Tomasi, author of hundreds of comic books and a lifelong New Yorker, and debut graphic-novel illustrator DuVall tell the true story of the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge, an incredible feat that required the superheroic efforts of many. In 1852, young Washington Roebling sketches a bridge over the East River while he and his father, steel wire magnate John Roebling, cross by ferry an East River full of ice floes. As Washington earns an engineering degree and recognition for his innovation and bravery in the Civil War, father and son's shared dream does not diminish. The decades-long process of connecting New York and Brooklyn with the largest suspension bridge yet seen will long outlast John and nearly destroy Washington, too, and would never have been completed without Washington's wife, Emily. DuVall's bright and crisp superhero-style comics artwork easily distinguishes among the characters and perfectly matches Tomasi's impressive text, which balances action and emotion well. Together, they make sense of the complicated work of nineteenth-century bridge-building and concurrent, behind-the-scenes political and boardroom antics.

Told by prolific superhero scribe Tomasi (Superman: Rebirth) with charmingly understated art by the Eisner-nominated Duvall (Déjá Brew), this historical graphic narrative presents dramatic events in a matter-of-fact, realistic way. The gifted, if self-effacing, young engineer Washington Roebling returns home from the Civil War to join his father, himself an eminent civil engineer, John Roebling, in overseeing the design and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. John dies before building actually gets underway, forcing an inexperienced Washington to step out from his father-s shadow and take over as chief engineer of the longest suspension bridge in the world. He contends with the machinations of crooked political appointees and often lethal on-site accidents. This conventional narrative shifts when Washington is confined to his home due to complications from a near-fatal case of caisson disease (better known today as the bends), and his wife Emily must serve as his eyes, ears, and voice out in the world. Rather than being a story of a singular genius overcoming adversity, the book is a paean to collaboration. Iconic structures often have fascinating stories behind them, but rarely do the tellings emphasize the human as this one does. Agent: Charlie Olson, InkWell Management. (Apr.)