Uncle Sam – Special Election Edition
writer: Steve Darnall
Artist/co-curator: Alex Ross
Writer: Todd Klein
Publisher: DC Black Label – Abrams Comic Art
uncle sam Originally a famous two-part comic published by DC Publishing Vertigo in 1997, written by: Steve Darnall, Featuring artwork from comic book legends, Alex Ross, and lettering from another comics legend, Todd Klein. This book has a new special election edition This month, DC Black Label (which owns the rights to the old Vertigo titles) and Abrams ComicArts have teamed up to release a beautiful high-definition edition. When I revisited the book in its new form, I was first struck by its sense of timelessness.
In fact, the book read like an evergreen fable about America—both its potential and its problems—and I had to double-check to make sure it was indeed first published in 1997. Year is a very different time. The politics are softer and there’s a little less splash here and there, yet the book’s central thesis – “Dreams are burning, burning from within” – feels as relevant today as when it was first published, if not more so.
More than that, I suspect that if you read this book in a vacuum, you could convince yourself that it was born in the post-9/11 era…or maybe after the ’08 recession…or maybe during the Reagan era. This story and the way it is told are so relevant that it has been crucial to, and influenced by, all eras of modern American history.
If you’re not familiar, the story covers about 90 pages of comic art. The main character is Sam, who is of course the incarnation of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam is a man who moves around. But when we meet him in the book, he’s suffering, wandering the streets of a big city, his perspective flashing through time and space, experiencing visions. In these visions, Uncle Sam was dealing with poor, oppressed, and disenfranchised Americans. He saw horrific moments in American history through the eyes of those who were abused by the so-called American Dream, cheated by it, defeated by it, or simply ignored by it—and his spirit and Emotional states are just that.
The writing is analytical, incisive, and even poetic, from individual snippets of dialogue to the way the plot manages to not only humanize Uncle Sam but send him on an emotional journey filled with frustration, growth, and growth journey. A book of this nature can run the risk of falling into a restrictive and didactic space, becoming so heavy-handed that it ceases to entertain. but uncle sam Never really got close to that. It was so bold and so well done.
But, of course, an important part of the book’s timelessness is Alex Ross’ artwork. Roth’s comics have always felt out of place to me, clearly influenced by classic comics but at such a high level of quality that they came into their own. Ross wisely chose the in-house comics project to let eternity serve the story, from Miracle arrive Kingdom Come. uncle sam Just on this list, it jumps between modern America and historical America. The result is a book that also feels relevant to America today.
So, yes, if it’s not already clear, I find a lot to appreciate in this comic in the context of the new edition, and in the context of this year’s election. And, I think, if I reread it in 2028, 2032, 3036, etc., I would feel the same way. One final thematic element that I think is worth noting in closing is that the book, while important, also seems to have a deep belief that America’s desire to address its flaws, its desire to continue to examine its missteps, and its desire to eventually get closer to its potential is the dream, rather than a trap. It doesn’t sugarcoat how challenging this is, or the challenges faced by those who believe it, but it does believe that awareness and contrition make progress possible.
Isn’t that something we should all remember?
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