City of Tomorrow

Writer/artist Chaykin's latest depiction of the rotting American Dream may be his most bitter yet, but it's also one of his most exciting. Young Tucker Foyle watched his father use nanotechnology to create Columbia, a utopian community served by biomechanical robots. Then he realized what a stifling, monomaniacal vision the place embodied, so he stomped off to explore life. Now, after serving as a clandestine wetwork operative, he returns home to find the robots corrupted, and Columbia even more vile than the rest of the world. He decides he wants to fix this society, even if that means fighting his father, gangs of robot mobsters and the U.S. government. Back in the '80s, Chaykin's American Flagg! showed materialistic, willingly manipulated masses at the mercy of a cynical elite; however, that comic kept its tongue in its cheek, unlike City of Tomorrow 's prevalent sneer. Evidently, Americans have been fed too many lies since then to smile easily. Still, this book is full of angry wit, such as a cemetery full of interactive gravestones or the copyright symbol on a robot whore's rump. And Chaykin's art has never been more dynamic, complemented by Michelle Madsen's unusually subtle and vibrant coloring. (Feb.)