The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell expresses the theme that change within the Constitution was needed for equality in the United States. The Constitution had become outdated. There were many important details missing in the Constitution. The Preamble was enacted for the citizens to understand what the job is for the people of America. Even with the creation of the Preamble, parts were missing. The job of our government was cut short. When the Constitution was first drafted, it excluded the African-American population and pertained to the white population exclusively. This exclusion of rights continued for decades. Finally, Amendments were added for relevancy in our more modern society. Although it had become more representative of today’s society, inequality still lingers within our country. Throughout the graphic novel, Hennessey and McConnell used detailed images, visual aspects within the images, and a specific order of events to enhance the theme. 

The detailed images are key for the interpretation of the theme. In the first panel, the two compasses were shown. The compass on the right is modern, while the compass to the left is outdated. The text stated, “...Reflect a wildly different moral universe than the one we live in today”(Hennessey and McConnell 203). Given the text and images, one can understand that the two different compasses represent the Constitutions obsoleteness in comparison to today’s society. The next panel includes African-Americans following behind father time, pushing towards a vault. The vault has a flag protruding out. The text mentions the fact that the Constitution only pertained to white folks. By looking at the panel, the African-Americans and father time moving forward expresses the idea that time is catching up with the Constitution. The flag that protrudes from the vault could potentially represent what the Constitution should truly be. Below the father time panel has the opening of the vault. Two former veterans hold the flag, as citizens put their hand across their chests. This is more self-explanatory compared to the other panels. The opening of the vault represents that change has occurred. The citizens in the panel are from all different ethnicities. They are showing respect and approval towards the change that has occurred. The citizens finally acquired equality and the rights that they wanted. 

The visual aspects of the panels help improve the detailed images. Both are important for the theme to be portrayed correctly. Throughout the graphic novel, Hennessey and McConnell used different visual aspects to bring about different ideas. In the first panel, they used a close-up shot on the two compasses. Hennessey and McConnell needed a close-up because there was no action within the panel. The father time and opening of the vault panels were both long shots at eye-level. It puts the viewers at a distance and at no angle so readers can get a full grasp of the main idea. In the father time panel, the foreground included the text. In the mid-ground, the images were presented. The background had the words, “Blessings of liberty for ourselves” in it. For the open vault panel, the foreground involves the text. Behind the text, in the mid-ground, the images are expressed. Lastly, in the background, the words, “and our Posterity” was shown. The last panel includes a close-up of two African-Americans hands in shackles.  All of the panels have different visual aspects to create more meaning within the images. 

The order in which events occur builds up the theme of the graphic novel. The graphic novel starts off with images of what the job of the national government is. The next page expresses the fact that improvements need to be made. The second page started with the two compasses, as expressed earlier. It showed the Constitutions outdated ways. By starting with this panel, viewers get a good idea of the meaning to the graphic novel. The next panel of father time lets the readers understand that time is catching up with the Constitution. The graphic novel goes from expressing the obsolescence of the Constitution, to time finally catching up. From those two panels the theme was truly created. The next panel conveyed how change has finally occurred. The significant change that happened to the Constitution was the addition of more amendments. The amendments gave more rights to the free people of the United States. The order by which the panels were put, built up the theme as a viewer read. 

This graphic novel appeals to most viewers because it represents our past. America wasn’t truly free until domestic change occurred. Through this graphic novel, viewers can understand that the U.S. was imperfect in the beginning. The theme of the graphic novel is easy to understand due to the three aspects explained above. The detailed images created by Hennessey and McConnell helped readers understand the theme more. The visual aspects within the images brought more meaning to the images, which improved the theme. With the use of certain characters, different shots, and angles, it became portrayed better. The order is important because the theme was continually building up. The panels went from the Constitution representing a different time period, to time catching up with it. Afterwards, representation became a reality. Without the three aspects explained above, the theme would be less accurately portrayed.  
