Review: Action Philosophers! vol. 1 by Van Lente & Dunlavey

by Chriss Cornish published: July 12, 2010 No Comments

This Book Is About

They thought it…we drew it! Action Philosophers details the lives and thoughts of history’s A-list brain trust in a hip and humorous fashion that proves that philosophy is not just the province of boring, twee-enveloped professors.

PLATO: Wrestling superstar of ancient Greect! NIETSCHE: The Ubermench! BODHIDHARMA: Grandmaster of Kung Fu! The inner contradictions of THOMAS JEFFERSON and AYN RAND! Hard-drinking, hard-loving ST. AUGUSTINE! Hit the couch with FREUD! Unlock the nconscious with CARL JUNG! Take the HEro’s Journey with JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Master of Mythology! They’re not just great thinkers – they make great comics!

My Thoughts On This Book

I was visiting a friend and he told me I had to read Action Philosophers because it was great and funny. He lent me his two volumes and he was right. I enjoyed them so much I had to go get all three volumes for myself.

Using humor and cartoon art, Lente and Ryan Dunlavey do a superb job of providing readers with:

an easy & fun to understand explanation of various philosophies
familiarity with the history of each philosopher and the knowledge of what motivates their philosophy.

Sometimes the Action Philosopher isn’t someone you ever thought of as a philosopher. Like Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand, or Karl Marx. For others, you realize that what you thought you knew about them was wrong. Action Philosopher #1, Plato, is an example of the latter.

You may have heard of Plato, but I bet you didn’t know he was a professional wrestler who changed careers to philosophy when he couldn’t qualify for the Olympics (“Plato’s mighty heart breaking”). In fact, ‘plato’ is Greek for ‘broad’, which Plato used as his wrestling ‘stage name’ because he was so proud of his wide shoulders. Not exactly the skinny old guy in a toga I always pictured when I thought of Plato. So, in Action Philosophers he wears a luchador mask (as worn by Mexican wrestlers) and shouts, “Plato smash!”

Volume 1 is my favorite book in the Action Philosophers graphic novel series released by Evil Twin. It’s my favorite of the books because of it’s coverage of Plato, Bodhidharma, Carl Jung, and Joseph Campbell; I like the comics for those four Action Philosophers the most out of all the ones covered in the series.

Giant-size Thing Volume 1 collects the first three, sold-out issues of the Action Philosophers comic. The first six comics of this series were made possible with a grant from the Xeric Foundation.

The nine Action Philosophers that appear in volume 1 are, in order of appearance:

Plato (Ancient Greek Philosopher, former wrestler)
Bodhidharma (Creator of Kung Fu and A Wandering Indian Monk)
Thomas Jefferson (An American Founding Father and Slave Owner)
Saint Augustine (A Christian Saint Who’s Writings Are a Cornerstone of Much Church Dogma)
Ayn Rand (Russian-American Novelist and Playwright)
Sigmund Freud (One of the Founders of Modern Psychology)
Carl Jung (One of the Founders of Modern Psychology)
Joseph Campbell (Anthropologist and Myth Researcher)

Shadetastic or Blank-city: How Well Was This Black&White Comic Colored

Ryan Dunlavey’s inking for Action Philosophers is good. The cartoon style and inks keep all of the items and figures identifiable and the action is easy to follow.

Printing Issues

There are some printing issues I’ve found with several copies in the third print run of volume 1, particularly in the St. Augustine section. So make sure to flip through and check the copy of the book that you want for any line bluring or printing smudge (especially on pages 34, 36, 42 & 43). Later editions/printings may not have this plate issue, but it’s always a good idea to check your comics and graphic novels for printing errors before purchase.