Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, Vol. 1

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #1

by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Daniel Acuña

The classic super-hero team known as the Freedom Fighters is back in a new configuration for a new generation Meet the all-new Phantom Lady, Doll Man, Human Bomb and the Ray -- members of the government task force known as Shade, the country's first line of defense against super-powered threats and terrorists. When the government becomes corrupt, how far will Shade have to go to protect the country? And what of Uncle Sam? Has the embodiment of the spirit of America really been forced underground? Find out in this fast-paced tale that spins out of Infinite Crisis.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Dc Comics, Superheroes

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2007

About the author

Justin currently writes Novels, Graphic Novels, Video Games, Screenplays.

He has held various jobs including, fossil hunting, microphotography of 20 million year old insects and plants trapped in amber, seminars and exhibitions on the cleaning, mining and identification of prehistoric insects for the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian. He traveled to the mountains of the Dominican Republic and mined amber.

He has also worked as a victim advocate for Victims Assistance of Westchester, a not-for-profit organization that helps victims of crime.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice modern redo of the Golden age characters and Silver age group. Nice read. Recommended

[Alex Sarll]

A decade ago, DC wasn't as catastrophically fucked up as it has since become but the rot was already creeping in, as witness the miserable, semi-coherent Infinite Crisis event out of which this series spun. One of a number of books based on Grant Morrison outlines, it's an attempt to talk about topical issues (and no less so now) of freedom and surveillance via recurrent Morrison themes like the collective unconscious and demon gods from beyond space-time. The first problem being, hand those concepts on to another writer and they can easily fall flat. Palmiotti and Gray are no slouches - their All-Star Western was one of the few New 52 books to stay good past two or three volumes - but this really isn't their home turf, and it shows. Characters' powers are ill-defined in such a way that superpowered confrontations become an unguessable matter of fiat; yes, Sam is the embodiment of America so he's always going to have nebulous power levels, but possibly that means he should be a supporting character more than a straight superhero lead? Similarly, i normally like Acuna's art but too much of this looks either lightboxed or murky, and at times there are panel transitions which just don't make sense, like a character brained and seemingly down for the count suddenly ready to go again with no explanation in words or pictures of how. Part of me suspects editorial interference, but that may just be because it's the besetting DC sin these days. There's some good stuff here, mind; the vision of the Heartland, many of the characters, the basic concept. But it's tangled with Pat Mills-level polemic, parodically grim fights and a masterplan I'm not convinced makes a lick of sense. And did we really need a new Red Bee? Still, if nothing else, it does offer a plausible backstory for the Trump candidacy.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuando con los acontecimientos de La Batalla por Bludhaven, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti y el dibujante español David Acuña realizaron una serie limitada que se centraba en los Luchadores por la Libertad. Este equipo se había incorporado a DC en los 70, después de que la editorial lo adquiriera tras la quiebra de Quality Comics, y estaba formado por héroes americanos en una tierra en la que la Segunda Guerra Mundial llevaba más de treinta años luchándose de forma ininterrumpida. Y el equipo estaba liderado ni más ni menos que por el mismísimo Tío Sam, la encarnación del espíritu americano. Con los reajustes de Crisis en Tierras Infinitas, los Luchadores por la Libertad habían quedado apartados del Universo DC tras la destrucción de su tierra (Tierra-X), y aunque habían vuelto de vez en cuando a aparecer de manos de algunos guionistas, sería Geoff Johns en Crisis Infinita quien los pusiera de nuevo en el tablero, al convertirlos en las primeras víctimas de la Sociedad de Supervillanos.

Pero en La Batalla por Bludhaven habíamos visto como su legado se recuperaba, con una nuevos portadores de sus identidades, adaptados a la época Bush y al mundo de la Patriot Act. La reaparición del Tío Sam y su enfrentamiento a Padre Tiempo y sus manipulaciones serían el catalizador para que, a través de estas páginas, Gray, Palmiotti y Acuña narraran la toma de decisiones de estos personajes, que se convierten en defensores de la libertad americana frente a un gobierno que decide utilizar a sus metahumanos de forma militar y con un corte claramente totalitarista.

