9/11 Aftermath Inspires Comic Book Writers
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By Priscilla Ybarra and Sara Peck
Media pundits often bemoan the declining public interest in news about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But what if the wars were written up as a comic book?
The creators of a popular comic book that depicted the events leading up to 9/11 have followed it up with a sequel that is seeking to explain how that tragedy led to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Authors Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon are publishing a graphic narrative
titled, “After 9/11.”
“We wrote this basically to clarify what was going on in this war,”
Jacobson, a former editor at Harvey and Marvel Comics said. “We felt
that this graphic medium could help people better understand what’s
going on.”
The first book was gleaned from the pages of the 9/11 Commission
Report, and has sold more than 1.5 million copies since 2007.
Drawing from articles found in the The New York Times, Los Angeles
Times and The Washington Post, the authors are now recounting the
events after 9/11.
The graphic narrative begins as the hijacked airplanes hit the World
Trade Center. The authors then focused on events that led up to the
current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The timeline was Sid’s idea,” said Colon, former graphic artist for
Harvey, Marvel and DC Comics. It “makes the story so clean.”
The narrative covers events chronologically ranging from the failed
search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to the abuse of
prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison, and the hanging of Saddam Hussein.
Setting up the narrative in a chronological fashion helps readers gain
a clearer understanding of what occurred and when, Jacobson said.
Jacobson, who was in charge of writing the majority of the narrative,
spent countless hours searching through stacks of newspapers to create
a novel with “quoted stories” with nothing but “straight forward
facts,” he said.
Although this is the second of their graphic novels, the authors
admitted they were challenged when making sure the narrative didn’t
seem monotonous with one bombing after another. With constant battles,
buildings blowing up and suicide bombings, it’s difficult to make it
look as if you’re not repeating yourself, Jacobson admitted.
However, the authors believe they will be successful in delivering
their message.
Their goal was to tell the story because it becomes difficult
remembering everything that has taken place during the past few years,
Jacobson said.
The narrative ends with Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S.
commander in Iraq, admitting that there were innumerable challenges to
overcome.
“This is to give facts and to understand,” Jacobson said. It will be up
to readers to draw their own conclusions, he added.