American Caper Volume 1: Red-Pilled Blues

American Caper #1-4

by Dan Houser, Lazlow, David Lapham (Illustrator)

A new crime-fiction saga created and written by Rockstar Games co-founder DAN HOUSER (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption) with additional writing by LAZLOW, with art by Eisner Award-winner DAVID LAPHAM (Stray Bullets).

“This thing is bonkers at a level of beautiful that will blast your brain into a billion broken blood vessels. You want chaos? Pull up a bucket.” – Patton Oswalt, co-creator of Minor Threats

"I love it... A wicked satire" -Wil Wheaton, New York Times Bestselling Author

A Mormon hitman.  A gambling-addict lawyer. Two neighbors intertwined in a real estate deal gone wrong. Mix in a Mexican beauty queen on the run from her past, a red-pilled housewife, two escaped convicts in love, a Wall Street billionaire who has become a cowboy, and a maniac hell-bent on revenge. The manicured wilderness of Verona, Wyoming is the perfect cocktail of American real estate development, violence and snake oil.

From the tax-avoiders in the Rockies, to the thought police of liberal Brooklyn, to the confused political and environmental battlegrounds of Florida, one thing is  This tragedy is someone else’s fault.  

AMERICAN RED-PILLED BLUES collects the first four issues of the new crime-fiction saga and is created and written by Rockstar Games co-founder DAN HOUSER (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption) with additional writing by LAZLOW, art by Eisner Award-winner DAVID LAPHAM (Stray Bullets) and CHRIS ANDERSON with covers by TYLER BOSS (4 Kids Walk into a Bank). 

For mature audiences.

Collects American Caper #1–#4.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Crime, Comics

Kindle Edition

First published July 14, 2026

About the author

Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president (along with his brother Sam) of creativity for Rockstar Games. As well as producing video games, Houser has written for all but one of the Grand Theft Auto III-era games, along with other Rockstar-produced video games.

Reviews

[David Goldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard being a satirist in 2026. Headlines are more outrageous than Onion spoofs from a decade ago. We’re testing the military for testosterone, naming major legislation the “One Big Beautiful Bill," and we keep winning a war that actually never ends. It’s hard to shock.
But that doesn’t keep Dan Houser, cofounder of Rockstar Games and the creative force behind the Grand Theft Autofranchise, from trying. His new noir crime series, American Caper, is an absurd, violent, and often grotesque send-up of just about everything American. It follows two very damaged families through a world of corrupt, amoral businesses, corrupt local politicians, petty criminals, and nearly every fetish you can imagine. Houser pulls no punches, either in the story or visually.
Yet beneath all the excess, the satire is surprisingly effective, particularly in the parallel between the two fathers. One is an obvious loser—a kind of down-market Better Call Saul character—just trying to get by. The other is the outwardly perfect husband with the perfect family, who turns out to be a murderer underneath it all.
As the story unfolds, it becomes a deeper mystery about the source—and perhaps the heart—of all this corruption. Intriguing enough that I’ll keep reading.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somebody read a great deal of Garth Ennis growing up.

That isn't a bad thing.

If anything, maybe it reminds Gath of what he can do.

[Drew Woodworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawyers, FBI, human trafficking, internet rage, real estate developers. Everything wrong with America comes head in this unhinged new crime series from Dark Horse Comics. We have two households in Verona Wyoming. One has lawyer patriarch who is despised by his wife and kids, each for different reasons. His main flaw us being a morally bankrupt corporate lawyer with a gambling problem. The house is a picture perfect Mormon family whose patriarch is murdering people for his land developer boss to obtain absolution for his minor failings. It’s all full of 21st century satire and insanity that would be hilarious if it wasn’t all too real.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The main character is almost a carbon copy of Micheal from Grand theft Auto V. Otherwise, I think Houser's writing translates to comics well. It reminds me of Garth Ennis in how unsubtle it is. I'd go back for a volume 2.

[Estibaliz · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

Unlike I did, take into consideration that Houser is behind video games like 'Grand Theft Auto'. Also, read his afterword about the origins of this story, and decide if that's what you want for a graphic novel. It certainly is not what I enjoy reading...

The supposed comedy is hard to find, and the satire truly is very coarse, with an art that at times resemble the style of 'Mad' magazine. Again, not for me in any sense.

And the story itself is not really revolutionary or original, so not much of interest there either.

All in all, this graphic novel seems to want to be provocative more than anything else, and I don't think it succeeds when it comes to that either. I think most of us already know how things are when politics get in the mix, but that doesn't mean we need to see it in a graphic novel.

[Riley Pilgrim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah idk about this one. Apparently written by the guy who wrote the GTA games, and I’m not a big fan of those games……

I think a ridiculous crime satire can actually work really well, and can be engaging. However, for me, this one didn’t work. Part of the reason is the characters feel too much like caricatures, then actual real people with nuance.

Preacher has a similar tone to this, but Ennis spends time fleshing everyone out and really making you care for their journeys. Even if some characters are ridiculous and evil—they still feel well rounded.

Overall not my thing. However, I get why some really do love it. If you love those GTA games then I can see you enjoying this.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced story covering the first 4 episodes.

[Enron84 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fucking bonkers, genius, and I love every second of it. It's like the comic book version of Eddington.

[Peter Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had all the same social commentary and satire I love in the GTA games with slightly gritty slightly comedic storyline. Keen to read the second volume

[Matt Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can appreciate the outrage but the execution is clumsy and uninteresting. A more surreal take on the art style might have improved things