9/11 Report Graphic Novel Hits Bookstores in August

Posted on July 29, 2006

Next month a graphic novel based on the 9-11 Report from the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks will be released. The print version of the report was a bestseller and a National Book Award finalist in 2004. The graphic novel named The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation was created by industry veterans Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. Jacobsen created the Richie Rich comics and Colon drew both Richie Rich and Casper. Jacobsen and Colon have also both served as editors for comic book publishers.

The Washington Post notes that the graphic novel says it includes comic captions, drawings and onomatopoetic words like "Whooom!" and "R-rrumble." It is 150 pages long, which is 450 page shorter than the official federal report on the 9-11 terroristic attacks.

The article says two members of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, wrote a foreword to the book. The comic book has also received a favorable review from comic book legend Stan Lee.

Stan Lee says of the comic book, "Never before have I seen a non-fiction 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."

However, not everyone is excited about the idea of the 9/11 Commission Report being published in the form of a graphic novel. The Washington Post recently published an editorial by an American Airlines captain called Wrong Topic for a Comic Book.

The new graphic novel can be found here on Amazon.com. While this is the first graphic novel based on the 9-11 Commission Report it is actually not the first graphic novel about the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. There was also a two-part series of graphic novels about 9-11 featuring stories by comic book artists and writers called 9-11: Artists Respond, Volume 1 and 9-11: September 11, 2001 (Stories to Remember, Volume 2) that were released in 2002.