Review by Ian Keogh
The Constitution of the United States of America as devised in 1789 is much shorter than most people realise, a mere seven articles as originally written to express the reach and constraints of government. Even with the ten amendments forming the Bill of Rights added and seventeen further amendments it’s still relatively slim reading, so much so that R. Sikoryak can cover everything in 112 pages.
Sikoryak can safely be designated as one of the more intellectual creators of graphic novels, his previous works including brief adaptations of literary works cast with newspaper strip characters. That’s not far removed from the approach he takes with Constitution Illustrated. He uses the unabridged text as originally written, but reformats the dry explanations with illustrations cleverly referencing superhero comics and newspaper strips, but having the characters dressed in the clothes of the 1790s. Considerable artistic mimicry is required to illustrate both 1930s knockabout comedy duo Mutt and Jeff as per the sample page, and also to begin with the 18th century equivalents of the Flash and Superman racing against each other, then deliver the Hellboy cast in the style of Mike Mignola. It would seem Sikoryak is more familiar with mainstream comics than previously might have been imagined, as he’s frequently able to match an appropriate superhero image to a constitutional article. Uncle Scrooge accompanies the section on raising taxes, the cover of the first G.I. Joe comic illustrates the well regulated militia, while Luke Cage pulling a chain apart represents the end of slavery.
In an era where text phrasing intrudes ever more on conventional spellings Sikoryak’s uncompromising choice of the original constitution text with its archaic spellings now seems relevant again. In fact just seeing the text sparks the realisation that there was so much that couldn’t be foreseen two centuries ago, and how progress means what was once watertight and clear is now in places open to interpretation.
It’s the wonder of the art, though, that leaves the lasting impression, with Sikoryak supplying a shuffled history of comics (and some animation) from newspaper strips to the modern era. If it weren’t for Sikoryak crediting all his visual sources at the end it would take a historian to reveal them all, and that’s as educational as reading the Constitution. It’s often referred to, but how many of us have ever read it? Now there’s no excuse.
