Death and Taxes

The Sons of Liberty #2

by Alexander Lagos, Joseph Lagos, Steve Walker (Illustrator)

Several years have passed since Graham and Brody escaped the bonds of slavery. Now, when the streets of Philadelphia erupt in violence, the two boys must will they use their extraordinary abilities to aid the growing rebellion or to quell it? An ambitious, thought-provoking, and visually stunning graphic novel, Death and Taxes offers an entirely new way to experience all the hope and heartbreak of America's early days.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Alternate History, Historical

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2011

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our heroes are free now interacting with the Sons of Liberty and other sorts. They still have their powers but are at odds. Artwork is above average to good.

It looks like the series was discontinued.

OVERALL GRADE: B minus.

[Epicman007 Lavonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a phenomenal book! The Lagos Brothers, Joseph and Alexander are creating iconic characters with these Sons of Liberty. It will be interesting to see what is going to happen next. One of the things that captivated me right away is the underlying theme of the series, how nothing is ever what it seems on the surface- this is truly a thinking person's graphic novel and needs to be read more than once to appreciate the depth of what is going on.

[Galileo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting for this book for a while and didn't know it was finally released. As soon as I heard it was out I picked it up at my local B&N and read it in one sitting.
I cannot express just how awesome this second volume is- the story is nothing short of brilliant and the art nothing short of stunning. This book takes you on a wonderful and frightening journey and ends leaving you desperately wanting more. Just when you think things are getting easier for Graham and Brody....BOOM...another big surprise. This second book is even more on-the-edge of your seat than book one and the action is very intense.
Now I'm really hooked and need to know what happens next!

Bring on book three!

[Graham Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume from the Lagos brothers. What a treat.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is number two in this series, please read # 1 first. These books sit somewhere between alternative history and historical fantasy. Brothers Brody and Graham, who work in Benjamin Franklin’s print shop, and are a sort of superheroes in pre-Revolutionary Philadelphia, are runaway slaves, who are most eager to help other blacks in need. This is fun! Borrowed from my local library.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a typical classic mashup/ historical fiction mashup, this book focuses more on culture and moral obligations. It has a dystopian feel to it and offers lots of action. Like the first in the series, the colors fit the mood and tone perfectly. I wonder if the author will continue with the series?

[Jennessa Embair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a amazing Graphic novel! I surprisingly liked this one better than the first, they were both great reads in their own ways, but I feel the second one let us get to know the characters more. It also helped that Brody and Graham are older which gives them more opportunities to be themselves and form their own personalities. Also the plot was even better! In Death and Taxes we got to see more history told than ever before and how the story progressed was had me hooked. I would love to read more in this series, especially after this ending, but sadly I believe that it'll never come as it was suppose to be released in 2012 and it's now 5 years later and nothing has been heard of it. I guess i'll just have to say it ended on a opening ending, which leaves me completely unsatisfied, but overall fantastic story.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I thought Death and Taxes was an improvement over the first book. The art was better, the story was better, easier to follow, and filled in a lot of gaps from the first book, and the overall tone of the book was more mature. There were still a lot of things that were skipped over, not fully explained, or just plain left out of the story. Biggest complaint (I think it would be my biggest complaint with the first book as well): the ending. Both books end in the middle/ right after a big action scene and leave you hanging. While the ending of the first book could have been considered an open-ended conclusion, the ending of Death and Taxes is definitely setting up for another book, although I'm not aware of a 3rd one ever being released. If you liked the first book, I would highly recommend picking this one up.

[JazzRJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Loving the mix of super heroes with history. Sometimes I think the changes in print size hinder the reading process for me but otherwise it's a fun read.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is cringe, what's the point of it all.

[READERS RETREAT · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining story I enjoyed it

[Maggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story begins in 1765, with the Stamp Act. The setting jumps from Windsor Castle, England, to Ben Franklin’s print shop and other locations in Philadelphia – the docks, an inn, a dungeon, a church, Ben Franklin’s house – and also Wessex, England, Burlington, NJ, the House of Commons in London, and British barracks outside Philadelphia. Historical characters include King George III, Crispus Attucks (in Philadelphia instead of Boston), Benjamin Franklin (in London), his son William (the governor in New Jersey), Benjamin Banneker, and several British lords. There is plenty of action, from rioting to beatings to shootings. False accusations fuel the violence.
Within this difficult to follow story are two runaway slaves – Graham (sometimes called Gray) and his brother Brody. They work in Ben Franklin’s print shop in Philadelphia. Whenever they try to save people from danger, the brothers gain temporary on-off-on super powers and identify themselves as Jitu and Wuk’a (confusingly, the names for their flute and knife). Governor William Franklin also accesses temporary super power in an electrical harness that he uses to transform a huge captive into a “new breed of knight” to defeat rioters. The governor has trapped Banneker and put him to work on extending the duration of the harness’s charge.
Meantime, Graham and Brody attempt to free their sister Isabel from slavery. Mostly loose ends remain at the conclusion of this dark, nearly colorless graphic novel, which leaves the two brothers separated and Isabel dead.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mini-Review

Death and Taxes is the second installment for the The Sons of Liberty dualogy. While I still love the story and wanted to find out what happened to Graham and Brody, there were elements missing that the first one had. The story can be a bit dull in places, and the main villain isn’t a scary as he is made out to be. The artwork is still nice, but at some points, it’s hard to figure out the difference between the characters. However, it’s a great story, and I did enjoy the unpredictable ending. I want to find out what becomes of the two main characters, and I would really love another addition to this story.

For more reviews, check out my blog at Cook's Reviews

[Charlos · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 - The promise of the first book is not delivered in this sequel. Artwork is so-so: the big example I am thinking of is burntfaced man who instead looks like he is doing a string cheese beauty mask, but facial expressions and body postures are awkward as well. Characters are also inconsistently and/or similarly drawn, at times making it so I didn't know who was in the panel. The story is jumpy and dull, ending at a place where the book would have been better off starting at, which makes the time I spent reading it unrewarding.

[Elijah Clavery · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the series of Sons and Liberty it still follows the story of the two slaves Brody and Graham who have escaped slavery and now live in Philadelphia and work as apprentice. When violence comes there way they have to make a decision to do what they do or to either mind there business. I like this book the Sons of Liberty because it adds action and History which combine to make a wonderful Historic Comic, it even follows starts off when slavery really began and now it talks about the time period that is going on now

[Krystl Louwagie · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, this graphic novel was pretty hard to follow if you don't remember a lot about the time period and struggles with Americans freeing themselves from the British, like me. :p If there wasn't a lot of important art made about it, I just don't really remember history that well when it's not in art history form. :p The plots that were easy to follow were typical and not that interesting. The first volume was better.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had some trouble telling people apart - the faces are consistent in close-ups, but lose definition in wider shots. The pages are generally read left page, then right page, as is normal, but switch to double-page-width panels, at least across the top, often enough to throw me off. There are no obvious clues to when a panel is extra-wide, either; the art and coloring are similar throughout, and nothing particularly draws the eye.

[Justin Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in this series. Is full of action and begins with the capture of two men on horses in mask and hoods with the triangle hats about to be fired at the front of an estate by British King Georges King Georges Royal Red Coat Army. The taxes are serve and the oil even more. Read on to find out.

[Camryn Geheb]

This book was kind of a boring book. It was about the Boston Tea Party and Slavery. Graham and Brody saved lots of people in this book from slavery to innocent people getting beat. This book would be a good book for historical fiction. Read the book and you will find some interesting facts about history.

[Jeremy Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still enjoyable. I'm constantly going to Wikipedia just to see if some of the characters existed...like Ben Franklin's son, who I knew nothing about. Very enjoyable story, can't wait to continue the tale.

[Paul Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 of a very creative series that combines superhero powers with the era of the American Revolution. Great way to use fictional fantasy-adventure & graphic novels to get kids interested in the real history of the time.

[sara frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

the story is meh and i can't stand the art. in one scene where two characters are kissing, they look like they're in physical pain instead of love.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only Early American History was taught like this in school! I might have paid better attention :]

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teen

[Tracey · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only thing worse than death and taxes is this book...

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting no less weird and yet still there are some very obvious plot lines. Still withholding judgement.

[Edmund Davis-Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun story.

Excellent artwork, looking forward to reading "The Sons of Liberty #1" now.

Great historical fiction, fast read.

A very solid graphic novel.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird mash up of fantastical super heroes and the American Revolution.

[Mathew Carruthers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story with good art. Not sure if there is a third volume available, but this one sure ended as if there is more story to tell. Worth a look.

[Parker Dumalski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need the next book.