After 9/11: America's War on Terror

by Sid Jacobson, Ernie Colón

Having made The 9/11 Commission Report understandable for everyone, the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel team of Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón use all their considerable talents to explain the post-9/11 world. Working from news reports drawn from multiple international media, Jacobson and Colón depict the critical events, decision makers, and consequences of America's "war on terror," and, most important, the context in which the war began, unfolded, and unraveled. The most demanding story they have ever tackled, After 9/11 is also the most tailor-made for their medium, capturing simultaneous events, geographic complexity, numerous participants, and a vast array of economic, statistical, and quantitative information―compellingly told through the sequential panel art narrative form unique to graphic books. Proving yet again that graphic novels best meet the challenge of giving the most information with the least amount of ink, Jacobson and Colón answer with clarity and unforgettable imagery the question: How the hell did we end up where we are?

Genres: Graphic Novels, History, Nonfiction, Comics, Politics

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2008

Reviews

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this piece of work. I strongly admired the authors attempts to objectively and factually present their case through factoids and quotes. One didn't get a sense of any particularly agenda being pushed other than to highlight tragedy (which I suppose is an agenda but I mean the book wasn't politically charged despite being political in content) The artwork was adequate but strangely inconsistent. Modified photographic imagery was used at times which may have had some significance but I felt like it was just at some parts of the book the artists decided to use the technique and some parts didn't.

In hindsight the piece is a little frustrating because the 'after' of 9/11 of course spans even longer than the book can cover, but overall the work is a solid effort of compiling the aftermath of this massive tragedy.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sequel (to the authors' graphic adaptation of The 9/11 Report) better than the work that preceded it; in this the presentation is more blunt in pointing out the lies and mistakes of the people who decided to invade Iraq and have mismanaged both that war and the war in Afghanistan, naming names and giving details of what they've done wrong and who pointed it out before they did or as they were doing it.
Again, they do a better job than I would have thought possible of taking an appropriately serious and respectful tone with this subject and of presenting an encyclopedic mass of data that can be pretty dry, in a comic-book format. For anyone who wonders whether comic books can be serious literature, these books, together with works like Maus I and II by Siegelman, answer the question in the affirmative.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told n a very straightforward way, the authors detail the Iraq and Afghanistan wars through mid-2008. I remember much of the headlines and also some details from reading Woodward’s books on the Bush wars. I liked how they also dropped in references to other events that were completely disconnected to help place things in time. It is amazing how effective this was in tapping into my memory. I did struggle with the layout of the text on each page. I wasn’t always sure where to go next and found I had to jump back sometimes to read things in order. I was paying attention to this and still never figure out what their convention was. Biggest takeaway from reading this was the sheer loss of life involved in these wars. It is on clear and succinct display in this book.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Important story, but this book doesn't seem to grasp the storytelling possibilities of the comic form. Far too much text (that's ALL centered, ugh!, design 101 people), far too much irrelevant text, and what amounts to a not-so-interestingly illustrated summary of newspaper headlines. The stories of Afghanistan, of Iraq, and of the U.S. during this time are so jumbled together as to lose coherency. Small errors: countries' flags, confusing typos, and strange layout choices take away the ease of reading and the vestige of credibility. Good intent, but a swing and a miss.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much info packed into each page. I still feel going with the graphic format made it more interesting to go through each decision and each step of the news reporting from 9/11 thru 2008. Can only retain a fraction of all that data though. Good to review some of what happened and who the political players were. Many are still in politics and some have changed what they say on the subject of 9/11. Interesting Chuck Hagel, Sec of Defense for a short time was against the invasion of Iraq.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comic book journalism is rare, and most of the stuff that poses as comic book journalism is more comic book editorializing. After 9/11 does offer some subtle digs and I can't help but notice that Bush has a smug smile drawn on his face every time he's saying something that turns out to be wrong or a complete lie, but overall, the book is fairly straight-forward, recounting facts, establishing background about Iraq's ethnic conflicts and explaining fairly clearly the sequence of events that led to America's invasion of Iraq and the clusterfuck that's become of that situation. They also talk about Afghanistan, though not as much once the Iraq war begins, and examine home front political maneuvers.

The book is a little dry, however, often just running through facts quickly, and some names are thrown around a little too casually. The facts work, but the presentation isn't as engaging as one might expect from two old pros like Jacobson and Colon.

[AGMaynard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recounts events, in graphic novel format, of the events leading up to the Iraq invasion of 2003 and the quagmire that followed. We're still heavily involved in the region in 2018. America learned none of the lessons of the Soviets in Afghanistan. Costliest and longest war involvment, ever. Recommended.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Graphic novel format is not my favorite format to read in. My brain just doesn't work that way. However, it is a powerful way to convey information, especially information of this type that can easily be just numbers and places and names. If you want to get a general overview of the Afghan/Iraq wars and you enjoy the style of graphic novels, I would recommend this book.

[Mickey Bits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very matter of fact and chronological. It's a bit tedious at times but a good deconstruction of the events of the tragic day. Useful especially for young folks who weren't alive yet then.

