The United States Constitution

While the U.S. Constitution's primary value is as a document, it is also a historical artifact that embodies the fascinating story of its own creation. In this version, Baer and Lueth (who coauthor the online graphic novel Impure Blood) generously cover both aspects, and the core text (the first ten amendments are noted but the text is not provided) is intercut with the drama of a Constitutional Congress that actually drafted an innovative work despite personal prejudices, turf wars, the divisive slavery issue, and the searing heat of a 1780s Philadelphia summer. In a triumph of character design, Lueth has created distinct, memorable images for each of the many delegates who hacked through their Gordian knots as the summer dragged on. Hill & Wang's lengthier book of the same name includes all amendments and more background, but this volume dramatizes the compelling soap opera of egos that, against considerable odds, managed to create the imperfect yet sorely needed document that has endured for more than two centuries.