Thoughts on The American Way?

[Tony Starkz]

With the trade coming out in 2 weeks,I was wanting to know people's thoughts on it to see if I should get it.

I heard alot of praise for it.I'm a fan of superheroes set in the past and mixed with issues of the time (a la New Frontier and Golden Age) so I was interested in picking this up.

Thoughts?

[Apathy Boy]

I liked it a lot. Well written and drawn. Tons of really cool characters. Really interesting conflicts, both on a physical and social level.

I did feel like it would've been better off at 6 issues than 8, though. It wasn't that it felt slow in places, it was that it was just too fatiguing to have things get continually worse for that long a time. By about issue 5, I was dying to see a happy ending come soon. And the Southern Cross character was a little too on point.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

i enjoyed it, could've been trimmed down but still good.

[geordiesteve]

It was really really good. It was kind of a dense book, both in dialogue (which I didn't mind) and also content, as it was not only about superheroes and how the people in the world view them, but also race in America. A fascinating book about the grey areas between good and evil, right and wrong, and I would highly recommend it.

Really good artwork too, great inking and colour, so the costumes felt vibrant and it made the people seem more real. Also the characters came in all shapes, sizes, and were from different backgrounds, with very different points of view.

Thumbs up.

[sgt pepper]

I thought the first three or four issues were excellent. The ending was just ok.

[40yearoldnovafan]

With the end of the first issue I was shocked and was concerned about where it was going. But those concerns disappeared. I really enjoyed the series. I hope they do a sequel with the same creative team.

Jimmy

[DWEarhart]

Good read. It was a solid piece of work, nothing ground breaking, just a good, well told story in both words and pictures.

Both creators have the potential to do something epic in the future.

[Jack]

I loved the American Way. It took a fairly simple story and then showed that you can give it depth and an interesting angle and make it compelling reading. It wasn't perfect, and sometimes the race stuff seemed somewhat forced, but I really enjoyed reading it, and I hope there's a sequel set in a different decade.

[Mikey Brown]

Yes I just picked up all 8 issues for 8 dollars and thought it was really good. Jeanty's art really improved from his Marvel stuff. Its starts kinda slow but picks up by issue 3.

[Karl O'Neill]

With the trade coming out in 2 weeks,I was wanting to know people's thoughts on it to see if I should get it.

I heard alot of praise for it.I'm a fan of superheroes set in the past and mixed with issues of the time (a la New Frontier and Golden Age) so I was interested in picking this up.

Thoughts?

yeah it's well worth it

[UniqueFrequency]

same thoughts as most people. first 6 - 7 issues were great reads, last issue was just okay

i think one problem with reading it monthly was that it was hard to remember who was who between chet and the other guy. but that should be resolved in trade.

[lightning]

I thought the premise was awesome and it was a well-done series. I did however think that the ending was the weak link, but it's overall a great book. I think it'd be great if they did a series of follow-ups showing how the CDC evolves over time. What happens during Vietnam? What about when the Cold War ends? Is there a need for a CDC during the post-Cold War era?

[filthysize]

It's very good, and I can't believe you guys are saying it should be trimmed down. The series packs a whallop in every issue. Dense is right. Just look at the amount of panels and information on every page. In other hands these days, that much storytelling would take 12 issues or more.

It's pretty darn fast-paced if you look at it (but it doesn't feel like it) -- it goes from introducing the concept of the superhero ruse, to the main character's entry, to the rise of the New American, then the Hellbent story, then the racial conflict, then a nuclear threat -- all in 8 issues! That's like 5 arcs they went through! The number of ideas crammed into it is so rare. Most writers prefer to spread things out so they have enough ideas to keep going. Ridley just lays it all out.

He did an incredible job in introducing two dozen new characters and have them all be memorable by the end of the series. How does that work?? It's truly some very skilled structuring at display here.