Brett Baier,, a news anchor for Fox News, has followed the lead of several other political pundits in writing books about history 
for kids. This is the first title in a series of graphic novels, featuring four time-traveling kids who go back to repair the damage done to history by a mysterious villain.
The middle school students are Thomas, a white boy with an absent single mother, Cam, a biracial girl with Latina roots and a warm heart, Zack, a Black boy who strives for academic perfection, and Becca, a white girl who’s a star athlete with a mom who pushes her to focus on her sports commitments.
Although the story opens with the four frantically trying to set things right at a Cape Canaveral launch in 1961, it quickly jumps back to feature them in a history competition against snobby Hancock Academy. The ill-matched group comes in a close second and is debating their future when a mysterious figure from the future appears and enlists them in the effort to battle a villain who is messing with time.
Their main mission in this book is to deal with History Twister’s interference in the duel between Hamilton and Burr. Under his influence, Hamilton appears to have killed Burr and history is, well, twisted. Despite their doubts, the four head back in time and try to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, there are a lot of problems they have to face, from the dissension within their team to their own feelings for and about Alexander Hamilton, which makes it difficult for them to basically assure his death. After a difficult adventure, the four are closer than ever before—and Thomas has a supportive, present group of friends when his mom is absent, again. The four also have a chance for a rematch against Hancock Academy, but there are hints that this may not be the last time they see them mixed up in history…
The art is brisk and competent, showing lots of action, historical garb, and a limited range of emotions dealt with by the kids in their unusual situation. The historical settings feature mostly browns and natural greens with brighter colors in the contemporary settings. The heroes and villains from the future have a somewhat stereotypical superhero/villain look with form-fitting suits, masks, and technological gadgets.
The general feeling of the book was that the creators made an effort to be historically accurate, but it’s inconsistent throughout the book and doesn’t give a real feel of the time or place. Zack is vocally concerned about traveling back in time, as a Black person, but other than a few efforts to stay out of sight the issue has no effect on the story or characters. Cam, other than a vague statement in support of Zack appears to have no qualms about showing up in the past with brown skin only a few shades lighter than Zack and natural, curly hair. Becca dresses in male clothing, but keeps her name, and Thomas retains his modern glasses. There’s a significant amount of set-up for the story that needs to be packed into 126 pages, but there are a lot of unexplained points that weaken the story.
Despite the drawbacks, the story is brisk and exciting and some effort towards diversity and accuracy has been made, even if it’s not completely successful. Kids who are eager for history-based graphic novels will probably be willing to read this, but there are better options available including Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, History Comics from First Second, and Matt Loux’s Time Museum, which should be prioritized for purchase over this series.
The History Club: Duel Across Time, Vol. 1
By Bret Baier
Art by Marvin Sianipar
Simon & Schuster Aladdin, 2024
ISBN: 9781534485594
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
