America, Jr. Volume 1

"America Jr." is the ultimate "What If?" As in, "What if a small American town suddenly realized that it was no longer officially part of the United States?" Well written and illustrated, the first volume introduces a group of colorful characters and sets up the basic conceit of the series: now that their town is an independent entity smack dab in the middle of a sovereign nation, what will the residents do next? It's a funny, interesting series that will keep you coming back for more.

America Jr. is an absolute blast. It's a really special piece of work from a group of creators on the edge of breaking out. The Fraim's art both here, and in the Postcards Anthology show them to be stars on the verge of breaking out. Todd and Nick's writing is sharp, strong, and laugh out loud funny. Do yourself a favor and check out America Jr.

?AMERICA JR. VOL. 1 [Image; $9.99] collects the first 150 strips of the web-comic that launched last June. Written by Nick Capetanakis and Todd Livingston with art by brothers Brandon and Brian Fraim, it's the ongoing adventures of the world's newest nation, a small U.S. town that suddenly finds itself a sovereign county. The male lead is Darren, twice-divorced, former L.A. entertainment lawyer who has returned to his home town to enjoy a peaceful early retirement. The female lead is Danielle, artist, free spirit, and woman of mystery. The rest of the characters are as real and as strange as I can point out in the somewhat larger small town where I live. Where AMERICA JR. shines is when it humorously depicts the ups and downs of creating a new nation. It pokes fun while maintaining a middle-of-the-road sensibility. When the nation holds its first presidential election - the candidates are the former mayor and a ten-year-old boy - there are no political parties. The candidates run as a "Depublican" and a "Remocrat" with no indication either party stands for anything in particular. Capetanakis, Livingston, and the brothers Fraim get a lot of story into each day's strip. If I thought the strip would survive being shrunk down to a size that could fit on newspaper comics pages, I'd be recommending it to my local papers. On the other hand, it would make a sweet addition to any alternative paper that could give it the space it needs. AMERICA JR. VOL. 1 includes a bunch of special features. There's an introduction by Gregory Itzin, who played President Logan on 24. There are also deleted strips that never made it online, alternate jokes, bloopers, and "pin-up" strips by guest artists like Danielle Corsetto, Bo Hampton, Neil Vokes, and others. It's a very good buy for your ten bucks and earns an impressive four out of five Tonys. Tony Isabella Contribution Editor COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE