The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation book cover

The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation

Hardcover – August 31, 2006

by
Price
$25.95
Format
Hardcover
Pages
128
Publisher
Hill and Wang
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0809057382
Dimensions
6 x 0.57 x 9 inches
Weight
14.4 ounces

Description

Book Description The 9/11 Report for Every American On December 5, 2005, the 9/11 Commission issued its final report card on the governmentx92s fulfillment of the recommendations issued in July 2004: one A, twelve Bs, nine Cs, twelve Ds, three Fs, and four incompletes. Here is stunning evidence that Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, with more than sixty years of experience in the comic-book industry between them, were right: far, far too few Americans have read, grasped, and demanded action on the Commission's investigation into the events of that tragic day and the lessons America must learn. Using every skill and storytelling method Jacobson and Colón have learned over the decades, they have produced the most accessible version of the 9/11 Report. Jacobsonx92s text frequently follows word for word the original report, faithfully captures its investigative thoroughness, and covers its entire scope, even including the Commission's final report card. Colón's stunning artwork powerfully conveys the facts, insights, and urgency of the original. Published on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, an event that has left no aspect of American foreign or domestic policy untouched, The 9/11 Report puts at every American's fingertips the most defining event of the century. "Never before have I seen a nonfiction book as beautifully and compellingly written and illustrated as The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation . I cannot recommend it too highly. It will surely set the standard for all future works of contemporary history, graphic or otherwise, and should be required reading in every home, school and library." --Stan Lee A Statement on The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón The cave paintings in Altamira, Spain, tell stories. Mostly they tell tales of the hunt. Drawn during the Paleolithic Stone Age, they still amaze us with their lucidity and directness. As an artist, and as an editor and writer in the graphic medium, we each pay homage to those delineators and interpreters of experience. They offered accounts of what happened and provided a way of remembering, honoring, and learning. When retold by the fire's flickering light, these stories must have lent the drawings a compelling, virtual movement. There is something eerie, but deeply gratifying, in knowing that a direct line runs from our contemporary comic art to these earliest efforts to record and convey what happened. Storyteller, audience, drawings depicting continuity of event: it all sounds familiar. In a culture that has become the most visually oriented in the history of humankind, comics retain the original concept of storytelling and remain a potent force of information. Read more Excerpts from The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation Timeline of Terror American Airline Flight 11 (AA 11) Boston to Los Angeles x95 7:59: Takeoff x95 8:14: Last routine radio communication; likely takeover x95 8:19: Flight attendant notifies AA of hijacking x95 8:21: Transponder is turned off x95 8:23: AA attempts to contact the cockpit x95 8:25: Boston Center aware of hijacking x95 8:38: Boston Center notifies NEADS of hikacking x95 8:46: NEADS scrambles Otis fighter jets in search of AA 11 x95 8:46:40: AA 11 crashes into 1 WTC (North Tower) x95 8:53: Otis fighter jets airborne x95 9:16: AA headquarters aware that Flight 11 has crashed into WTC x95 9:21: Boston Center advises NEADS that AA 11 is airborne heading for Washington x95 9:24: NEADS scrambles Langley fighter jets in search of AA 11 From School Library Journal Adult/High School–At only 15 percent the size of The 9/11 Report: The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (St. Martin's, 2004) and more than four times the price, is this adaptation worth purchasing? The answer is an unequivocal yes. Jacobson and Colón intend this adaptation to bring to the commission's report readers who would not or could not digest its nearly 800 pages, and they have the blessing, acknowledged in this book's foreword, of the commission's chair and vice-chair to do so. Neither lurid nor simplistic, it presents the essence of the commission's work in a manner that, especially in the opening section, is able to surpass aspects of any text-only publication: the four stories of the doomed flights are given on the same foldout pages so that readers can truly grasp the significance of how simultaneous events can and did overwhelm our national information and defense systems. The analysis that follows in the subsequent 11 chapters cuts cleanly to the kernels of important history, politics, economics, and procedural issues that both created and exacerbated the effects of the day's events. Colón's full-color artwork provides personality for the named players–U.S. presidents and Al-Qaeda operatives alike–as well as the airline passengers, office workers, fire fighters, and bureaucrats essential to the report. This graphic novel has the power and accessibility to become a high school text; in the meantime, no library should be without it. –Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. "Never before have I seen a non-fiction book as beautifully and compellingly written and illustrated as The 9/11 Report, A Graphic Adaptation .xa0 I cannot recommend it too highly.xa0 It will surely set the standard for all future works of contemporary history, graphic or otherwise, and should be required reading in every home, school and library."xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 --Stan Lee Sid Jacobson was the managing editor and editor in chief for Harvey Comics, where he created Richie Rich, and executive editor at Marvel Comics.The artist, Ernie Colón , has worked at Harvey, Marvel, and DC Comics. At DC, he oversaw the production of Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Blackhawk, and the Flash; at Marvel, Spider-Man. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • The 9/11 Report for Every American
  • On December 5, 2005, the 9/11 Commission issued its final report card on the government’s fulfillment of the recommendations issued in July 2004: one A, twelve Bs, nine Cs, twelve Ds, three Fs, and four incompletes. Here is stunning evidence that Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, with more than sixty years of experience in the comic-book industry between them, were right: far, far too few Americans have read, grasped, and demanded action on the Commission’s investigation into the events of that tragic day and the lessons America must learn.Using every skill and storytelling method Jacobson and Colón have learned over the decades, they have produced the most accessible version of the 9/11 Report. Jacobson’s text frequently follows word for word the original report, faithfully captures its investigative thoroughness, and covers its entire scope, even including the Commission’s final report card. Colón’s stunning artwork powerfully conveys the facts, insights, and urgency of the original. Published on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, an event that has left no aspect of American foreign or domestic policy untouched,
  • The 9/11 Report
  • puts at every American’s fingertips the most defining event of the century.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(138)
★★★★
25%
(58)
★★★
15%
(35)
★★
7%
(16)
★
-7%
(-17)

Most Helpful Reviews

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A Unique View of a Historic Document

Comics have come a long way, even since the sixties when intellectuals started taking Batman, Superman, and Spiderman seriously. _Maus_ by Art Spiegelman, for instance, was the serious story of Spiegelman's father in the Holocaust, and Spiegelman's problematic relationship with him; it was a quietly magnificent history and memoir, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. _From Hell_ by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell was an examination of Jack the Ripper's story that was as dense as a novel, and with lots of reference notes to boot. If you have been watching comics climb in respectability, they have just mounted upon another rung. It is hard to class _The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation_ (Hill and Wang) by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón as a comic book, for it certainly is deadly serious rather than comic, and it isn't a "graphic novel", the category by which the genre goes now. It is the famous _Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States_ but told in the comic book form. The original prose work, widely praised and even nominated for a National Book Award, was a bestseller when it came out in July 2004. It had 600 pages, while the current one has 133.

Yet this is a condensation of the report, not a dumbing-down of it. Most of the words in it (in the san-serif capitals traditional to comics) come directly from the original report, which is in the public domain. There are some pages that could not have been done better in any format. The book starts with a timeline, four rows extending for twelve pages, counting off the hours of that morning for each of the four flights. The atrocities within each plane and each flight's violent end are drawn, and all readers following the streams will try to remember what was going on at the same time in their own lives that day, and when they started hearing about the crashes. Following one timeline is another, similar one for each plane, showing the "Awareness, Notification, and Response" of flight controllers, the FAA, NORAD, and the air defense sector of the region. Along with maps, these timelines make the flow of the events of the morning comprehensible. The style of the drawings is obviously that of the comic books in which both authors are experienced. These are not young guys promoting a new version of their art. Jacobson, 76, created the "Richie Rich" series and was the editor of Harvey Comics. Colón, 75, drew Richie, and also Casper the Friendly Ghost, before moving on to the more superhero-themed DC Comics. The book sticks to the original report, although it includes imagined pictures of events that happened within the airplanes and within the towers for which there is no documentation. Necessarily, the book does show that people working within agencies of the government were acting at cross purposes at times during the day, just as the FBI, CIA, and military intelligence had failed in the preceding months to share information rather than hoarding it. The confusion of first responders because of the inadequate communications between them is another illustrated failing. One part of the story violates the comic book rule of showing rather than telling; a caption showing a burning and crumbling tower says, "As time grew short and desperate, civilians leaped from the North Tower upper floors." The artists could not bring themselves to draw such an occurrence.

Of course, as in the original report, there are obvious targets for blame, though the commission admitted it was writing "with the benefit and the handicap of hindsight". With its historic view, Clinton does not get let off the hook, although among the difficulties he had in taking action is listed his preoccupation with his impeachment. The commission's view of how well the current government has done in implementing its recommendations is the last page of the report, and it looks like it gets a D. The phrase "constructive criticism" was coined for an effort such as the commission's, and the comic book version can only help get the word out. "Respectful" is not a word usually associated with the comics, but the authors here have shown respect to the report and to the nation that was under attack that day. They have made a useful and unique book to help us understand the events before, during, and after 9/11.
46 people found this helpful
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Richie's Picks: THE 9/11 REPORT: A GRAPHIC ADAPTATION

"The Commission Recommends:

WE SHOULD OFFER AN EXAMPLE OF MORAL LEADERSHIP COMMITTED TO TREAT PEOPLE HUMANELY, ABIDE BY THE RULE OF LAW, AND BE GENEROUS AND CARING TO OUR NEIGHBORS. THE VISION OF THE FUTURE SHOULD STRESS LIFE OVER DEATH: INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY."

