Wow

Jun. 23rd, 2009 09:08 pm
checkers65477: (Books Cats Sweet)
[personal profile] checkers65477
Yes, another YA graphic novel.  The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon.  I'd been putting off reading this one, but now that I have...

Wow. 

I put it off because it's nonfiction, and based on the actual >500 pg. report, and it deals with a topic that still makes me sad and mad.  But I read it in a day, hardly putting it down until I finished.  The first 25 pages suck you in with a timeline of the four planes and the drama as they take off and are seized by the hijackers.  This section ends with all four planes crashing. 

The rest of the book goes through the 9/11 report:  who the terrorists were, how they accomplished what they did, who was behind them and why, mistakes that were made, the bravery of the rescuers, how the government reacted, etc.  Key players are described and the politics behind all aspects are explained in an easy-to-understand, fascinating way. 

The art is clear and realistic; it melds perfectly with the non-emotional text.  Drawings of the people involved are almost photo-like.

Sometimes nonfiction is just as chilling as any horror story you might find in the fiction section.

Edited to add two pages of the sequential art.


Date: 2009-06-24 08:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tearoha.livejournal.com
Sometimes nonfiction is just as chilling as any horror story you might find in the fiction section.
Amen.
Art imitates life, and all that.

Interesting that this is classed as a YA graphic novel. What is it that makes it a graphic novel, rather than a non-fiction with pictures? That said, crossovers are awesome.

Date: 2009-06-25 02:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] checkers65477.livejournal.com
Ooh, I can answer that because I've been learning lots about this. You didn't think I've been reading all these just for fun, did you? :)

What makes a graphic novel a graphic novel is sequential art. The art in GNs is done in panels, and the text and art are interdependent. You don't get the entire story from just the text or just the art. Both are needed in order to fully understand and appreciate the book.

I added a couple of pages from the book, above.

Date: 2009-06-25 06:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tearoha.livejournal.com
Noo, I figured you must have had some ulterior motive :)

Thanks for explaining, that makes sense now. Seeing the pages definitely helped! Non-fiction graphic novels are a new one on me. Definitely not my cup of tea, but... interesting.

Date: 2009-06-25 01:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] checkers65477.livejournal.com
Well now, I thought the same thing. Nonfiction anything is not my usual cup of tea.

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