Action Philosophers!

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).

Customer Reviews:

Buy It!

By 2 cents "meaningless memes" - March 29, 2010

Philosophers as comic book characters. This book is great! You can get the whole Action Philosopher! series now in 1 book.

The pictures and writing are hilarious. You'll be impressed at just how well a mere comic book can illuminate complex ideas. Credit is to be given to writer Fred Van Lente and illustrator Ryan Dunlavey. And their series has been widely praised. One suspects they took a look at previous series like "For Beginners" or "Introducing" which use illustrations to communicate philosophy to students and said "we can do this way better". And also take it to the next level by making original stories with the philosophers as comical (anti-)heroes and do it in a hip, tongue-in-cheek and savvy fashion. Nobody could come up with more imaginative ways to bring philosophy to life and the eccentric characters that shaped "the great conversation of mankind" through this medium.

A couple examples: Picture a beady-eyed, walrus mustachioed Nietzsche reading his... read more

well worth the buy.

By bill - October 18, 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.

Definitely Worth Looking At

By William Maxwell Caine - 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... read more