''Uncle Sam'' is a two-part

prestige format American comic book tropes are common elements and literary devices related to American comic books. Continuity Comics continuity almost-always refers to the existence and use of a shared universe, although any comic can have internal contin ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

imprint in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. It was written by Steve Darnall with art by

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

Story

The story centers around Sam, an obviously distressed homeless man, who wanders the streets of an unnamed city speaking mostly in odd quotes and sound bites. As he wanders, he has flashes into the lives of poor and struggling Americans, and injustices as they happen all across the United States. He searches his memory trying to pinpoint the moment where the dream he once had for the country went wrong. His mind flits through the darkest moments in American history, from the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

to the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

, to slavery, lynchings, the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

, the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

and the Andersonville death camp during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Throughout his wanderings, he occasionally encounters a woman named Bea, whose relationship to himself he cannot quite remember. It is implied that he was once an ordinary man who left his home to fight in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He stumbles across an election parade where a corrupt governor is giving a victory speech after defaming his honest opponent. Unlike the audience Sam is able to hear beyond his platitudes and hear the man's true thoughts, and as protestors are dragged off to prison, Sam tries to confront the governor, when he is stopped by a doppleganger who resembles the cleaner, more traditional Uncle Sam. His double warns him not to interfere, and claims that he is the true Uncle Sam - the embodiment of the United States. Sam tries to strike out at his double but is dragged off to prison with the protestors. He is released after a mysterious woman intercedes for him. Wandering alone again, Sam meets and has a conversation with

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

. She reminisces about the fall of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and about America's forays into imperialism. After a gang of teenagers try to set him on fire, Sam finally recalls the memory he has been searching for, which was of himself participating in the bloody crushing of

Shays' Rebellion Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The ...

. He begins to wonder if America's ideals didn't die, but were never seriously respected from the beginning. Eventually, after hearing cryptic words from another homeless man, he comes to the remains of the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

, where he sees Bea once more, now recognizing her as Columbia. She helps Sam gain a more nuanced perspective of his visions of America's negative moments of its history, such as how Shays' Rebellion prompted the writing of the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

to help create a more stable government. She tells him that the double he encountered is his own darker side, explaining that after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Americans were faced with the dark realities of their country and chose to deny it, creating the other Uncle Sam. Bea tells Sam he has to confront this darker side alone. He has further encounters with Britannia,

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

and a scarred Russian Bear, who offer him advice and encouragement before he confronts the dark, corrupt, overtly capitalist

shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

version of himself sitting on a throne made of televisions with his feet propped on the dome of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

. The two exchange blows, but Sam forces his dark side to see the brutal reality of modern-day America, and eventually defeats this figure by accepting all its blows, recognizing and accepting his mistakes, and learning from them. Towards the end of the tale he thinks to himself: "It's a strange and frightening thing — to see yourself at your worst". In the end he is seen again as a homeless man, but instead of wildly hallucinating, he is now chipper and optimistic with his traditional hat. He walks off ready to face the future, as Bea watches him go, unseen.

Collected editions

In 1998 the series was collected as a trade paperback (Vertigo ,Official Vertigo Comics page
(with downloadable sample of the first pages)

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

). In late 2009 it was collected into a Deluxe Edition hardcover (Vertigo , Titan Books ). The collected volume also includes an essay on the history of

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

as well as several pages of art by Ross.

Reception

The series was very well received by critics, earning praise from

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

,Excerpt from Kirkus Reviews under "Editorial Reviews" on Amazon.com
/ref>

The San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

Michael Berry's review for the San Francisco Chronicle
/ref> and

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

,Quote from Alan Moore under "Editorial Reviews" on Amazon.com
/ref> among others.

Awards

The comics were nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

.1998 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees
Comic Book Awards Almanac

Notes

References

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External links

{{wikiquote, Uncle Sam (Vertigo)
''Uncle Sam'' Gallery at the official site of Alex Ross

Gallery 2