Reviews
The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, by Aaron McConnell, Jonathan Hennessey
debz57a52's review
4.0
I've been meaning to look at this book for a while, and I finally borrowed it from my library! The author and illustrator do a nice job of introducing the basic information surrounding the Constitution, including the Amendments. They include references to historical politics, writers, politicians, and court cases to explain how the Constitution guided other parts of our country's history, which I found helpful in some parts. However, the helpfulness for me stemmed from the fact that I remember quite a bit of history from high school, college, and personal reading. If someone does not remember much, or never learned it in the first place, the examples offered may be too shallow to be of use as clarifying examples. I appreciated when exact quotes, either from the foundational documents, or letters, speeches, and the Federalist Papers were included in the narrative, to show that the Constitution has been thought of very differently by groups within the country since before it was ratified. I also appreciated that the author acknowledges in the text that parts of the amendments didn't immediately help those that were of non-European descent, and that that work is still happening today. I'm also impressed with how factual the narrative is, with very little left/right bias on display.
I liked the illustrator's work, both figurative and literal representations of what the words were saying. Actually, some of the figurative drawings were quite clever. I also liked that the bodies the artist due to represent parts of the government had a face comprised of the relevant building, rather than trying to figure out what that person might look like, thereby also avoiding an obvious racial bias.
All that being said, I don't know that I would adopt it as a supporting text for a class in 2022. The Constitution and its amendments has not changed since the book's publication in 2008, but some of the examples mentioned in the text (impeachment and Supreme Court Justices come to mind) is no longer accurate. I'd consider it a good book to have around for a quick refresher, and an excellent example of the way graphic novels can be used to make an often-considered "hard topic" easy to understand and read about.
I liked the illustrator's work, both figurative and literal representations of what the words were saying. Actually, some of the figurative drawings were quite clever. I also liked that the bodies the artist due to represent parts of the government had a face comprised of the relevant building, rather than trying to figure out what that person might look like, thereby also avoiding an obvious racial bias.
All that being said, I don't know that I would adopt it as a supporting text for a class in 2022. The Constitution and its amendments has not changed since the book's publication in 2008, but some of the examples mentioned in the text (impeachment and Supreme Court Justices come to mind) is no longer accurate. I'd consider it a good book to have around for a quick refresher, and an excellent example of the way graphic novels can be used to make an often-considered "hard topic" easy to understand and read about.
mlindner's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good coverage of the US Constitution and its history.
olivia_piepmeier's review
2.0
I think that it's awesome that this exists. I hope it has attracted readers who would usually not read parts of/about the Constitution. Images of groups of people representing Americans are often full of diversity. The narrative choices they make are interesting and likely to get a McCloud approval. However, I still found it a drag.
I got it via interlibrary loan to help brainstorm a way I might work something about the Constitution into my first year seminar on graphic novels due to Constitution Day requirements. It's been sitting on my desk for almost a month with me reading bits every few days, and it's taken me this long to read it! Similar to the Information Now book, this is text heavy. It has to be. Because the transitions are often appear non-sequitor (though I think they're making references, they might not make sense immediately) AND it's text heavy, it's not a quick read.
I'm still not sure how I'll make an assignment related to this for my class. Like I said, I'm glad it exists, but it's not my favorite work of comic art.
I got it via interlibrary loan to help brainstorm a way I might work something about the Constitution into my first year seminar on graphic novels due to Constitution Day requirements. It's been sitting on my desk for almost a month with me reading bits every few days, and it's taken me this long to read it! Similar to the Information Now book, this is text heavy. It has to be. Because the transitions are often appear non-sequitor (though I think they're making references, they might not make sense immediately) AND it's text heavy, it's not a quick read.
I'm still not sure how I'll make an assignment related to this for my class. Like I said, I'm glad it exists, but it's not my favorite work of comic art.
anna_catherman's review against another edition
1.0
I'm fascinated by studying the Constitution, and I for the most part enjoy graphic novels, so when I found this at a used book sale, I quickly snatched it up. It proved underwhelming at best, and downright deceptive and deceitful at worse. From the preamble to the very end, this just isn't a very accurate or engaging portrayal of the Constitution and its construction.
The very beginning of the book implies that the American founders founded the country by tossing aside God and instead building the country on reason alone! The founders' faith is completely ignored, and there's no basis given for mans' natural rights. From there, it did get a bit better, and there's a few sections I enjoyed and appreciated for their insights. However, it's quite text-heavy, and the art is...weird. Very weird. With the exception of the anti-religious beginning, most of the book was reasonably balanced, although there were a few sections that seemed to frown on original intent, of course, and the perspective on some issues, such as abortion, left a lot to be desired.
I wanted to like it, but, well, I just didn't. It isn't what it's advertised to be, a graphic retelling of history rather than an adaptation of the Constitution, which is seldom quoted and the text of which doesn't even appear in full in a prefix or an appendix. Not recommended.
The very beginning of the book implies that the American founders founded the country by tossing aside God and instead building the country on reason alone! The founders' faith is completely ignored, and there's no basis given for mans' natural rights. From there, it did get a bit better, and there's a few sections I enjoyed and appreciated for their insights. However, it's quite text-heavy, and the art is...weird. Very weird. With the exception of the anti-religious beginning, most of the book was reasonably balanced, although there were a few sections that seemed to frown on original intent, of course, and the perspective on some issues, such as abortion, left a lot to be desired.
I wanted to like it, but, well, I just didn't. It isn't what it's advertised to be, a graphic retelling of history rather than an adaptation of the Constitution, which is seldom quoted and the text of which doesn't even appear in full in a prefix or an appendix. Not recommended.
loveliferead's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent introduction to the complicated document that is the foundation of our country, The United States Constitution: a Graphic Novel Adaptation is an opening way of introducing the complicated founding document. Those hoping that it has the wording of the constitution will be disappointed however, as this is more a how to to the United States constitution and not a verbatim rendition.
The art style is engaging and sets the tone for the complicated, discriminatory nature of founding fathers and United States history in general. For panels depicting slavery and the three-fifths law, the person is only depicted as three-fifths of a person...completely jarring and unnatural and brings to life that they were not looked as full body individuals. At times the writing can be cramped, I could read it easily even with it being on the smaller size.
I would say that it goes through the Amendments quickly and often times washing over the complication of these additions to our constitution, however, you are still able to get a feel and understanding for it. I would recommend this to anyone who is trying to understand the Constitution and how it has been interpreted throughout the years since the Founding Fathers drafted it.
The art style is engaging and sets the tone for the complicated, discriminatory nature of founding fathers and United States history in general. For panels depicting slavery and the three-fifths law, the person is only depicted as three-fifths of a person...completely jarring and unnatural and brings to life that they were not looked as full body individuals. At times the writing can be cramped, I could read it easily even with it being on the smaller size.
I would say that it goes through the Amendments quickly and often times washing over the complication of these additions to our constitution, however, you are still able to get a feel and understanding for it. I would recommend this to anyone who is trying to understand the Constitution and how it has been interpreted throughout the years since the Founding Fathers drafted it.
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