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 ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )