Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
HE'S ELECTRIC, HE'S GOT A COMIC BOOK FULL OF ECCENTRICS, June 2, 2006
The slug line is both simple and complex. Simple because it's a pretty straightforward story, complex because you can't be a dimwit or you'll have no idea what it's on about. You see, at the turn of the century, noted author Mark Twain and noted nutjob genius science Nikola Tesla both want to end war forever, and Tesla has an idea for how to do it. He's built himself a little gizmo that works like what we might call "virtual reality" or "motion capture." A man puts on a suit and when he moves while wearing it, a giant metal automaton performs the corresponding movement. Bingo! No men of flesh and blood need ever fight again. Twain figures if they can get each country to buy one, then everyone will have equal power, and they'll start leaving each other the hell alone.
Bad news for them is J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, Marconi (he plays the mamba), and Andrew Carnegie are in a Lovecraftian cabal who are building a tower to give evil a central action point for taking over the planet. Peace is bad for business.
If it all sounds a little crazy, well, that's because it's written by Matt Fraction, and despite his moniker, he doesn't do anything by halves, quarter, or thirds. Fraction is a go-for-it kind of guy. The thing is, when that kind of attitude finds the right outlet, it makes for a whole lotta fun for the audience. THE FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE is a whole lotta fun.
I wasn't sure about Steven Sanders' art from the preview pages I had seen, but seeing it printed in gorgeous color on glossy paper, all doubts were removed. My favorite thing about his work is the sense of color. Particularly in the big battles, when the big guys are tossing electricity around like silly string, I was really digging it. His pencil style--and sometimes his facial expressions--actually reminds me a bit of Bill Plympton, a comparison that makes more sense when you consider how much comedy is on the page. Fraction puts a lot of business in his panels, and he doesn't take time to pause for the middle moments. He needs an artist that is willing to jump first and look to see if the bungee chord is attached later. Sanders fits the bill. Check, for instance, each time Tesla's assistant Tim (the fifth fist in the Five; one hand is prosthetic) gets socially cockblocked by his boss. Tim is stopped before he starts all in the space of one panel, and it always comes off.
THE FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE isn't a perfect graphic novel. Like so many stories of this kind, I felt like maybe the writer was enjoying the set-up a little too much and didn't save as much room as he should've to finish it off. Also, sometimes Sanders' digital effects are unnecessarily fluffy (ex: Twain moving through a blurred crowd). Yet, these are minor quibbles in the face of solid entertainment. As the summer begins and the big cinematic blockbusters are already starting to disappoint us, THE FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE kept me intrigued from page the first to page the last. It's the comic everyone tried to convince me LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN was but that I never found that book to be: good ol' pulpy adventure with familiar faces living out the roles we always imagined they could.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nikola Tesla, Mark Twain and Their Giant Robot Pals, July 13, 2006
"Five Fists of Science" is another fine example of "steam punk" graphic novels or comics in which history is not only revised but turned on its head and spun around a few times. It is also another example of the fine and very tight writing of Matt Fraction, a name that will no doubt be associated with innovative story telling in comics for many years to come.
The story line is hard to pin down because it goes into some unexpected places and uses a very large map. And to say it's all over the map is not a criticism, but an observation as the story takes us to New York, Europe, Nepal and the mysterious land of...New Jersey. Most of the characters are well known from history; visionary OCD scientist, Nikola Tesla and perhaps America's finest humorist and author, Mark Twain team up to create a 19th Century Cold War using what might be described as Victorian-age, Reaganesque Star Wars technology. In a sense, it's all a sham (much like the Reagan's Missile Shield) or as Twain puts it, "showmanship!"
This improbable scenario is bested when the likes of Tommy Edison, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and for comic effect, Guglielmo Marconi, (who is suffering either from an eating disorder or a food hoarding compulsion) are portrayed as shape-shifting, evil wizards conjuring Cthulhu and his babies. Oh yeah, let's not forget to mention the Tesla coil pistols, the Abominable Snowman, giant remote control robots, a syringe shooting gattling gun and an early version of a hologram projector. There is a lot going on and while the basic story can be enjoyed in one sitting, it takes a few readings to get it all in. Fortunately, Fraction found the right artist to visualize this detail in Steven Sanders.
Sanders is asked to quick edit and often jump cut the action so that all of the story can be told in an appropriate number of frames, but never so few as to inhibit understanding what is going on. The extra treat that Sanders provides are elements that one can discover upon a second and third viewing; a particular look or nuanced glance one character gives another, interesting debris in Tesla's lab, the nightscape view of New York being approached from the ocean - nice touches all. Sanders has his very own style and one that is compelling without being objectionably heavy-handed. I like looking at his drawings, simple as that. The writing and art work together to make the entire experience entertaining and just a fun read.
Comparisons to Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" will no doubt occur but are short sighted. While both deal with historical characters (some real, some fictional) to indicate that they are too similar would be like saying Superman and Spiderman comics are alike because they both deal with super heroes. Each work must be viewed separately and judged/read/enjoyed on its own merits.
In respect to this work, I hope that Sanders and Fraction find other projects in which they can collaborate because graphic novel and comic readers will be in for another treat if they do.
I also hope we get to see Tesla and Twain in action again someday. They too, make a good team.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
entirely enjoyable, July 14, 2006
Maybe it's just because I'm a big Tesla fangirl, but I loved this book. It's well-written, exciting and clever. Sanders' art and Fraction's writing complement each other very well. I only wish it were longer, or there were some indication it's being turned into a series. Five Fists was a pure delight to read.
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