I have never read the 9/11 Commission's report. And while I've questioned my own ability to be a fully-informed American citizen while lacking a familiarity with the contents of such an important historic document, the original report's 568 pages have always felt like an insurmountable read despite my obvious abilities as a reader. Any notion that the typical adolescent student might ever tackle those 568 pages is rather inconceivable.

In 117 pages that are presented in an inviting graphic format, comic book icons Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon -- contemporaries of my parents -- summarize and superbly illustrate the findings of the 9/11 Commission. They present the essential information from the Commission's report in a manner that makes it fully accessible to adolescents whose lives are forever going to be impacted by what happened that day, and who will participate in future decisions concerning how we might move forward in a way that we can both sustain human civilization on Earth and better fulfill the promise of America's highest ideals.

"SCHEDULED TO LEAVE NEWARK AIRPORT AT 8 O'CLOCK -- FITTING INTO THE TERRORISTS' PLAN OF FOUR FLIGHTS LEAVING AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME -- UNITED FLIGHT 93 HAD TO SIT ON THE GROUND FOR 42 MINUTES BECAUSE OF HEAVY TRAFFIC"

The book is quick to engage readers through the use of long, folding-out pages that present a graphic timeline of the events taking place simultaneously on the four highjacked aircraft and following them to their tragic conclusion. This first section concludes with a haunting illustration in which black and gray ribbons of smoke drift across the Manhattan skyline in the background and across the profile of Lady Liberty in the foreground.

The book proceeds to reveal details of the government's inability to promptly and efficiently react to the attacks, the history of the "New Terrorism," a history of previous threats and terrorist attacks against U.S. interests, and the evolution of America's counterterrorism efforts. (It is fascinating to see Bill Clinton's pre-9/11 agonizing over what collateral loss of life might be acceptable if Bin Laden had been targeted.) We also learn the details of the selection and training of the hijackers, the heroism at Ground Zero, and the eventual U.S. military response to the attacks.

It seems inevitable that a failure to assume the moral leadership recommended by the Commission will result in a continued growth of the ranks of those around the world who are opposed to U.S. interests and are willing to act violently. An example of that process, as cited by the Commission is:

"PAKISTAN'S ENDEMIC POVERTY, WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION, AND OFTEN INEFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ISLAMIST RECRUITMENT. MILLIONS OF FAMILIES, ESPECIALLY THE POOR, SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS OR MADRASSAS. MANY OF THESE SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN USED AS INCUBATORS FOR VIOLENT EXTREMEISM. IN KARACHI ALONE, THERE ARE 859 MADRASSAS TEACHING MORE THAN 200,000 YOUNGSTERS."

I certainly appreciate the hard work and vision of the distinguished Americans who served on the 9/11 Commission. But I also think that Jacobson and Colon each deserve a medal for transforming the important yet impenetrable report produced by the Commission into a readily digestible record of the history surrounding the unfathomable events of September 11, 2001. I feel extremely well informed for having read their book and so thankful that this notable work provides effective access and thereby contributes significantly to the national dialogue.

It is a book that certainly belongs in every middle and high school in America.
6 people found this helpful
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Nice Comic book, but better Press For Truth

This is a very handy way to communicate the voluminous official report and make it more accessible to the general public, but...

To get a clearer picture, see the movie "9/11 Press For Truth", which gives a more detailed and personal account of an alternative, highly respectable, investigation done by a Family Steering Committee made up mainly of 9/11 widows...they probably were the root cause to finally get the 9/11 commission going but they have so much more to offer than official 'findings'. Buy the DVD or download in free Google vdo format.
6 people found this helpful
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A good shortcut

I have the government 9/11 report and while it is interesting, disturbing, and many other things that I will not go into now, the reading of the white book it was very dry at times. This graphic adaptation book provides a good short cut, having said that it is no substitute for the "white" book. This is the classic comic we all used when we did not read the assigned homework at school and hoped we could bluff our way through.
4 people found this helpful
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Depends on who you are...

The audience for this book can be divided into two kinds of people: those who are familiar enough with the details and findings around 9/11, and; those who are only superficially aware with the happenings of 9/11, having explored little beyond what was reported in and speculated upon in the general media. I'd count myself in the former category, and hence this review is more relevant to a group of people who do already have a fair amount of insight into this event.

For such a group then, my overall stance is that this book is not worth the time, and I wouldn't give it more than a 2-star rating. If you picked up the book like me, you'd either do it because you a) wanted to or expected to learn a reasonable amount that was new, and/or; b) for the sheer aesthetics and the style of the book, which you'd hope would make irrelevant the fact that the substance would be old. On the first front, the book definitely did not live up to my expectations, with the sole exception of driving home very strongly the point on the lack of coordination between the multifarious US intelligence agencies. On the second front though, I enjoyed the book much more, as the book uses some very effective stylistic approaches, such as the parallel timelines for the four aircrafts, and overall has superb graphics.

