to enhance the realism of the propaganda news telecasts. They discover that the effects of these treatments have both made them addicts and are slowly killing them. The second series focuses on the struggle to control the politics of the North American countries, at a world superhero conference in Free Louisiana. World In the alternative history, the Confederacy won the Civil War, which resulted in a fracturing of the North American continent, mostly affecting what was the United States of America into eight nations. These nations are the Confederate States of America (also containing several Caribbean possessions), the Free State of Louisiana (smaller than the real state of Louisiana, but containing the city of New Orleans), the remaining Northern states as the United States of America, the Republic of Texas (also includes portions of what was Mexico), the Great Spirit Alliance (called "Tecumseh" in the original series's map — also includes portions of Canada), the Mormon nation of Deseret, The People's Republic of California (including Baja California) and Pacifica (called "Sequoyah" in the original series's map — also includes portions of Canada). Canada and Mexico exist, but have lost territory to the various other nations. The means by which the CSA managed to retain its independence was never explained in the series. In the 2018 trade paperback edition, Shetterly's afterward explains that he purposefully omitted an in-universe explanation, because he wanted to let the readers' imagination decide this. Each of these nations has its own propaganda heroes similar to the original Captain Confederacy, though empowered through different means and technologies (armored suits, drugs, etc.). Canada exists in some form, although it is not as large as it is in the real world. A version of the Underground Railroad exists within the Confederacy to help oppressed minorities escape to either the United States or Canada. Outside North America, a Japan analogue, Nippon (a native name of Japan), exists as an ally to the People's Republic of California, having a military base there. Germany on the other hand, is a global power, with a system of militarized defensive satellites. A cold war of sorts exists between Germany and Nippon. The technology of this world's 1967 (the year in which the story begins) seems analogous to the real world in about 1980. Although advanced technology was used to create the superheroes, it does not seem to be in widespread use by the general