As long as I can recall, Philosophy wasn't one of anyone's favorite subjects in the high school curriculum. Surely, it could be instructive, even entertaining at an age you always dream of being outside with buddies and music, and football, and all that stuff teenagers do while growing up. But... do we dared to say that it was funny?, witty?, understandable?, modern? No way.
So Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey made possible the impossible: cram a selected and fine lot of philosophical concepts and philosophers, grasping the core of their ideas, giving insight on some biographical facts over each actual person (as right as it is known) that influenced the way they developed their thoughts. all spiced with irreverent humor and formatted as a comic book! (What else can be desired besides!)
Do you want to recall how it was to be a teenager and learn two more things about the universal way of philosophy?, Do you like to start reading the classics and the contemporary philosophers but didn't know how or where to begin? Don't look farther, Action Philosophers!, would do it for you. Are you eager to begin to understand why people of different eras are so alike? Well, I'm looking on that too, so if you have a glimpse, share a tought! Any way, Van Lente and Dunlavey 's work is worth the reading, seriously!
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Action Philosophers! Paperback – November 11, 2009
by
Fred Van Lente
(Author),
Ryan Dunlavey
(Illustrator)
Imagine Plato as a wrestling superstar of ancient Greece, Nietzsche as the original ubermensch, and Bohidharma as the grand master of kung fu. These are not just great thinkers they also make great comics. Action Philosophers details the lives and thoughts of history's A-list brain trust in hip and humorous comic book fashion. All nine issues of the award-winning, best-selling comic book series have been collected into a single volume, making this a comprehensive cartoon history of ideas from pre-Socratics to Jacques Derrida, including four new stories. You'll never have more fun getting the real scoop on the big ideas that have made the world the mess we live in today! Tom Morris (Author of Philosophy for Dummies, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, and If Harry Potter Ran General Electric).
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherEvil Twin Comics
- Publication dateNovember 11, 2009
- Dimensions6.5 x 1 x 10 inches
- ISBN-100977832937
- ISBN-13978-0977832934
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About the Author
Writer Fred Van Lente s other comics include Incredible Hercules (with Greg Pak), Modok s 11, X Men Noir and Marvel Zombies 3. He serves on the board of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York City. Illustrator Ryan Dunlavey has worked for the biggest names in the business, including Disney, Nickelodeon, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, Marvel Comics, and many others. His comics and cartoons can be seen in Wizard Magazine, Disney Adventures and Royal Flush. TheAction Philosophers series has won a Xeric Award, has been twice nominated for the Ignatz Award, has been named a Great Graphic Novel for Teens by the American Library Association, and has been translated into different languages on three continents.
Product details
- Publisher : Evil Twin Comics (November 11, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0977832937
- ISBN-13 : 978-0977832934
- Item Weight : 1.41 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.5 x 1 x 10 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #343,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
34 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2011
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2010
This book is a MASTERPIECE. It actually makes philosophy INTERESTING.
Seriously, I think this book does for Philosophy what Sid Meier's "Civilization IV" does for history. It whets your appetite. It makes you want to read more. I'd highly recommend it for anyone taking an Introduction to Philosophy course if for no other reason than it's lot more fun than Cliff Notes. The illustrations will have you laughing out loud. Often. The writing is concise and witty, often quoting directly from the philosophical texts / philosophers themselves. The illustrations are very well done, and each different "Action Philosopher" has his own distinct look. The details in the panels, humorous blends of things contemporary to us, and others contemporary to the philosophers, make for some really funny jokes.
Once this team releases their more than complete Comic Book Comics, I'm buying it. No second thoughts.
I consider this one of my best book purchases from Amazon, and am seriously considering getting additional copies to give to my cousins who are starting their freshman year in college.
Seriously, I think this book does for Philosophy what Sid Meier's "Civilization IV" does for history. It whets your appetite. It makes you want to read more. I'd highly recommend it for anyone taking an Introduction to Philosophy course if for no other reason than it's lot more fun than Cliff Notes. The illustrations will have you laughing out loud. Often. The writing is concise and witty, often quoting directly from the philosophical texts / philosophers themselves. The illustrations are very well done, and each different "Action Philosopher" has his own distinct look. The details in the panels, humorous blends of things contemporary to us, and others contemporary to the philosophers, make for some really funny jokes.
Once this team releases their more than complete Comic Book Comics, I'm buying it. No second thoughts.
I consider this one of my best book purchases from Amazon, and am seriously considering getting additional copies to give to my cousins who are starting their freshman year in college.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2014
A different way of learning philosophy. It thrills you from the beginning because it connects the content of the phiposopher's point of view and the drawings. And with the drawingns you can compreehend the time the philopher lived and his temper which is nice because you see him as a human beeing.
If everyone had learned philosophy in that smart way I believe much more people wolud be interested on that subject that is so important for our life, to comprehend why we are as we are and why we are here.
I truly recommend this book.
An enjoyable time on reading.
If everyone had learned philosophy in that smart way I believe much more people wolud be interested on that subject that is so important for our life, to comprehend why we are as we are and why we are here.
I truly recommend this book.
An enjoyable time on reading.
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2018
This is great-fun and informative.Highly recommended for those who would like to learn a little about philosophers and philosophy but are not sure of how much they would like to invest in the search. Great fun for those who know about the subject and there are some surprises , I believe, even for those who feel themselves well-versed in the subject.
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2010
As a philosophy major who just recently became captivated by comic books (after reading "Blankets"), Action Philosophers(!) seemed like the perfect fit. After receiving and reading it, it's definitely not the masterpiece I had secretly hoped for. However, it is still an excellent book that I would recommend to anybody who wants to know more about philosophy but has trouble grasping the often complicated texts.