Before concluding, I'd like to add that even though I am not equipped to comment on the book from the perspective of readers relatively fresh to 9/11's details, my sense is that this book is going to be a very worthwhile experience (I'd probably give it a 4-star in this case) for them. It does contain a lot of insight, and presents the insight in a very accessible form. Balancing my own and what I think were the author's intended audiences' perspectives, I've given this book a 3-star rating, but really, each of the two groups should take a call individually and take a go/no-go decision to read this book accordingly.
3 people found this helpful
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Great substitute for and companion to the original

When I saw this volume on the bookshelf, I shook my head. I picked it up and examined it a couple of times before finally deciding to take it home. I did not believe that a graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report would be anything more than an inadequate summary at best, or a sad joke at worst. I was wrong. The graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report is fascinating, communicating in words and pictures the most important concepts and vents of that fateful day.

The book lays out many aspects of 9/11, from a side-by-side chronology of the attacks of the four jetliners used that day by terrorists, to the history and operation of Al Qaeda, to the way our government did and did not respond to the crisis, to the experience of first responders and victims of the attacks. Laying out its findings in neutral tones, the report details the confusion and dysfunction that allowed 19 terrorists to enter the country, train to fly, obtain access to airliners and wreak destruction and death on America. Americans are portrayed in our multi-racial realities. Terrorists are portrayed fairly frequently as menacing, with sneers and scowls that some might consider unneeded and even approaching racist. Others might find this portrayal appropriate and even subdued, given the mayhem they eventually produced. But this is a minor criticism and id not unduly ruffle my sensitive feathers.

This book is fascinating and instructive, and not at all heavy on gore. A person assassinated by a hand grenade, for example, ifs shown without blood. Politicians of oath sides are depicted accurately and without attempts at personal caricature. Definitively a good choice for the age 10 and up, and would be a helpful primer to those who plan to read the full report. The forward by Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, he the Commission's Chair and Vice Chain, lends credibility to the volume. A winner and a real public service.
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Exciting idea, still needs some work

This is a brilliant idea, and I think more official reports should be handled in this forward-thinking manner if we are to ever get the average citizen (especially youth) interested in current affairs at all. Presenting information in a way that's not only easy to understand, but compelling and visually interesting is the very first challenge of design, and I think this book totally nails the concept. The artwork is also pretty good (not completely mesmerizing, but efficient and direct in its own right -- and, to be fair, having artwork that's too dramatic/experimental would probably go sailing over the precarious line they tread by presenting this information in comic form). Having said that, a serious complaint of mine is that the actual physical design of the book is very poor -- the cover artwork is extremely amateur and doesn't reflect at all the immense importance of the report or the fact that it's being presented in this incredibly unique way. This is very frustrating, as the book is struggling to be, and should be, taken seriously in its own right. The book could also stand to be about an inch to an inch and a half bigger on all sides; the artwork fairly often ends up trapped in the gutter (the area closest to the spine) and thus becomes completely unreadable. Again, an amateur mistake that detracts from the story that needs to be told. Hopefully in future editions, these problems will be corrected so that what is now a brilliant but flawed book can become a truly engaging and stimulating piece of historical literature that readers will be excited to keep in their libraries and share with others.
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Wake Up America

Unlike the original 9/11 report which was ponderous and difficult to read, the graphical adaptation is quite "friendly". It makes an otherwise predominantly unavailable set of facts and sequences of events very friendly to the Amreican public. I believe that every American, man, woman and child, must read this book. It shows our past, present and future vulnerability to the overwhelming threat of terrorism from both outside and inside our great land. This is a land full of power and glory. In order to preserve our freedom and liberty, which we, unfortunately take for granted, we must awaken the the facts of the 21st century. That is that there are people and organizations around this planet that are committed to our destruction. Only undestanding the motives and methods of these people do we stand a chance to stop them. We as citzens owe it to ourselves and to our future generations to adjust to the threat that is omnipresent from these terrorists. Nobody but the American people themselves can defeat this enemy. This graphic novel makes it obvious and easy to understand. Read it America for those who do not read are as bad off as those who can not read and in this case it is an obligation that we can not ignore.
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report on 911 report

This book is an excellent account of the happenings surrounding the events of Sept 11th. When I mention this book to others, I run into skepticism that a "comic book" can do any justice or give respect to that day, but this book does exactly that. I would never read the dry, no picture report put out by the commission, and feel this book is a "must read" for all.
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Fabulous interpretation!!

What a great format to learn and understand the events leading up to that tragic day! Genius!
1 people found this helpful

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