Not so much in the spirit of Classic Comics, but more in the spirit of extremely intelligent kids set on making fun of everything, this collection of Action Philosophers!
issues 1–3 is a zany sendup of philosophers, with the occasional mystic thrown in. Van Lente has clearly done his research, and Dunlavey draws it in a blocky, 1950s meets punk-rock style. Starting with Plato, they illuminate the theories, problems and implications of 12 thinkers. Ayn Rand fails as a screen writer in Hollywood, creates objectivism then flits between reason and temper tantrums (did you know Alan Greenspan was a follower?). Freud and Jung duke it out while a Freudian "passive mother" presents her penis-envying daughter with a dildo. Thomas Jefferson sleeps with Sally Hemings in the "All-Sex Special" section, which also features Saint Augustine. (Auggie ogles a hot Roman babe and declares, "Give me chastity and continence... just not now!") The twist is that, while demonstrating that the lives of philosophers make great tabloid fodder, the comics get the theories right. Totally irreverent and manically imaginative, it's perfect for any bright college kid who likes being a pain in the neck. (June)
