American Century #1

DC's Vertigo imprint launched this noir-tinged series in 2001 with a cover that says everything about its mood: a hard-jawed man in a dark suit clutches a document labeled "Greetings:" while a blonde woman and a dark-haired woman in a blue hat flank him against a detailed map of Korea, with military jets cutting through the sky above. The subtitle *Scars & Stripes* and that ominous draft-notice word — "Greetings:" — set the tone perfectly for what Chaykin and Tischman are cooking up. *Entertainment Weekly* compared the creative team to James Ellroy and Graham Greene collaborating, and this Howard Chaykin cover makes a strong case for exactly that kind of sharp, morally complicated American storytelling.