Media Release -- Acclaimed writer John Ridley (Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave and creator of TV's American Crime) returns to DC with the new miniseries THE AMERICAN WAY: THOSE ABOVE AND THOSE BELOW, featuring art and covers by Georges Jeanty (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight, Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse).

Now, DC announces that the debut issue of this new Vertigo miniseries will have a free overship!

Retailers who ordered THE AMERICAN WAY: THOSE ABOVE AND THOSE BELOW #1 will receive double their FOC orders on this issue at no extra cost!

Also, retailers in good standing with Diamond who did not order this issue will receive one free copy of the issue at no cost!

In this debut issue of the six-issue miniseries, it's been a decade since the Civil Defense Corps was exposed as a fraud created by the U.S. Government for propaganda purposes. While most of the heroes who survived the catastrophe have retired or disappeared, the New American still carries on, trying to keep communities safe amid the social turmoil of the 1970s. But with the nation split in two over civil rights and the changing political landscape, this isn't easy. Some of the American's former colleagues are on opposite sides of the law: Amber Waves joined a group of domestic terrorists, while Missy, a.k.a. Ole Miss, has thrown her hat into the political ring. As the ground shifts beneath his feet and new threats arise, which side will the American choose?

THE AMERICAN WAY: THOSE ABOVE AND THOSE BELOW #1 (MAY170358) has a new on-sale date of July 12.

THE AMERICAN WAY: THOSE ABOVE AND THOSE BELOW #2 (JUN170415) is on Final Order cutoff on July 17 with a new on-sale date of August 9.

In issue #2, the conflict with political radicals that took one man's life sits heavy with Jason. Accusations that, by continuing to be the superhero the American, he's become a pawn for the government have taken on a new sharpness as the Civil Rights movement of the 1970s gains an added urgency. This call to do what's right is one that his former ally Amber Waves has already answered by taking matters into her own hands and using her powers to protest injustice-and she's already paying the deadly cost as the police and Federal agents attack her where she lives.