Si La Batalla por Bludhaven después de los años me ha resultado un poco decepcionante, no ha ocurrido lo mismo con Tío Sam y los Luchadores por la Libertad, lo recordaba como una gran lectura y no ha decepcionado. Me gusta la trama, los personajes, y creo que el dibujo de Acuña le da una textura y una apariencia muy especial a esta historia.

[Barry Hammock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story seems as poignant now as it did eleven years. The US ruled by a tyrannical madman hellbent on world dominance, utilizing fear mongering, bigotry, and xenophobia to accomplish his goals. A resistance movement rises to oppose him and expose him for the fraud that he is. Love it.

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

DCs attempt at trying to match the themes of The Boys. A poor attempt at that but still fun at times.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic/graphic novel that was made in 2007 and was considered controversial for it’s time. A little back story, this comic that was made originally in the 1970’s and took place on Earth X, a dimension where the Nazi’s wonder World War 2. They were basically the spark of hope in a world controlled by Fascists.
This book takes place after the events of Infinite Crisis with one of our hero’s, Firebrand. Hearing this voice telling him to meet him at the Mississippi river. It’s no other than Uncle Sam reborn in the river.
As the series goes forward we’re introduced to Father Time, the villain of the book. He plans to change America the way the Bush administration was considered to be. To this point where we have to take away freedom in order to save it. Uncle Sam then gets a new team of Freedom Fighters since he thinks the JLA (Justice League of America) and the JSA (Justice Society of America) will be too late to act.
There’s a lot of this after 9-11 scared government vibe and a slight twist at the end for Father Time. Anyway I think it’s good for it’s time and maybe even for today.
Since we as a nation sometimes need to be saved from ourselves. Also to be told when we’re wrong so we can learn from our mistakes and not just hide them.

https://thinkingplace195.wordpress.com/

[Jason Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, remember back in the George W. Bush administration when all we had to worry about was an overzealous security state imposing massive restrictions on civil rights and calling anyone who challenged them traitors? It seems quaint in the middle of 2020 when the Trump administration is awash in criminality, incompetence, and actual treason, but the former is the spirit in which Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters was written. It is competent work, and it really does capture the zeitgeist of the time, and it features Golden Age heroes and their namesakes. The artwork is striking, but sometimes gets in the way of the storytelling. Politically, Palmiotti and Gray try to be even handed, so theoretically anyone can enjoy the story. As for the plot, it is not nearly as cluttered as Battle for Bludhaven, and that's good. It features themes of order and chaos, control and hope, corruption, symbols of patriotism and propaganda, and what we would today call the "deep state." All in all, a good read, but not necessarily a fast or easy one.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but I really like the art and the characters, especially Black Condor and the Human Bomb. On the other hand, it wavers between being preachy and not being preachy enough to be clear. Uncle Sam converting the government strike team into his own team of Freedom Fighters happened way too quickly, I still have no idea WHY they would trust him so much all of a sudden, and it’s hard to tell exactly what they’re fighting for sometimes. The same thing happens toward the end, people start getting sentimental about Uncle Sam for no particular reason. Keeping the JLA and other superheroes out of a story about the president was a little forced, and I don’t think the plot was terribly creative. Plus it rested on dramatic reveals of old characters I’d never heard of before.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I help myself from not reading this series. Palmiotti and Gray with one of the weirdest superhero teams DC has ever made, seems like a match made in heaven. It is a book that is all over the place but is epic in scale and action. It is a really fun read, with tons of great moments & actual awesome, true political writing. Uncle Sam is an interesting enigma of a "superhero" and gives some great speeches in this volume. If you know anything about the old freedom fighters and are angry that these are all new guys, don't worry, they all seem to be here.

The hero action is big, the twists are prevalent, Uncle Sam wants you & this book know it is full of old DC history.

[Warren]

Follow up to Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Bludhaven

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though I've been trying to work through most of the Crisis tie-ins, this one just did not capture my interest at all.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just a bit confusing and quite frankly, not well written at all.

[Aravindkumaran Sabapathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

really crappy novel. only borrowed it from a library as a laugh.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

so much better than the sequel. still, it is as preachy as the old green lantern/green arrow comics

[Bobby]

This was a fun book. Had a nice gritty look at freedom vs. security mixed with a ridiculously awesome character like Uncle Sam.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to reconnect with some Golden Age DC heroes!