Author, Fred Van Lente and illustrator, Ryan Dunlavey’s Action Presidents are condensed illustrated biographies of four major presidents. Informative, with some very bad humor (bad quality, not crass), Van Lente shows the triumphs and failures of Washington, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and JFK, and to an extent the American experiment. Van Lente connects how each president helped to shape the myth of American democracy. In fact, Van Lente get so detailed in transcribing the presidents’ lives with accompanying historical context, it can be confusing as its clear the author was trying to fit as much as he could in 120 pages. Dunlavey’s accompanying cartoony illustrations will keep readers’ attention engaged. Curiously, only TR and JFK’s books are colorized while Lincoln and Washington are in black and white.

Perfect for the Fourth of July if parents want kids to learn and reflect on the ideals of fairness, honesty, hard work and protecting the most vulnerable searching for freedom.

For the more mature graphic novel reader, try Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. I’ve expounded on this series before. Hale is able to condense complex moments, and underrated tales from history into understandable action-adventure tales. More gory, more detailed, and always entertaining.