Review: A House Divided and Gettysburg

Turning Points: A House Divided
Written by Marshall Poe, illustrated by Leland Purvis
Simon & Schuster/Aladdin Paperbacks
120 pgs, B&W, Digest, $8.99

Gettysburg: The Graphic Novel
By C.M. Butzer
Harper Collins
80 pgs, PC, SC, $9.99

A House Divided and Gettysburg are two recent graphic novels aimed at the YA market (the bread and butter of library sales) that deal either specifically or peripherally with President Abraham Lincoln. The differences in approach between the two is marked enough that considering them in one review seemed only appropriate.



A House Divided is one in a series of graphic novels called Turning Points that attempt to educate younger readers about pivotal moments in history by viewing that moment in history through the eyes of a character or characters near their own age group. Targeting this specific audience affords writer Marshall Poe and his artistic collaborator, Leland Purvis, creative advantages along with some obvious restrictions. Directing the narrative through the eyes of teens allow Poe to gloss over the philosophical nuances of many of the struggles he depicts. When such discrepancies with the socially-accepted historical record do occasionally surface, as does Lincoln’s often ambiguous record on slavery prior to assuming the Presidency, it is addressed in a passing panel that opens the door for deeper learning later on down the road without necessarily kicking the kid through it. Leland Purvis is an expressive cartoonist and his almost folksy style of caricature works well with the historical period. His layout strategies in a House Divided, though, seem to be fettered by a desire to keep the panel density of each individual page as low as possible. Given Purvis’ earlier success with expositional comics on Suspended in Language, this blanket of visual orthodoxy feels more like an editorial edict than a creative decision. While clarity is always an admirable goal, it dictates a stolid pacing to the book that drains it somewhat of its visual impact. As an educational tool, A House Divided is an effort splendidly solid in its craft and execution but it is also limited, by that success, in its efficacy as a work of comics.



Gettysburg, while also suitable as an educational tool for YA readers, take an entirely different and, I daresay, less cynical approach to the capabilities of its audience. Written and drawn by C.M. Butzer, Gettysburg draws on a wide range of sources (from historical to creative) to recreate the battles at Gettysburg, the movement towards the establishment of a national cemetery there, and the famous speech delivered by President Abraham Lincoln to close the consecration ceremony. Given only a little blue in his grey tones, Butzer’s deliberate panel compositions and lush inking create a rich visual tableau. He mixes in journal accounts and official reporting on pivotal events into the narrative without ever crowding the page, often expounding one a visual theme to great effect while allowing the sparse captioning to draw the eye gently away from its more horrific images (themselves often drawn directly from battlefield photos). One must also appreciate the economical way that Butzer identifies the key moments, gives them just the space they need to resonate and completes his tale in less than 100 pages. Information rich, visually challenging and, for the most part, ecumenical in its editorial approach, Gettysburg maybe be appropriate for YA readers but its potential to educate certainly does not end there.