American Century #1

Howard Chaykin and David Tischman launch American Century under Vertigo's mature-readers banner with this striking 2001 opener. Chaykin's cover art — inked by Chaykin himself — presents a brooding, square-jawed man in a dark suit holding what appears to be a draft notice, flanked by a blonde woman and a woman in a blue hat, all set against a detailed map of the Korean peninsula with the word "Greetings:" looming large behind them. It's a richly atmospheric opening image that signals a story steeped in mid-century tension, moral ambiguity, and the complicated machinery of American life abroad.