With Howard Chaykin in tow, the ubiquitous Matt Fraction is writing a musky period book that’s like nothing else he’s ever written. Chaykin, always a great choice for drawing square-jawed men, beautiful dames, and seedy secrets, seems to be revitalized by it. There’s no two ways about it – “Satellite Sam” is two great pros doing transcendent work.
Written by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by Howard Chaykin• SEX • DEATH • LIVE TV!
NEW YORK CITY, 1951: Mike buries his father and Ginsburg buries the lede making his sales pitch. Will TV be an East Coast or West Coast medium? And in a pile of filthy photographs Mike finds one image that is really and truly shocking.
Howard Chaykin earned his greatest accolades for “American Flagg!”, a book that mixed pulp and sex and politics and has since gone down as one of the all-time classic comic runs. Though set far in the future, the book seemed to possess a sterile, Cold War view of the world – in the best way possible. It was also uninhibited Chaykin – as outrageous as he wanted it to be. Knowing the personality of Chaykin and what has come before, it’s a treat and a true surprise to see him collaborate with a similarly uninhibited content-producer in Matt Fraction – a man that can play all sorts of weird notes when writing his creator-owned work. What results is a series that captures a moment in time, while somehow pushing the buttons of modern comics. It’s not by being particularly vulgar or salacious, though this is certainly a comic with mature content, but by its intense focus on being a character study in a very specific setting in a very specific period.
The comparison is obvious, so I will not dwell on it despite being a rabid fan of the show, but “Satellite Sam” is most obviously analogous to AMC’s Mad Men in the way that it examines a workplace setting in a time period that makes many aspects of it outdated, but wherein the core is really with its characters more than anything. The visual trappings may be the draw, but once you get inside, there’s so much theme and subtext to move around in.
We begin in the aftermath of the death of the original “Satellite Sam” TV character – Carlyle White. Ah, Carlyle, we hardly knew ye. And yet, his death ripples through the events of the issue – and likely will as long as the series is running. Though sparingly seen or heard from, Carlyle is a larger than life character in life, just as he was on television. At once he was both an astronaut, pioneering one of the most popular television shows on the East coast and a glossy-eyed dreamer – always looking toward California to find his next adventure, escape, or, quite frankly – piece of tail. His words (probably) – not mine. As his sauced-up son holds the empty fishbowl helmet in his hands after his death, we can imagine the future that Carlyle had always talked about leaking out into the emptiness. “Satellite Sam” represented the future, while being the very thing that kept him stuck in one place. That empty helmet now represents a present burden and a future that will never arrive.
Matt Fraction is a talented enough writer and a careful consumer of media himself, so he knows exactly what he’s doing with subtext. It’s just that he’s never quite done it in such a restrained, dramatic manner before. “Casanova” is a whole other brand of greatness entirely, but is so far off the wall that it’s hard to believe that this is the same writer. “Satellite Sam” is so patient and deliberate in its exploration of show business – a true study of something real.
Chaykin’s linework is as Chaykin as Chaykin can be. There aren’t any surprises there, so let’s discuss exactly why this is his best work in years: his composition. Chaykin handles the to-do surrounding the death of Satellite Sam with a deftness that highlights all of the key things that the narrative wants to get across without having the characters running around saying how they feel. As Michael, his son, crumbles himself into an alcoholic ball – Chaykin depicts it as a trainwreck of loss, confusion, and self-destruction. Chaykin makes clear the complexities and contradictions of life in an entirely visual manner. Amid the funeral, Carlyle is remembered as an astronaut – with a classic Chaykin-twinkle in his eye as he speaks of adventures beyond the stars, but that idea frames a very human death and a seedy past. Carlyle may have been an astronaut to some – and Chaykin’s terrific depiction gets that across, but those close to him knew that he was a man with vices and demons. Those vices and demons come in the photos and rendezvous with the scantilly-clad dames that frame each issue. This is complex stuff and Chaykin nails every bit of subtext with nuance and detail.
Continued belowIf there are any quibbles to be had, they could be found in the technical aspects of the comic book. Dialogue is not always clearly assigned to the intended person, due to absent or camoflaged word balloon stems. The series is meant to be read carefully and with intellect engaged, but it does occasionally give the reader pause. Furthermore, Chaykin uses pre-set patterns to evoke textures or clothing styles. This technique is only used sparingly, but when it is, these visual moments work against the fluidity and the life of the characters by appearing to be so rigid and artificial.
Few comics manage to handle mature themes with a truly mature and intellectual hand. “Satellite Sam” just might turn out to be “The Great American Comic Book” because it chooses to award our patience and intelligence in the way that only the greatest books and television shows and films do. Whether it endures as an all-time great comic remains to be seen. Some might knock the fact that the book isn’t aiming to accomplish things that only a comic book can (I would argue against that, but that’s a whole other editorial), but as a piece of pure storytelling? “Satellite Sam” is an exciting and engaging period piece to spend time in.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Strong buy. A novelistic work of art.
