First Graphic Novel
(First, 1984-1990, 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:
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Jan 1984
Cover: $5.95
W: Jerry Bingham · A: Jerry Bingham
Beowulf
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May 1985
Cover: $5.95
W: Timothy Truman, Mark Acres · A: Timothy Truman
Time Beavers
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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
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Nov 1985
Cover: $6.95
W: Mike Baron · A: Steve Rude
B&W
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Apr 1986
Cover: $7.95
W: Eric Shanower, Harlan Ellison · A: Eric Shanower
Enchanted Apples of Oz
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May 1986
Cover: $14.95
W: Michael Moorcock · A: P. Craig Russell
Elric of Melnibone
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Oct 1986
Cover: $7.95
W: Eric Shanower · A: Eric Shanower
Secret Island of Oz
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Sep 1990
Cover: $8.95
W: Eric Shanower · A: Eric Shanower
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Nov 1986
Cover: $7.95
W: Howard Chaykin · A: Howard Chaykin
Time2
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Dec 1986
Cover: $9.95
W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird · A: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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Jun 1987
Cover: $9.95
W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird · A: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird
Turtles Book II
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Cover: $14.95
W: Roy Thomas · A: Michael T. Gilbert
Elric: Sailor on the Seas of Fate
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Cover: $7.95
W: Howard Chaykin · A: Howard Chaykin
Time2: The Satisfaction of Black Mariah
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Cover: $11.95
W: Howard Chaykin · A: Howard Chaykin
American Flagg: Southern Comfort
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Nov 1987
Cover: $7.95
W: Eric Shanower · A: Eric Shanower
The Ice King of Oz
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Sep 1990
Cover: $7.95
W: Eric Shanower · A: Eric Shanower
The Ice King of Oz
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Dec 1987
Cover: $9.95
W: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird · A: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Dave Sim
Turtles Book III
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Mar 1988
Cover: $8.95
W: Mike Baron · A: Bill Reinhold
Badger: Hexbreaker
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Oct 1988
Cover: $8.95
W: Eric Shanower · A: Eric Shanower
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Sep 1990
Cover: $8.95
W: Eric Shanower · A: Eric Shanower