After 9/11: America's War on Terror (2001- ) [Paperback]

Sid Jacobson (Author), Ernie Colón (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2008

Having made The 9/11 Commission Report understandable for everyone, the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel team of Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón use all their considerable talents to explain the post-9/11 world. Working from news reports drawn from multiple international media, Jacobson and Colón depict the critical events, decision makers, and consequences of America’s “war on terror,” and, most important, the context in which the war began, unfolded, and unraveled. The most demanding story they have ever tackled, After 9/11 is also the most tailor-made for their medium, capturing simultaneous events, geographic complexity, numerous participants, and a vast array of economic, statistical, and quantitative information—compellingly told through the sequential panel art narrative form unique to graphic books. Proving yet again that graphic novels best meet the challenge of giving the most information with the least amount of ink, Jacobson and Colón answer with clarity and unforgettable imagery the question: How the hell did we end up where we are?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having already tackled the new millennium's most explosive government document, The 9/11 Commission Report, in bestselling comic form, former Marvel Comics executive editor Jacobson and journeyman artist Colón go for a less scripted take on recent history with this vivid graphic take on the wars that erupted after 9/11. Not relying on one single source allows Jacobson and Colón to be more wide-ranging in their examination of the war on terror. As journalism, Jacobson's work is nothing particularly fresh, relying on a steady march of bullet-point news squibs about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and sidebar background material to fill out its densely packed pages. Colón's chaotic and highly physical artwork helps bring the occasionally dry recitation to life; his liberal use of bloody war-zone carnage shockingly illustrates how little such things are shown by the Western media. Jacobson keeps his tone as even as possible, save for the unavoidable details of hypocrisy or incompetence (of which there are sadly many), helping to make the book an excellent choice for educators looking for an accessible single-volume take on the subject. All in all, After 9/11 stands apart as the graphic novel equivalent of a particularly cogent Frontline report. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—In this follow-up to The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation (Hill & Wang, 2006), Jacobson and Colón offer readers an incisive report on the U. S. government's activities, in both foreign and domestic theaters, in response to the perceived threat of continuing terrorist incursions. Densely packed panels explicate diplomatic, political, military, and popular discussions; edicts; and activities through narrative, carefully chosen quotes, and images that vary in style from photorealism to symbolic idioms. An example of the latter is the iconic sound of a submachine gun, accompanied by a spray of blood, to indicate each assassination cataloged here. Both teen researchers and those with an interest in American foreign affairs will find this a helpful guide to events, although the period it covers is necessarily brief and still open-ended. Panel layout is less felicitous than in most graphic-novel-style nonfiction, but readers can graze a page to cull its messages rather than needing to follow a specific path. A must for any collection supporting American history and government curricula.—Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang; 1st edition (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809023709
• ISBN-13: 978-0809023707
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,062,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Editorializing the Post 9/11 World, October 17, 2008

By 

Richard C. Geschke "In search of History!!" (Bristol, Ct) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: After 9/11: America's War on Terror (2001- ) (Paperback)

Jacobson and Colon's After 9/11 is supposed to be a continuation of their first graphic depiction of the 9/11 Report. These two works are not of the same genre. The 9/11 Report was indeed factual and told of the major aspects of the 9/11 Report written by that Committee.

After 9/11, represents Jacobson and Colon telling us of life in the World after 9/11. This work, in which much of it I do agree with, is a look at the World with an editorial slant.

The Authors bring up the valid points of no WMD and the fact of the Bush administration gathering false intelligence to substantiate the preemptive attack of Iraq. What was the purpose?

Jacobson and Colon have correctly identified how America got into this mess and how we ostracized our Allies. Most of this adaptation is done very well.

The only area in which I believe the Authors fall short in was their detailing of the successes of the Surge. After all fair is fair. Tell it like it is, leave your prejudice behind. Tell the entire story including the parts which don't support your thesis.

Also some of the descriptive balloons were hard to read because the dark print blended into the dark background.

In all, I found this graphic narrative worth the read. This is not as good as the 9/11 Report, but I do recommend this graphic narrative.

3 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother. Rent a Michael Moore "documentary" instead., September 30, 2008

By 

JMF "Patriot Front.com" (Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After 9/11: America's War on Terror (2001- ) (Paperback)

You should heed the warning written on the opening pages, "The authors were especially inspired by The New York Times,...Time, Newsweek, and the New Yorker". The Graphic adaptation of the 9/11 Report was far superior, but in that work, the authors were grounded by the logic and reality of a non-partisan project. If you see the US efforts in Iraq as nothing but calamity and blunder, then this is an excellent piece of unfettered propaganda for you.

Consider that the chapter addressing the Surge (19 pages of 149 total) is nothing but a continuation of explosions, murder, chaos and horror. There is not a single positive image or statement describing the situation in post-Surge Iraq.

It's not hard then, to recognize that the entire book is obviously themed to reenforce the same stale talking points of the anti-war left: There were no WMDs; Bush was hell-bent on war from the get-go; every aspect of the operation was mis-managed or corrupt; Iraq distracted the US from Afghanistan, and all developing problems in A-stan were caused by efforts in Iraq; war crimes, torture, rape, sleep-deprivation, etc.

Accompanying the mediocre drawings of suicide bombings, IEDs, and dead soldiers, are depictions of the space shuttle Columbia burning up on re-entry, Hurricane Katrina, and the Virginia Tech shooting massacre. (I'm not kidding.) More apparent unintended consequences of liberating Iraq and ridding the world of one of the most evil despots that ever lived. But don't look in this book for Saddam to be described in such a way. This is a comic book indeed.