt cops, and dirty-dealing city officials (not the sex, though-that’s a good thing!) and takes matters into his own hands. He’s a man with a strong sense of American Democratic ideals, and he’s not above shoving those beliefs down everyone else’s throats.

Setting a new standard for adult comics, American Flagg! won numerous Eagle awards for excellence, and was even nominated for science fiction’s Nebula award.
Jump to issue:
  • Bk 1
    Book #1
    Jan 1984
    Cover: $5.95
    W: Jerry Bingham  ·  A: Jerry Bingham
    Beowulf
    4 copies from $10.00
  • Bk 2
    Book #2
    May 1985
    Cover: $5.95
    W: Timothy Truman, Mark Acres  ·  A: Timothy Truman
    Time Beavers
    4 copies from $8.00
  • Bk 3
    Book #3
    Collected Edition with cover by Howard Chaykin
    Jun 1985
    Cover: $11.95
    W: Howard Chaykin, Michael Moorcock  ·  A: Howard Chaykin
    American Flagg: Hard Times; Collects American Flagg! (First, 1983 series) #1-3; Introduction by Michael Moorcock
    3 copies from $14.98
  • Bk 4
    Book #4
    Nov 1985
    Cover: $6.95
    W: Mike Baron  ·  A: Steve Rude
    B&W
    4 copies from $3.00
  • Bk 5
    Book #5
    Apr 1986
    Cover: $7.95
    W: Eric Shanower, Harlan Ellison  ·  A: Eric Shanower
    Enchanted Apples of Oz
    3 copies from $9.99
  • Bk 6
    Book #6
    May 1986
    Cover: $14.95
    W: Michael Moorcock  ·  A: P. Craig Russell
    Elric of Melnibone
    3 copies from $23.00
  • Bk 7
    Book #7
    Oct 1986
    Cover: $7.95
    W: Eric Shanower  ·  A: Eric Shanower
    Secret Island of Oz
    3 copies from $5.00
  • Bk 7-2
    Book #7 - 2nd printing
    Sep 1990
    Cover: $8.95
    W: Eric Shanower  ·  A: Eric Shanower
    1 copy for $9.00
  • Bk 8
    Book #8
    Nov 1986
    Cover: $7.95
    W: Howard Chaykin  ·  A: Howard Chaykin
    Time2
    2 copies from $2.86
  • Bk 9
    Book #9
    Dec 1986
    Cover: $9.95
    W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird  ·  A: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    2 copies from $49.00
  • Bk 10
    Book #10
    Jun 1987
    Cover: $9.95
    W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird  ·  A: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
    Turtles Book II
    2 copies from $83.00
  • Bk 11
    Book #11
    Cover: $14.95
    W: Roy Thomas  ·  A: Michael T. Gilbert
    Elric: Sailor on the Seas of Fate
    1 copy for $21.00
  • Bk 12
    Book #12
    Cover: $7.95
    W: Howard Chaykin  ·  A: Howard Chaykin
    Time2 Satisfaction of Black Mariah
    3 copies from $14.98
  • Bk 13
    Book #13
    Cover: $11.95
    W: Howard Chaykin  ·  A: Howard Chaykin
    American Flagg: Southern Comfort
    1 copy for $15.00
  • Bk 14
    Book #14
    Nov 1987
    Cover: $7.95
    W: Eric Shanower  ·  A: Eric Shanower
    The Ice King of Oz
    2 copies from $9.99
  • Bk 14-2
    Book #14 - 2nd printing
    Sep 1990
    Cover: $7.95
    W: Eric Shanower  ·  A: Eric Shanower
    The Ice King of Oz
    1 copy for $11.50
  • Bk 15
    Book #15
    Dec 1987
    Cover: $9.95
    W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird  ·  A: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
    Turtles Book III
    1 copy for $85.00
  • Bk 16
    Book #16
    Mar 1988
    Cover: $8.95
    W: Mike Baron  ·  A: Bill Reinhold
    Badger: Hexbreaker
    2 copies from $24.00
  • Bk 17-2
    Book #17 - 2nd printing
    Sep 1990
    Cover: $8.95
    W: Eric Shanower  ·  A: Eric Shanower
    1 copy for $9.00