Bridges: Engineering Masterpieces

Science Comics

by Dan Zettwoch

Suspend your disbelief with Science Comics: Bridges, a new volume of First Second's STEM graphic novel series!

Follow Bea, Archie, Trudy, and Spencer (otherwise known as the BATS!) as they crisscross the globe using every type of bridge: beam, arch, truss, and suspension. From ancient low-slung rope bridges to modern hi-tech towers of steel, they’ll traverse ‘em all. Their journey will take them through history and connect them with new ideas and different cultures. Along the way they'll identify the dangerous forces trying to bring bridges crashing down, and how to defeat them…through engineering!

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Childrens, Middle Grade, Engineering, Stem

128 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 2022

About the author

Dan Zettwoch is a cartoonist, information designer, and printmaker. In addition to many self-published zines and handcrafted mini-comics, his books include Birdseye Bristoe (Drawn & Quarterly), Amazing Facts & Beyond (Uncivilized Books), and Science Comics: Cars (First Second). His goofball illustrations and jam-packed diagrams have also been seen in the Missouri History Museum, the State Capitol, and in homemade screen prints commemorating local birds, baseball, and gross foods.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun survey of the different ways to build bridges by way of a global tour of famous bridges with a team of four fictional characters. It was nice to see that one of the team was an older woman who was not someone's mother or grandmother but just a person who likes bridges. I could have done with a few less puns, but I was interested in all the bridges and the information being presented.

I found it a bit ironic that a book about structures was often lacking in structure itself, with many pages having panels and info dump captions with no set viewing flow or reading order.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big architecture fan here, so no surprise that I really enjoyed Bridges. The book plays to its strengths: most pages feature a really neat bridge with some commentary about why it's neat. The quartet of bridge nerds are goofy, fun, and easy to root for - they also lay out some complex math in understandable ways.

Great read for any kid (or adult), but especially recommended to budding engineers.

[Benjamin]

How? Another Science Comics I picked up from the library, and the kiddo chose to read instead of the others (mostly animals).

What? Four bridge enthusiasts take a tour of the world to see the four different types of bridges: beam, arch, truss, suspension. Along the way they discuss building model bridges and the forces that affect bridges.

Yeah, so? I liked the tour of all these different bridges and also the history of bridge building, but... the pages themselves are often laid out in a hard-to-follow fashion, with the interplay of bridge facts, the team's narrative, and some sidebars. The presentation makes it a little hard to follow even the basic physics.

[Rose | Adventurous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly informative. Every term that is commonly discussed in my bridge design class was talked about for at least a little bit in this book. I was surprised by how in-depth some topics got, but it was quite good to see.
However, the art was a mess. It was super hard to follow due to so much *movement* and colors. There were dialogue boxes everywhere with random facts squeezed in wherever there was room. It was just too much.

3 Stars

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to me by my older kiddo as one of the best out of his fave series Science Comics.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text does a really good job of explaining the concepts, and I loved all the real-life example of bridges that demonstrate those concepts, mostly in two page spreads. I just didn't love the framing concept here. The BATS team feel like they're trying way too hard to be zany, and it's kind of weird that they're explaining the concepts behind bridge engineering to each other, bridges' biggest fans.

[Elijah H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I will be talking about is Science Comics Bridges by Dan Zettwach. The characters Bea, Archie, Trudy, Spence go around explaining how bridges are made . They talk about how long it took to build it and what parts there are . They have been friends for a long time and now best friends . They travel all around the world . All the characters are happy and willing to do anything that is fun .The message in the book is about you trying new things . I agree with what they are trying to say because if you don't try new things and get out of the house then what are you going to do in life? I think that it's a good bright color. It shows the emotions and happiness of the book. Also , it gives me a good feeling because it makes me feel like I'm in a positive spot . All the characters look like they are having fun all the time and I want that .







SPOILERS AHEAD



Right here I will give you a few spoilers. One of the bridges is called DeadLoad, and it is a bridge made out of rock, wood, concrete, steel, cables, rivets, decorative stone lions, etc. I really recommend this because it is really one of my favorites. It also is different from a lot of bridges made . Another bridge is called Live Loads. It can take up to 100,000 people a day. There is also a train station under it. When on this bridge it may feel like you are in New York City because of how busy it is. Another is Boom Loads. It is a straight route for trains. Also, it's common for it to keep breaking down and trains falling into the water. I would definitely recommend this book because it is fun because it gives you a recourse on how bridges are made. It can help with future careers.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first non-animal Science Comic was a good one! This time we've got four tour guides, members of a globe-hopping bridge appreciation club, showing us different bridges and how they work, and the group is diverse not just in race and gender but in a way I don't see often: age! There's punk-looking engineering student Bea who likes beam bridges, cozy-looking "teen archaeologist" Archy who likes arch bridges, much-older retired teacher Trudy who likes truss bridges, and younger (elementary- or middle school student) bridge-lover Spence who likes suspension bridges. The members of the B.A.T.S. club are a great way to help kids remember the B.A.T.S. types of bridges!

Sections broken down by bridge type introduce new concepts, like the different types of loads (dead, live, environmental) and forces (compression, tension, torsion, and shear). Most of the content comes in awesome two-page spreads that each feature a different bridge from around the world and across time, pointing out materials and construction strategies, and applying the concepts we just learned. As someone who learns best from examples, I loved this setup! Sometimes the panels were hard to follow, since the bridges spanning across a page spread disrupted the normal top-to-bottom flow you see in most comics, but frankly most of the word boxes and bubbles could stand on their own and be read in any order.

Back matter includes a double-page spread image showing key definitions and concepts, a traditional glossary and bibliography, and a quick suggestion of how to start your own bridge appreciation club.

[libreroaming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid offering from Science Comics about the science of bridges. The narrative guides this time are the BATS, standing for common bridge methods: Beam, Arch, Truss, and Suspension, and also the reference that they, like bats, hang around bridges. Each person gets to point out the effective measures of their chosen bridge type, and a wide range of examples are given: from the hand woven suspension bridge of the Inca, to the photographed Golden Gate, and the fairy bridge Xianteng in China.

The science portion focuses a lot on how compression and tension work to keep the bridge standing, suggesting kids try their own model bridge building, but doesn't delve too much into it. Another section that might have done with expansion was the section on very famous bridge failures, like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which became the catastrophy that taught engineers to calculate for wind resistance in any bridge, a term they reference but don't elaborate on.

In terms of the Science Comics collection I would put this more as a browsing graphic novel than a pure engineering one. The narrators are entertaining in their capacity as methods for conveying information, there are the usual groaner puns I always look forward to, and the art style works for the subject matter although it isn't as accessibly cartoony as "Trees" or "Dogs" for the artistically picky kids.

I received a free copy from Netgalley to review.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel education of bridges with 4 imaginary characters that explores the 4 basic types of bridges, the physics and loads that bridge engineers have to take into account, and highlights bridges from all over the world as examples while also showing how they work to hold their loads.

This newest volume in the Science Comics series does a great job explaining the basics of the science behind bridge building and how successful bridges distribute their loads. It just covers the basics of that science and doesn’t go into any complicated formulas or anything, but I felt like the explanation was sufficient for the target audience. There are some suggested activities presented that readers can easily do to experience the science firsthand. The information is presented in an engaging way, and the bridges highlighted were a diverse selection from all over the world. A great new addition to the Science Comics series that will be especially popular with future engineers and world travelers who can go hunt for the bridges in their upcoming adventures.

Notes on content [based on ARC]: No language issues. No sexual content. Some bridge failures are mentioned, but no fatalities described. (Death of a dog on one is briefly mentioned.)

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn't have picked this book up if I weren't a little bit curious about the topic, but I find myself now much more interested in bridges! That seems like a sign of a pretty excellent introduction to the topic. I really didn't know much about bridges before, and of course I still only know a little, but I enjoyed the taste of information that I got. The approach, teaching about bridges of similar types created around the world and throughout history, definitely added to the interest. I actually started thinking I'd like to go see some of these bridges, and certainly bridge-related tourism had not been on my horizons before. This isn't some dry tome about forces and loads, even though forces and loads are discussed. The characters, whose names relate to their favorite types of bridges, make each of those types more memorable.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve purchased most (if not all) of the Science Comics books for our juv nonfiction collection, but this was the first one I’ve actually read. I SO appreciate the growth of presenting nonfiction in the graphic format. Bridges has bright colors, characters who take readers through the scientific process, the history of bridges, beautiful constructions of bridges, and more. These are great for 8-11 year olds who always ask questions and have more curiosity than they can hold.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information, but tries a bit too hard with the wacky characters and frantic jumping around from place to place and through a bunch of information. There's no breathing room to take in the details, although I found the excitement contagious by the end. Very cool seeing all the example bridges. I would have liked more about the "build your own bridge" idea to encourage hands-on understanding of the information.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this! It was so clever, with so many engineering/bridge puns that made me smile, all integrated into the characters, their personality traits, and phrases! The characters feature different generations (an elementary schooler, teenager, college student, and retired teacher). It was also very educational, showcasing different bridges (measurements all in metric) around the world and explaining engineering concepts understandably. The comic style made it a lot of fun.

[Mitzi Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A STEM graphic novel series I have come to enjoy, as students gravitate to these informational texts because they are in graphic form. However, they are so. informational and applicable to life, they bring students into a world of learning unnoticeably. Love the inclusiveness in the graphics and found the vocabulary to be appropriate.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine. But a bit disappointing. This spent too much time being goofy and not enough time being informative. It didn't do an especially good job of explaining of why to use one bridge over another. It hinted about cost and materials. And sure it could have gotten lost in the physics and the material science. But instead it went too simple. And the framing device didn't help.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun way to learn about Bridges. From what they’re made of, how they’re made, and the different stresses they’re under, to the various types of bridges.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty neat idea taking engineering concepts and putting them in the form of a graphic novel.

[Erica Flory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much in an easy to understand format

[Mira Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, cute characters, awesome art, and science/engineering behind bridges.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book to learn about bridges with characters who travel all over the world to share why they love these engineering masterpieces. It made me want to visit some of the bridges they mentioned.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The science and engineering information in this graphic novel is excellent. It covers 4 types of bridges: beam, arch, truss, and suspension. The graphics are clear as well as the text to show how the different forces and engineering aspects all work together so that the bridges are successful (or not). There are 4 different characters throughout the graphic doing the explaining and they are diverse in gender, age, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. I found the antics and side chatter of the personalities to be distracting while some readers may find them humorous and/or interesting.
Give this to your STEM teachers and your science lovers.