I wonder if they will release an updated edition now that the troops have come home from Afghanistan.

[Jacob Efron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book After 9/11 was a good book

[Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

After 9/11 America’s War on Terror (2001- )
By Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón
This graphic novelization of the events after September 11, 2001 goes over the history that we have seen from headlines and sound-bites, as well as a few things that happened without media fanfare. This book begins with a non-biased sound, but by the time the reader is halfway through there is a feeling on the reader’s part that the authors hold some definite opinions. The best part about this book, however, is the few times the authors divert into background information- such as explaining the various different ethnicities that make up the country of Iraq, or providing a map of the Middle-East that breaks the countries down by percentage of Sunni, Shite, or non-Sunni Muslims.
Major Characters:
Because this is a non-fiction work, and is about a time in recent history, the cast of characters is the same well-known names that the news media introduced us to, and there is no way that any definite assumptions can be made about any of their motivations.
Key Issues:
Terrorism, violence, war, ‘collateral damage’, foreign relations.

[Guadalupe R · Rating 3 out of 5]

After 9/11 America's war on terror by Sib Jacobson and Ernie Colon is a great book. I am a person who like books that deal with war issues. And I am always up for reading a book that has to do with the World Trade Center terrorist attack. This book was a graphic book which made me want to read it more. Not only was I able to picture the difficulties American troops were facing in my head now I was able to visualize in more efficient way.

This book is very descriptive. It has numerous dates of different attacks. The great thing about this book is the author tried to be as specific as possible. This book teaches about how the war started and the struggles the United States faced. People who are interested in reading about the Afghanistan war this is your book. The purpose of this book was for people to understand what the government is going trough.

This book had too much detail which was difficult to understand every one of them. It did have many dates which was a good thing in my perspective. Overall it was a respectable book to read.

[Yvonne Powderly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel explains the post- 9/11 world. The novel shows all the critical events, major characters, the contexts and consequences of the “war on terror.” Reading and seeing the graphic depiction of this complex information makes for easier understanding than simple prose. The major characters are so well drawn and make recognition in print and visual media a snap. This book definitely eases the understanding of the chronology and interconnectedness of the events while keeping the reader interested with compelling art. For those interested in history and the history students who just want a recap on what happened when and by whom, this is a great resource.

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book proved to me the idea of our generation knowing WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION about wars. The statistics were informative in the book and they obviously did a lot of research. I am just one to believe we shouldn't know everything that goes on, war is horribly sad and outlining day by day deaths is just too much for me. I would rather people support our country and soldiers no matter if they support the war or not. Those are people's family members over there. Providing the Middle East with rights is something I do believe in, I wish it hasn't taken us 10 years, but I still believe in the attempt to provide for others rights that we so ungratefully are spoiled with in our country.

[Mike Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. The Graphical Adaptation of the 9/11 Report was an interesting and informative retelling of the events chronicles in the official 9/11 report. This book is simply a biased criticism of the Bush Administration. Many of their criticisms are valid, but most of the information here is better presented in books like Ron Suskind's One Percent Doctrine. Moreover, because of the biased nature of the information presented here, the book loses the flavor of "readable formatting of difficult data" that made their first book such a gem.

[Johnny Chrysogelos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel explains the post- 9/11 us world. The novel shows all the events, major characters who's words had an outcome on the united states, also the consequences of the “war on terror.” Reading and seeing the images really helped me understand more of all this detailed information making it more of an enjoyable read. i thought at times it was hard to take in all the information and follow the reading due to the factor of being so detail and complex. would recommend this book to anyone interest on "war on terror".

[Gregpugh-x · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 9/11 : America's War on terror (2001-) is an informative and interesting graphic novel about the important and costly war on terror by Sid Jacobson. The book explains the times leading up to the invasion of Iraqand also tells about how the war in Afghanistan multiple times seemed almost won. You would like this book if you like historical books that aren't biased and tell the trut

[Jill Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars.

I got more from the 9/11 report and the Anne Frank graphic novel. I would pull parts of this for lessons.

Maybe it was the topic...I skimmed about 1/3 of the book. It was tough reading about the deaths every day.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As easy to understand layout of the events following 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really tough to read. Filled with depressing, depressing facts.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic adaptation book that begins where their previous graphic book The 9/11 Report leaves off.

Again, a very easy read and very well done.

[Cecelia]

Not the best, the illustrations are attrocious and its extremly laborious. good chronicle of hisotry though.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly frightening reminder of what we lived through.

[Alberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo que se ha llamado periodismo gráfico. Un resumen de la guerra de Irak post 11-S

[Robin Gane-McCalla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a good job of describing relevant events that occurred after 9/11 but it's fairly repetitive and most of the illustrations do little to further the narrative.

[Susan Haines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as their 911 Commission Report, this one reads more as a clinical timeline with depressing reports of casualties and incompetent, criminal US leaders. Tragic waste of lives and money.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

a comic book on the war on terror? hell yeah