When the Sept. 11 commission released its report in 2004, the public reaction was heartening. The book shot up the best-seller lists, a clear sign that the United States, generally considered an apathetic democracy, finally was interested in its own government, recent history and the world beyond its borders.

But poll numbers show many Americans think Saddam Hussein had strong links to al-Qaida and even believe the Iraqi dictator was directly involved in planning Sept. 11. So, best-seller or not, the report hasn’t been read by enough people.

All this makes Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon’s collaborative project, “The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation,” even more important.

Based on the Sept. 11 commission’s work, this graphic adaptation is not only a stunning document of contemporary history but also proof of the power of comics. Anyone who believes colored panels and word bubbles belong solely in newspaper funny pages needs only to look at this work to understand the remarkable potential of the medium. The author-illustrator team distills the commission’s 500-plus pages into a slim, lucid volume that in no way dumbs down or oversimplifies the findings.

The advantages of graphics are undeniable. In the original report, the commission traces the paths of the four planes used in the attacks. A powerful retelling conveys the attackers’ methodical execution of their plans and captures the country’s fear and confusion. Nonetheless, the separate narratives describing the trajectory of each flight make it difficult to see how they fall in relationship to one another.

Jacobson and Colon provide four concurrent time lines spanning 13 pages, offering a sense of perspective. It becomes clear, for example, that the hijacking of Flight 11 was reported before Flight 93 had taken off, and that the first plane hit the World Trade Center only four minutes after Flight 93 departed.

This version of the report depicts the inside of the World Trade Center in the midst of the attacks and succeeds beautifully in portraying the chaos and panic. These images lend the report a resonance that a lone narrative could not match.

But while the pictures will shake readers, the benefits of graphically presenting the “9/11 Report” extend beyond the emotional weight added by illustrations. Colon’s drawings are invaluable tools for comprehending the history leading up to the attacks. Readers can trace Osama bin Laden’s movements from Saudi Arabia to Sudan and Afghanistan, follow the flow of money from charities to terrorist groups and, in a terrifying moment of clarity, understand the breadth of al-Qaida’s global reach.

More than anything else, the book provides accessibility. Along with that comes a second chance for people to understand not just what happened on Sept. 11, but also why and how it happened. This isn’t a book to store on the shelves as a memento or collector’s piece. It needs to be read.

PH END TURAKHIA

(Vikas Turakhia wrote this article for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland. He can be contacted at books(at)plaind.com.)

AP-NY-09-01-06 1303EDT

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