The format of Action Philosophers is as such: Each chapter is devoted to a different philosopher, with a narrator explaining the philosopher's thoughts as the panels depict visual aid, either in a picture of the philosophy or a picture of the philosopher demonstrating this concepts. The philosophers displayed are given appearances that parody either their philosophies or their personal lives (for instance, Plato is drawn as a pro wrestle and talks like an unintelligent brute, while the earliest greek philosophers are drawn with traits of the elements they believed formed the universe). While some of the chapters are written as literal biographies, others depict fictional events, either to display the philosophy better (Kant is depicted as a lawyer defending God) or simply add humor (Mill's chapter is a Charlie Brown parody.)
Of the visual aids.. I often found them amusing but otherwise uninformative. Very often a panel that could really help explain things feels rushed, and on more than one occasion a "humorous" picture is given far too much priority on a page. For instance, in Craig Thompson's "Blankets," Craig tells of Plato's "cave" analogy, using excellent images to depict what can be difficult to imagine while also comparing it to a situation the reader can better relate to. In Action Philosophers, the cave scene is depicted as a group of shackled people watching a movie. But the cave analogy represented how our senses made us believe things were real when they weren't, and displayed the illusions as being a part of the truth. The movie analogy may be more contemporary and funnier, but it avoids some of the key points of Plato's philosophy.
The "contemporary" issue is probably the biggest error Action Philosophers makes. On literally the first chapter of the book, the narrator states of Thales "You'd think his mad mental skills would have won Thales some props from his peeps. You'd be wrong..." Certainly this quote was intended as a joke. However, the "joke" continues on for much of the comic. It feels childish, and for a while I took this feel to mean the book was intended for children (until the sexual references convinced me otherwise). After a while you begin to feel like you're being talked down to by the writers. Comic book readers can be mature, and I was hoping this book would better understand that.
On the other hand, while the art serves only to keep you amused, the text provides some excellently comprehensible summaries on the philosophical teachings. Nietzsche was profoundly understandable regardless of his normally complicated teachings, for instance. And while the art style does not show nearly as much effort and style as I would have liked, it certainly isn't bad.
Overall, if you're into philosophy and comics I recommend you look into this book, as it is actually a very accessible way to learn some elementary philosophy before going into the heavier texts. However, if you're a comic book fan hoping to use this book to get into philosophy, or a philosophy fan attempting to get into comic books, this is not your entry level material. While certainly interesting, it does not satisfy as a great comic book nor a great philosophical text, rather falling under "better than average" in both.
The format of Action Philosophers is as such: Each chapter is devoted to a different philosopher, with a narrator explaining the philosopher's thoughts as the panels depict visual aid, either in a picture of the philosophy or a picture of the philosopher demonstrating this concepts. The philosophers displayed are given appearances that parody either their philosophies or their personal lives (for instance, Plato is drawn as a pro wrestle and talks like an unintelligent brute, while the earliest greek philosophers are drawn with traits of the elements they believed formed the universe). While some of the chapters are written as literal biographies, others depict fictional events, either to display the philosophy better (Kant is depicted as a lawyer defending God) or simply add humor (Mill's chapter is a Charlie Brown parody.)
Of the visual aids.. I often found them amusing but otherwise uninformative. Very often a panel that could really help explain things feels rushed, and on more than one occasion a "humorous" picture is given far too much priority on a page. For instance, in Craig Thompson's "Blankets," Craig tells of Plato's "cave" analogy, using excellent images to depict what can be difficult to imagine while also comparing it to a situation the reader can better relate to. In Action Philosophers, the cave scene is depicted as a group of shackled people watching a movie. But the cave analogy represented how our senses made us believe things were real when they weren't, and displayed the illusions as being a part of the truth. The movie analogy may be more contemporary and funnier, but it avoids some of the key points of Plato's philosophy.
The "contemporary" issue is probably the biggest error Action Philosophers makes. On literally the first chapter of the book, the narrator states of Thales "You'd think his mad mental skills would have won Thales some props from his peeps. You'd be wrong..." Certainly this quote was intended as a joke. However, the "joke" continues on for much of the comic. It feels childish, and for a while I took this feel to mean the book was intended for children (until the sexual references convinced me otherwise). After a while you begin to feel like you're being talked down to by the writers. Comic book readers can be mature, and I was hoping this book would better understand that.
On the other hand, while the art serves only to keep you amused, the text provides some excellently comprehensible summaries on the philosophical teachings. Nietzsche was profoundly understandable regardless of his normally complicated teachings, for instance. And while the art style does not show nearly as much effort and style as I would have liked, it certainly isn't bad.
Overall, if you're into philosophy and comics I recommend you look into this book, as it is actually a very accessible way to learn some elementary philosophy before going into the heavier texts. However, if you're a comic book fan hoping to use this book to get into philosophy, or a philosophy fan attempting to get into comic books, this is not your entry level material. While certainly interesting, it does not satisfy as a great comic book nor a great philosophical text, rather falling under "better than average" in both.
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2010
In order to enjoy this book at its utmost, i would say that you must first have some background knowledge on the major philosophers, not too much but a simple comprehension. This book is very fun in its depiction of the philosophers, and most philosophy majors will appreciate its humor. Overall, it is a joy to read. If you do not have a background in philosophy this is still an enjoyable read but I believe it can be appreciated more when accompanied by some background knowledge.
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2013
I bought this book in the hopes that it would be philosophical and amusing (like SMBC or XKCD). It is very instructive and well-written, but I just didn't think it was that funny.
Top reviews from other countries
biggles
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2013
I bought this for my partner who absolutely loved it. The illustrations and comic strips were very funny. Highly recommended.


