Comic Review: Action Philosophers!
During a conversation about comic books with my good friends at Infinite Monkey Comics and Games, It was suggested that I start reviewing comics that have some relation to the law. This is the first in a series of reviews that will hopefully pique your geeky side while satisfying your love for everything law related. Today we will look at Action Philosophers Volume One by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey.
Action Philosophers is a series of comics that look at the life and work of various philosophers in a just slightly less than accurate way. I say mostly accurate because these comics gain their entertainment value by playing up certain choice characteristics of each philosopher to make their stories more interesting. Saint Augustine, for example, is made to look like a party animal and a womanizer in order to make his religious transformation just a bit more interesting. Bodhidharma is made to seem aloof to the extreme. Some of these transformations are fantastic.
Most relevant to the readers of this blog is the historically important legislator, attorney, and Action Philosopher, Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson is portrayed as an inconsistent and politically confused politician and political philosopher. Themes covered include his dependence on slavery, his failed attempts at abolishing slavery, and his black and white perspective of the world that made it difficult for him to solve problems that didn’t fit into his worldview. Comparatively, Action Philosopher Jefferson’s portrayal has deep similarities to conflicted politicians of our day like Bob Barr, Mark Foley, and Elliot Spitzer.
Action Philosophers is a fantastic work that legal geeks should love. Most of us went to college for philosophy of science anyway, right? I guarantee that anybody who reads this blog will enjoy the exploration of Joseph Campbell. According to Action Philosophers Volume One, Campbell is the guy who noticed the similarities between ancient myth, modern religion, and modern action/adventure films starring Keanu Reeves. They even include a human myth flowchart illustrated with scenes from your favorite Star Wars films to explain the way stories of these three genres are constructed. I guess the Jedi have more clout as a religion than we all thought.
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