I usually don't like 9-11 themed books and other media because I'm not a big fan of all the uncritical and thoughtless flag-waving and Islamophobia that's become the dominant reaction among Americans to that terrible event, but I decided to pick this volume and the second up when I came across them at a local used book store because I like many of the contributors to the two collections, and I was pleasantly surpriesed by what I found.
You see, the victims of the 9-11 attacks were really killed twice. First, they lost their lives in the attacks, then the memories of them were defiled as the right wing used the terror to advance its agenda. I'd forgotten that there were actual people who died on that day.
This collection presents a variety of views. I particularly liked the pieces "Zero Degrees of Separation" by Randy Stradley and Dave Gibbons, "prayer" by John Muth, and "Which one is real?" by Bob Harris and Gregory Ruth. That last piece, more than any, examines the ambiguity that emerges when one looks at the United States critically and carefully.
For enjoyment and fun, I liked the story "He Walks on Air" by David Chelsea. It's a two page strip about Phillipe Petit, the French performer who walked and danced on a tightrope between the tops of the towers in 1974, and his promise that if they're rebuilt, he'll do it again.
You see, the victims of the 9-11 attacks were really killed twice. First, they lost their lives in the attacks, then the memories of them were defiled as the right wing used the terror to advance its agenda. I'd forgotten that there were actual people who died on that day.
This collection presents a variety of views. I particularly liked the pieces "Zero Degrees of Separation" by Randy Stradley and Dave Gibbons, "prayer" by John Muth, and "Which one is real?" by Bob Harris and Gregory Ruth. That last piece, more than any, examines the ambiguity that emerges when one looks at the United States critically and carefully.
For enjoyment and fun, I liked the story "He Walks on Air" by David Chelsea. It's a two page strip about Phillipe Petit, the French performer who walked and danced on a tightrope between the tops of the towers in 1974, and his promise that if they're rebuilt, he'll do it again.
