IT’S no joke. And there is nothing comic about this comic. It is for real, except that it is a graphic reality. The Illustrated 9/11 Commission Report is a comic book interpretation of the US Government commissioned report on the terrorist attacks upon the United States of September 11, 2001.
The original book, published in 2004 is a 580 page best seller, but according to Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, the authors of the illustrated version, many of their friends became frustrated and confused when reading the original document with its many names, timelines and events in many places.
The US press is asking itself if the comic book format is appropriate – or as the Public Eye column on cbsnews.com puts it: “Is the most defining moment of a generation in danger of becoming just another franchise with a Happy Meal tie-in on the horizon?”
Julia Keller, the cultural critic of the Chicago Tribune admits to a certain “appalled fascination” for the concept: “It [the events of September 11, 2001] was, from the start, a comic book catastrophe.”
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Keller continues, “Planes piercing tall buildings; thousands of confused people trapped and desperate; stunned bureaucrats scrambling for an informational toehold - it seemed like a dramatic climax out of Action Comics No. 47 . . . Superman and the Fantastic Four and all the rest of them.”
She concludes that the format shines and that the work is a “vivid success” with its clarity and build up of suspense - despite knowing what happens (an experience Martin Levin in the Canadian globeandmail.com shares). Keller also finds it “unexpectedly moving”.
Her one criticism, the use of words such as “BLAMM” and “R-RUMBLE” to provide sound effects is echoed elsewhere. Colon’s response to this is that not including the sounds would be like putting out a movie without sound.
There are other criticisms. Carie Lemack, whose mother was killed in the attacks, considers the drawings insensitive. She told wistv.com, a South Carolina television station, that, “The graphic images of people burning and planes exploding is not something that I think is appropriate, and I don’t know why adults need to see it in a comic book form.”
For more irreverent criticism, you might visit TomPaine.com, a site that calls itself a political affairs journal. Its major criticism is its artistic value – or lack of: “Look, we all remember Classics Illustrated. They were, from the perspective of a connoisseur, terrible comics, largely lacking in any artistic qualities. That’s what this is. And, like Classics Illustrated, the purpose isn’t the comic. The purpose is to basically fill you in on the plot details of a book you won’t read otherwise. And on that level, 9/11 Commission Chair Thomas Kean and I agree: A graphic adaptation works. I still haven’t read the original.“
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Largely though, the US press’ comments have been favourable and the authors’ intended purpose of making the original report more accessible has been met, judging from the reviews.
In USATODAY.com, the authors highlight one important aspect of contemporary society that their book taps into: “We live in the most visually oriented culture in the history of mankind . . . but a lot of people don’t appreciate how much information you can tell visually,” says Colon.
To see a sample preview of The Illustrated 9/11 Commission Report click here
To read the full Commission Report click here