Dangerous Gambles

On a sunny summer day in 1978, the whole world went to Hell. There was no preparation, there were no indications, and there were no warning signs. The effect was one of listening to an aria where the diva suddenly burped. No one knew exactly how it happened, and historians would debate for years what exactly triggered it. Nuclear tests by Russia in June were followed by protests in the West. Nuclear tests by America in July were followed by protests in the East, which were marked by reports of an “incident” in Eastern Europe, and ultimately Walter Cronkite’s fatherly voice, announcing the Soviet Union’s declaration of war.

In the immediate aftermath, there was panic. Everyone looked to the skies for the expected nuclear missiles, but none came, nor did any come the next day or the day after that. Since one side would not take the fatal step, the other decided not to, as well. The Third World War was turning out to be as conventional as the first two had been. This was especially so in its impact on the people. Faced with the need to supply fuel to its armed forces and in the grips of an oil shortage, coupled with the imminent threat to the Alaskan oil fields caused by a surprise Soviet invasion of the Aleutians islands and the Alaskan mainland, the United States implemented gas rationing almost as soon as war was declared, a decision that was soon followed by the rationing of rubber, sugar, coffee, and finally, meat and poultry. Americans felt the price of war immediately. More and more the American people sought distraction from their problems, and from movie theaters to dance halls, people turned out. However, due to wage and price freezes, the larger theaters and clubs went into decline, and things moved to smaller and smaller venues.

Such was the atmosphere in which the Roadhouse Sons performed...

Buy Graphic Novel!