What's the book? Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays edited by Brendan Burford.
What's it about? Like the title says, it's a collection of short comic-book-style essays written and drawn by various artists including Nate Powell, Alec Longstreth, and Sarah Glidden. Topics include how to bale hay, subway graffiti art, the torture of suspected terrorists, and the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard.
What's the art look like? Well, every story is very different. Here's a bit from Longstreth's Dvorak piece, which is my favorite in the book:
You can also find the whole Dvorak comic here. It's free.
Do you recommend it? Yes. I've long hoped for NPR to do a This American Life comic book. Comics have been underutilized as a medium for non-fiction, and this is a good anthology to get people excited about the idea of non-fiction comics. But it's not perfect: Not enough of the pieces are compelling enough to make the book a must-read. I hope the next volume—if there is one—will be more urgent than this one.
