Writers: John Wagner/Alan Grant
Artist: Mike McMahon
Publisher: Com.X
Plot:
Twenty years after a global nuclear conflict, one man is released from suspended animation to see what remains...
Comments:
Formerly (in 1990/1) released by Marvel under the Epic banner as a four-issue mini-series, it has finally been picked up, dusted off, and collected by Com.X for a modern audience to enjoy. Although very much a product of its time (1990/1) in that it follows on from such seminal British TV dramas as Threads, whereby we see an extrapolation of what might survive after a nuclear conflict (i.e. not much); where although glasnost and perestroika were gradually whittling down one’s fear of being the last generation of humans to walk the earth, there was still a discernible tension about the way of the world. As one nuclear menace appeared to recede (the USSR, as was), another was coming strongly to the fore (the Middle East).
Such is the premise behind The Last American. It matters little how the conflict came about, who was the blame, and who were the victors (there are no victors in nuclear war), the story kicks off on 4th July, 2019. Twenty years have passed since Captain Ulysses S. Pilgrim of the US Army was cryogenically frozen, to attempt to pick up the pieces after the conflict has well passed, and the land relatively safe to explore once more.
Captain U. S. Pilgrim (deliberately appropriate name) heads off into the great unknown, assisted by three robot companions - Able, Baker and Charlie. Charlie has flipped out a little, due to watching 20 years of TV it seems, but the first issue concludes with Pilgrim on his way to find out if he is truly The Last American or not.
The remaining three issues cover the search itself, and its conclusion, or not - I'm not gonna tell you how it ends, read it yourself! - with Pilgrim slowly descending into despair and insanity as the situation slides away from him, to be gradually recovered then cruelly snatched away again in a short space of time, to a heart-breaking final issue and conclusion. Reading this again after a few years’ gap, it surprised me as to how well the story still worked, and how relevant it remains today. The ending retains an amazing power, and actually feels ten times as poignant now as when I originally read it. There’s a subtle subtext there, easy to miss on a skim, but oh-so-meaningful when you get it.
The art is typical Mike McMahon (everyone seems to have huge feet), which strangely enough seems to be wholly appropriate for this story - the background and vistas are dark and bleak, and Pilgrim is believable as a man (not definitely not a hero, nor an anti-hero; just a man) thrown into an incredible situation, almost beyond his comprehension.
It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s incredible, it’s almost unbelieveable. But it retains enough realism that it could happen. It’s The Last American. It’s back, and it demands a space on your bookshelf. Get your local comics shop to order it today. Order it from amazon. I don’t care how you get it. Just get it.
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