Go read part one of Steven Grant’s thoughtful assessment of Howard Chaykin’s career and continuing influence. (And thanks to Grant for linking to the recent Chaykin coverage here.) I particularly enjoyed Grant’s discussion of the significance of some of Chaykin’s earlier works such as his Cody Starbuck stories and the graphic novels Empire, The Stars my Destination, and The Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell: If Chaykin had vanished from comics in the early 1980s, as he threatened to do, it’s likely we’d still remember him for these works. In fact, it’s partly because American Flagg! was such a groundbreaking, game-changing series that Chaykin’s 1970s output has so often been neglected (and because so much of it is out of print, of course). Good stuff—can’t wait for part two next week.