An inspired reframing of a bedrock document—for younger readers, yes, but also older citizens who need waking up.
When in the course of humorous events…
There are many things that Thomas Jefferson couldn’t have anticipated about the Declaration of Independence 250 years in the future, and one was that its hallowed words would be accompanied by an image of Beavis and Butt-Head. And yet, thanks to the loopy imagination of cartoonist Sikoryak, this is one of the many funny pairings we have in his latest book. As in his Constitution Illustrated (2020), he marries the unabridged text of the nation’s foundational document with cartoons he’s done in the styles of dozens of American comics and cartoons, some going back generations. The double-sided book also includes the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. The colorful images match the text well. For the Declaration’s famous opening words—“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another”—we see a cartoon of an impossibly muscular man in colonial garb breaking out of his chains; the image that inspired it is from Mike Manley and Terry Austin’s Superman Adventures (2001). For a page illustrating “the pursuit of Happiness,” a lecherous wolf (in a cravat) is leaning into an open window, his eyes on a Betsy Ross–like figure in a bonnet; the original source is Stephanie Gladden and Jim Massara’s Droopy, Wolf & Red (1995). Some cartoons are more famous than others (a comics index proves useful). There are Brian Stelfreeze’s Black Panther (2016), Bil Keane’s The Family Circus (circa 1975), and W.W. Denslow’s Scarecrow and the Tin-Man (1905), as well as newer creations such as Jen Bartel’s She-Hulk (2023). In all, the book is both wholesome and irreverent—and thus very American.
An inspired reframing of a bedrock document—for younger readers, yes, but also older citizens who need waking up.Pub Date: June 30, 2026
ISBN: 9781770467170
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
A provocative illumination of the nooks and crannies of a document that citizens have come to take for granted.
A thorough examination of the Constitution, its promises and problems, in the form of a graphic novel.
The latest entry in the publisher’s World Citizen Comics series isn’t a patriotic celebration but rather an engagingly readable and well-researched analysis of how the Constitution came about and what its decisions and compromises have meant for the U.S. ever since. Featuring text by the Levinsons, who collaborated on a children’s title of the same name in 2017, and illustrations by cartoonist Shwed, the book offers a “report card” for the Constitution, giving it a C overall (it fares better on defense and poorer on promoting the general welfare). If the Constitution aims to form “a more perfect union,” we might well need a more perfect document. This could be accomplished via a considerable revision of a document that has proven singularly difficult to amend or through the calling of a new Constitutional Convention, all in the effort to deal with issues that the framers couldn’t have foreseen in 1787 or problems that were inherent flaws in the original compromise at a time when the country seemed less like a truly united country and more like a confederation of independent states, to which citizens owed their first allegiance. Fears that more populous states would exert their will over smaller ones have resulted in processes that the authors suggest are undemocratic, including the Electoral College, the makeup of the Senate, the filibuster, gerrymandering, and all sorts of political finagling that runs counter to the wishes of the majority. They provide numerous examples of how issues we face now are the result of decisions made by the framers when the concerns were very different. Perhaps a better Constitution would inspire a better country.
A provocative illumination of the nooks and crannies of a document that citizens have come to take for granted.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21161-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
An informative, breathless sprint through the evolution and consequences of human development.
The professor and popular historian expands the reach of his internationally bestselling work with the launch of a graphic nonfiction series.
In a manner that is both playful and provocative, Harari teams with co-creators adept at the graphic format to enliven his academic studies. Here, a cartoon version of the professor takes other characters (and readers) on something of a madcap thrill ride through the history of human evolution, with a timeline that begins almost 14 billion years ago and extends into the future, when humanity becomes the defendant in “Ecosystem vs. Homo Sapiens,” a trial presided over by “Judge Gaia.” As Harari and his fellow time travelers visit with other academics and a variety of species, the vivid illustrations by Casaneve and colorist Champion bring the lessons of history into living color, and Vandermeulen helps condense Harari’s complex insights while sustaining narrative momentum. The text and illustrations herald evolution as “the greatest show on earth” while showing how only one of “six different human species” managed to emerge atop the food chain. While the Homo sapiens were not nearly as large, strong, fast, or powerful as other species that suffered extinction, they were able to triumph due to their development of the abilities to cooperate, communicate, and, perhaps most important, tell and share stories. That storytelling ultimately encompasses fiction, myth, history, and spirituality, and the success of shared stories accounts for a wide variety of historical events and trends, including Christianity, the French Revolution, and the Third Reich. The narrative climaxes with a crime caper, as a serial-killing spree results in the extinction of so many species, and the “Supreme Court of the future” must rule on the case against Homo sapiens. Within those deliberations, it’s clear that not “being aware of the consequences of their actions” is not a valid excuse.
An informative, breathless sprint through the evolution and consequences of human development.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-305133-1
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Perennial/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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