AMERICAN DREAMS #1, from Atlas Studios on September 15, 2021, opens a new adventure for Jake Gold, a Jewish immigrant who gets caught in a dangerous experiment, granting him otherworldly powers.
The Details
- Written By: Daniel Kalban
- Art By: Dody Eka, Tebe Andry
- Colors By: Warnia K. Sahadewa
- Letters By: Matt Bowers
- Cover Price: $2.99 (digital)
- Release Date: September 15, 2021
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Was It Good?
AMERICAN DREAMS #1 is our first submission from comic creator Daniel Kalban and Atlas Studios Comics, and we couldn’t be more pleased to take a look at one of their flagship titles. From Atlas’s description, this new superhero is grounded in the Jewish immigrant experiences of the early 20th Century, bringing readers a unique perspective that you don’t see often. Rather than living a generic life shaped by the people and circumstances that surround him, the lead character’s Jewish heritage is front and center in every part of his life. “How does that work out?” you might ask. Mostly good.
Right away, Kalban immerses you in the Jewish immigrant culture with the language, the family interactions, the work and neighborhood relationships, and the traditions guide how the characters live. It’s hard to say how accurate this portrayal truly is without hopping in a time machine, but you can at least say genuine effort went into creating an authentic experience.
The plot is your standard good guy gets zapped by a science experiment gone wrong and gains superpowers type of story. However, a few elements keep the plot unique. For example, a group of people gets zapped and each is imbued with different powers, so you’re immediately presented with the potential of enemies and allies quickly and efficiently. Next, the science experiment is wrapped up in historical figures, including Tesla and Edison, which lays the groundwork for fictional history with fascinating figures in time. By themselves, these elements are not wholly original, but this does come off as the first time they’re put together in this way, and it feels like an original experience.
In terms of plot configuration and setting, this indie comic is already a winner.
That said, there are some flaws. There’s nothing wrong with authenticity, but Kalban occasionally goes overboard setting the stage with the ethnic divisions between people. Yes, New York in the early 20th Century was a melting pot that hadn’t yet come up to a slow simmer, but it’s difficult to swallow people living their daily lives with such a huge preoccupation with who is Jewish versus Irish versus ethnic group A, B, C, or D. It’s in every scene with dialog. The point isn’t to say that it’s wrong to spell out ethnic divisions to readers. The point IS to say that when those divisions are the topic of nearly every conversation, it starts to read like a history textbook rather than entertainment, making the characters sound like avatars for their culture rather than real people.
The second flaw is the lettering. The balloon placement and positioning are not good. Frequently, the placement of word balloons didn’t match the positioning of the characters and the flow of the conversation, requiring sometimes two or three re-reads of a panel to make the dialog make sense. It’s unclear if the artist and letterer didn’t coordinate their efforts, but the net result made for a confusing reading experience.
Overall, not bad. The art is very good. The setting is unique. And there’s enough curiosity to read through to the next issue. If the creators can straighten out the lettering and spend more energy fleshing out the main character instead of fleshing out the cultures around the main character, this series may have potential.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a very thorough walk-through of life in New York at the turn of the 20th Century. Jake Gold is a dreamer who loves to draw but he spends his days in a sweatshop to provide for his family. As we see what life is like, we’re given volumes of information about the different ethnic groups and territories that keep people apart or bring them together.
Elsewhere, J.P. Morgan has enlisted the help of Albert Edison to begin a series of tests using radical power generating technology Edison “acquired” from Tesla. Edison plans to fire off the power experiment in Central Park at Midnight.
Later, Jake hears about a gang encroaching on his neighborhood turf and agrees to join in for a rumble to keep the gangs from spreading too far. The rumble will be held in Central Park at the same time as Edison’s experiment.
We conclude the issue with a brutal gang fight, a beam in the sky, and unexpected change for nearly everyone in the park that night.
Final Thoughts
AMERICAN DREAMS #1 is a unique take on the tried and true superhero origin story, set in the early 1900’s and centered around the Jewish immigrant experience. The art is very good, the story has uniquely original elements, and the hero has potential. That said, the lettering placement is poor and the dialog sometimes came off like reading a history textbook.
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