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R. Sikoryak is the master of the pop culture pastiche. In 'Masterpiece Comics', he interpreted classic literature with defining twentieth-century comics. With 'Terms and Conditions', he made the unreadable contract that everyone signs, and no one reads, readable. He employs his magic yet again to investigate the very framework of the country with 'Constitution Illustrated'. By visually interpreting the complete text of the supreme law of the land with more than a century of American pop culture icons, Sikoryak distills the very essence of the government legalese from the abstract to the tangible, the historical to the contemporary. Among Sikoryak s spot-on unions of government articles and amendments with famous comic-book characters: the Eighteenth Amendment that instituted prohibition is articulated with Homer Simpson running from Chief Wiggum; the Fourteenth Amendment that solidifies citizenship to all people born and naturalized in the United States is personified by Ms. Marvel; and, of course, the Nineteenth Amendment offering women the right to vote is a glorious depiction of Wonder Woman breaking free from her chains. American artists from George Herriman (Krazy Kat) and Charles Schulz (Peanuts) to Raina Telgemeier (Sisters) and Alison Bechdel (Dykes to Watch Out For) are homaged, with their characters reimagined in historical costumes and situations. We the People has never been more apt.… (more)
User reviews
Each page becomes a guessing game of recognizing characters and classic comic book covers (with a sort of answer key in the back). I counted up more than 300 recognizable characters from the offensive Yellow Kid to the diverse cast of Lumberjanes. The cast of Dykes to Watch Out For shares a spread with that of Adventure Time. The Far Side is paid tribute across from a sampling of Adrian Tomine. Barbie and Linda Barry's Marlys are contrasted. All the characters are illustrated in garb appropriate for the 1780s.
Sikoryak does a damn good job of capturing all the different art styles, though it's not really specified if he is doing it freehand or by tracing or digitally manipulating the originals. Looks good regardless.
Every citizen of the United States should, in there lifetime, read the Constitution.