For those who like their history in an artistic frame.
Graphic adaptation of the first volume of Atkinson’s acclaimed history of the American Revolution.
As adaptor Neus writes, the Revolution began with bad odds: “No colonial rebellion had ever succeeded in casting off imperial shackles.” As the narrative proceeds, she also takes up several themes that have recently defined the historiography of the era, particularly the trope that the Revolution was at heart a civil war, one that became “brutal and continental.” As to brutality, one key episode is the rebels’ torching of the loyalist town of Norfolk, Virginia, while driving a British garrison out; on the continental front, Neus, following Atkinson, spends a great deal of time treating the American invasion of Canada, which, some patriots worried at the time, might convert that civil war into a war of aggression against our northern neighbor “and lose the moral high ground of a country fighting for its own freedom.” In all events, that invasion turned into a shambles. Yet another theme is the thought that George Washington, while undoubtedly brave and stoical (“His appearance alone gave confidence to the timid and imposed respect on the bold”), wasn’t much of a strategic master, although he succeeded in doing the one thing he had to do, namely keep his army alive. Although the text is necessarily simplified—many frames contain no text at all—it is by no means dumbed down. Pietrobon’s artwork moves fluently, with plenty of attention to the mayhem of battle (which, Neus notes, Washington called “the rumpus”) and a few disturbing frames, such as one depicting the unfortunate meeting of a cannonball with a colonial’s head. Altogether, the narrative, which ends with the liberation of Boston on March 17, 1776—before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, that is—is an approachable treatment of a complex subject.
For those who like their history in an artistic frame.Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9780593799307
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A timeless story of marriage, well-grounded in queer history. An absolute triumph.
Chronicling same-sex love in early New England.
This graphic biography by award-winning graphic novelist Walden (Spinning, 2017, and On a Sunbeam, 2018) takes its inspiration from the artifacts and archives of two women who lived together in rural Vermont for nearly half a century. Walden’s presentation of their story firmly insists that the reader engage directly with the daily lives of women in the early 1800s. As the book begins, Charity arrives in Weybridge, Vermont, evading rumors and judgment back in Massachusetts. Sylvia, a large family’s youngest daughter, cares ceaselessly for nieces and nephews while quietly seeking her own life. Soon after meeting, Charity asks Sylvia to share her rented room above a gristmill, and the pair become inseparable. They build a tailoring business, rent land, and construct a home together. They attend church, share life with Sylvia’s family, and actively participate in their community. That they remained partnered in a world where homosexuality was essentially unimaginable is played with such subtlety as to sometimes blur into insignificance. Yet, that normalcy reveals the book’s beating heart—existing resolutely as themselves in a circumscribed world is a resounding affirmation of queer love. But even life-long love has an end. The specter of mortality haunts nearly every page—the pair endure a litany of family deaths and spend much of their old age managing ailments, awaiting what lies beyond while holding fast to each other. This unrelenting passage of time is communicated in uniformly 12-panel pages filled with conversation and daily work. When Walden pushes against this format’s restrictions, her looser, almost ethereal imagery proves breathtaking. Walden also employs her particular gift for drawing simple faces that express innocence, excitement, devastation, and devotion in a few pen strokes—she brings Charity and Sylvia to life with tremendous tenderness and grace.
A timeless story of marriage, well-grounded in queer history. An absolute triumph.Pub Date: June 16, 2026
ISBN: 9781770468382
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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