A review by anna_catherman
The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey
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.