American Dreams is a comic-book series created by Daniel Kalban and published initially by Atlas Studios before being picked up by Band Of Bards.
In the year 1900, in New York City, immigrant siblings Jacob and Rebecca Gold works themselves to the bone in a sweatshop and a theater respectively so that their younger brother Eli can stay in school, all the while fending off racist co-workers. Everything changes for Jacob one night when a freak accident involving Thomas Edison exposes him to energies from another world, giving him superhuman strength and flight. Problem is, he's not the only one who's gotten powers.
This series contains examples of:
- The Big Guy: The villain Amalek is a massive brute.
- Boxing Lessons for Superman: Jake actually had boxing lessons before being empowered, and continues to practice even after getting increased strength, because he doesn't just want to rely on his powers alone.
- Dishing Out Dirt: In the short story "Sandhog", Jake rescues a boy named Tommy Vizzini who turns out to be another one of the Blessed, this time with vibrational abilities. As the kid is already working as a sandhog, Jake suggests that he use his new powers to dig tunnels more quickly.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Jake wants to be an artist, but his father pulled him out of school when he was a teenager and put him to work in a sweatshop to help provide for his family.
- Historical Domain Character: The series includes appearances by inventor Thomas Edison, escape artist Harry Houdini, socialist Emma Goldman, industrialist J.P. Morgan, and Satanist Aleister Crowley, among others.
- Flying Brick: Jake's newfound powers include flight and superhuman strength and endurance, which come in very handy considering that he's in the middle of a brawl when he gets those powers.
- Intrepid Reporter: Among the people taking an interest in Jake is Nellie Bly, one of the first investigative journalists. By the time the story opens, she's already become famous for going undercover in a mental institution to expose the abuses there.
- Maligned Mixed Marriage: Becky is in love with Houdini's assistant, John McNair, but suspects that her traditional Jewish parents would not be thrilled about her marrying an Irish Catholic boy.
- Naturalized Name: Protagonist Jake Gold was born with the name Yaakov, but became Jake when he and his family emigrated to the United States when he was six. Similarly, his sister Becky was born Rivka.
- Mass Super-Empowering Event: Jake gets his powers when an experiment by Thomas Edison exposes him to otherworldly energy. At least one other person has been shown to have received powers from the same event.
- Soapbox Sadie: Emma Goldman, one of the Trope Codifiers for the Soapbox Sadie, is a major character in the series, advising Jake that he should use his newfound powers to shake up the social order and force change. She is disappointed when Jake chooses to use his powers to become a stage performer instead.Jake: At least I'm not a radical!Emma: You should be! We all should be!
