American Caper is a tale of two totally normal, completely damaged families in a world of corrupt business, inept politics, bungling crime, self-righteous justice, and problematic leisure wear. We follow the fortunes of two neighbors who are on the point of collapse: a Mormon hitman and a gambling addict lawyer, both intertwined in a real estate deal gone wrong. Added to the mix are a Mexican beauty queen on the run from her past, two escaped convicts in love, a Wall Street billionaire who has become a cowboy, and a maniac hell-bent on revenge. From the tax avoiders in the manicured wilderness of Wyoming, to the thought police of Brooklyn, to the confused political battlegrounds of Florida, one thing is certain: this tragedy is someone else’s fault.
A skewering and exaggeration of today’s America. That’s exactly what I’d expect from the co-founder of Rockstar Games and longtime head writer and creative director of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption series. American Caper #1 delivers a debut that offends everyone with a take on the state of the country that takes everything to 11.
Written by Dan Houser, with additional writing by Lazlow, American Caper #1 takes us to Wyoming where everyone is horrible and there are no good people at all. Like a Tarantino film, the debut issue jumps around a little weaving threads and setting up the story in a way that’ll eventually come together in a tapestry of everything wrong with the world today.
The story is of two neighbors, one a corrupt lawyer, and the other a Mormon with a perfectly family and life who also happens to be a hitman. Everyone presented, no matter where they are on the spectrum of beliefs, are horrible blights on the world. They come off as unredeemable and the type of characters you want to see terrible things happen to them because they deserve it. From a racist Red-pilled Karen of a wife, to developers destroying the environment, to a far left daughter who is the caricature that the right paints, no one is safe from getting the spotlight of how awful they are. It’s exactly the type of story that you’d expect from folks from Rockstar, taking the real world and just hyperbolize every aspect.
This is a story of horrible people doing horrible things that you want to see horrible things happen to.
The art by David Lapham delivers his signature style. With finishes by Chris Anderson, color by Lee Loughridge, and lettering by Nate Piekos, it’s a comic where many jokes are in the details. American Caper #1 wants you to linger on the pages to pick up all the small additions and every element helps tell the story and at times, land the jokes. Graffiti on a sign, a picture on a wall, the look characters give each other, it all adds to the story, the world, and give the characters depth.
If you like stories where everything is on the table to make fun of, skewer, poke, jab, and nothing is sacred, American Caper #1 is for you. It’s an out there start that’ll keep you on your toes with no idea what to expect next for what will happen and to who. It’s also a story where you’ll cheer when everyone gets what they deserve. It’s a cathartic middle finger to the state of things with a focus on the hyper polarization and self-centeredness that the world has become. It’s a comic where lines are drawn and it’s the reader against everyone on the page.
American Caper #1 hits shelves November 12 with final order cut-off October 6.
Story: Dan Houser, Lazlow Art: David Lapham
Finishes: Chris Anderson Color: Lee Loughridge Letterer: Nate Piekos
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Pre-Order: Kindle
