cover image Pacific Bound: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark

Pacific Bound: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark

Lauri Olsen, , . . Gossamer, $15.95 (44pp) ISBN 978-0-9742502-5-0

Although short in page count, this educational graphic novel is quite wordy. On top of that, its tone is flat: events just skip along, presented as being equally important regardless of their significance. Lewis and Clark's voyage quickly becomes a blur, and the suspense, for example, of a traveler facing down a rattlesnake feels as exciting as rebuilding a ship's mast. The art is colorful and clear, but takes second place to the expositional dialogue. Olsen attempts to humanize history with a fictional stable-boy narrator, but the various characters all sound the same, talking as though they're being interviewed for a documentary. It's hard to keep track of the time line, with gaps between panels symbolizing days, weeks or even months, and narrative captions driving the inconsistent pacing. The authors' impulse to make learning fun is admirable, but the entertainment value has been sacrificed for the educational. (May)