The story of the fall of the Aztec empire is a compelling human drama that has all to often been oversimplified into a story of perceived technological or cultural advantage. For centuries, Western historians downplayed the sophistication of the empire, emphasizing instead the alleged inherent superiority of Western culture. Paul Guinan, David Hahn, and Anina Bennett are upending these narratives with a compelling new retelling of the events surrounding the fall of the empire in a digital graphic novel named Aztec Empire.
The choice of medium may surprise some, but Matt Smith, Vice President of the Comic Studies Society and professor at Radford University, notes that “for anyone who thinks that comics are limited to caped crime fighters from Metropolis, or tempestuous teenagers from Riverdale, there’s a whole world of comics storytelling to discover.” Smith says that “Aztec Empire is one in a long list of comics that allows us to re-imagine our history through this story telling medium and to do so with visual flair.”
The flair behind Guinan, Hahn, and Bennett’s Aztec Empire is attracting attention! Earlier this year, the graphic novel was nominated for an Eisner Award for best digital comic of 2019. Nominees for the Eisner awards are chosen each year by a panel of judges seeking to celebrate “the wide range of material being published in the U.S. today.”
Part of what makes Aztec Empire so compelling is the series’ intense interest in accuracy; it’s not every comic book that ends with a list of references and research notes. Guinan noted that “the events we’re covering have been heavily mythologized over the centuries, to the point where most people believe that a handful of conquistadors overthrew an empire of millions.” Aztec Empire uses “documentation to battle the myths surrounding this epic.”
Jared Diamond’s popular book Guns, Germs, and Steel, for example, essentialized the outcome of this clash of cultures down to a simple matter of technological differences. Anthropologists and archaeologists have long noted that Diamond’s narrative overlooked the important roles played by indigenous actors during the conquest, both in support of the Spanish as well as in resisting their advances. Aztec Empire centers indigenous agency, regularly fronting the ways in which the people living in and around the empire acted and reacted to the invasion of their homeland.
Guinan says that “this epic is much more than just an example of technological or biological advantage—it’s much more interesting than that, more nuanced, and almost literally incredible.” In order to tell this story effectively “we have to show the personalities involved and the complexities of the political dynamics that caused the fall of the Aztec.”
The obsessive interest in accuracy behind Aztec Empire includes more than just the actors and the complex roles they played. Guinan has carried out detailed research on the various 16th century sources that survive from both European and indigenous authors to ensure that everything from military weaponry to dress and hair styles are accurately depicted.
Even the moment noted by chronicler Bernal Diaz where the famous Hernan Cortez lost a shoe during a battle with Maya forces makes its way into Aztec Empire.
With just the first four chapters of the saga published on Guinan and Bennett’s website, the series is estimated to be only 10% complete. For Guinan, this project arose out of his “love of history and science fiction, because it’s a ‘first contact’ story. When Spanish expeditions met the Aztec Empire, it was like a meeting between people from two different planets.”
Voting for the Eisner awards finishes on June 14th, with voting open to comics industry professionals and educators. Winners will be announced in an award ceremony on July 19th.
Regardless of the results, as a graphic novel Aztec Empire has opened a remarkable window onto the past. “Skilled cartoonists,” Smith says, “can re-create the past (or imagine a future) that transports audiences across space and time. ‘Aztec Empire’ recreates a world that audiences may never before have been able to visualize in quite the same way. Could a filmmaker do that too? Sure, but at the cost of several million dollars and the help of scores of production people. Comics are wonderfully elegant at achieving a visualization of history that doesn’t need a financier to help realize.”
