9/11 aftermath inspires comic book writers.

• Position: SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS - After 9/11

* Media pundits often bemoan the declining public interest in news about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But what if the wars were written up as a comic book?

The creators of a popular comic book that depicted the events leading up to 9/11 have followed it up with a sequel that is seeking to explain how that tragedy led to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Authors Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon are publishing a graphic narrative titled, "After 9/11."

"We wrote this basically to clarify what was going on in this war," Jacobson, a former editor at Harvey and Marvel Comics said. "We felt that this graphic medium could help people better understand what's going on."

The first book was gleaned from the pages of the 9/11 Commission Report, and has sold more than 1.5 million copies since 2007.

Drawing from articles found in the The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, the authors are now recounting the events after 9/11.

The graphic narrative begins as the hijacked airplanes hit the World Trade Center. The authors then focused on events that led up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The timeline was Sifts idea," said Colon, former graphic artist for Harvey, Marvel and DC Comics. It "makes the story so clean."

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The narrative covers events chronologically ranging from the failed search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison, and the hanging of Saddam Hussein.

Setting up the narrative in a chronological fashion helps readers gain a clearer understanding of what...