The Last American #3 - Epic Comics

THE LAST AMERICAN No. 3, February 1991

Such is the gripping sense of suspense which Alan Grant creates with his penmanship for Issue Three of “The Last American” that it is hard not to imagine at least some of this book’s readers back in February 1991 sneaking a quick peek at the comic’s conclusion to see just who was contacting Ulysses S. Pilgrim over the radio from Virginia. In fact, as the excited titular character encounters setback after setback during his increasingly desperate dash to reach the source of the wireless transmission, the urge to race ahead and find out what awaits the lonely soldier at the end of this twenty-eight page periodical, arguably becomes almost unbearable; “Even if they turn out to be Russian cannibals armed with I.C.B.M.s, I’m still going to be glad to see them!”

Fortunately, at least for the most part, there’s still plenty of pulse-pounding panels to enjoy within “An American Dream” before the US Army Captain discovers at the highest point in the Shenandoah National Park whether he truly is the sole survivor of the planet’s past global nuclear conflict. True, this action predominantly focuses upon Michael McMahon delightfully pencilling Pilgrim’s armoured wagon traversing all manner of ‘natural’ disasters, such as an underground coal seam which had caught fire during the war, and a heaving storm whose rain water was “low-to-medium radioactive with a pH similar to dilute sulphuric acid.” But Ulysses’ reckless determination to push on regardless of the dangers surrounding his mission easily carries the narrative along at a fiendishly brisk pace.

Perhaps this comic’s only disappointment therefore is the somewhat sedentary nature of Grant’s dream sequence where the severely unstable survivor finds himself encircled by all the Presidents of the United States in Heaven. There’s undoubtedly some interesting connections being made with this colourful interlude set inside the White House, which debatably shows the “Apocalypse Commander” now mentally seeing himself as a peer to the other commanders-in-chief like Reagan and Washington, thanks to him being previously “vested with the authority of the United States Government.” However, compared to the sense of palpable urgency found elsewhere within this publication, the somewhat dry dialogue and political in-jokes soon become a frustrating side-show, and it’s all too easy to overlook Pilgrim’s intriguing relationship with Jackie Kennedy Onassis at the party…

Writers: Alan Grant & John Wagner, Artist: Michael McMahon, and Letterer: Phil Felix