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Action Philosophers #Vol. 2
Filósofos em ação! Volume 2
KARL MARX: The People'ss Hero! JACQUES DERRIDA: The Deconstructonator! ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: Three Hundred Pounds of Theological Thaumaturgy! They'sre not just great thinkers... They also make great comics! ACTION PHILOSOPHERS details the lives and thoughts of history's A-list brain trust, told in a hip and humorous comic book fashion. Volume Two reprints issues #4-6 of the award-winning, critically-praised series.
100 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2006
6 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Fred Van Lente
1,355 books319 followersFred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 2, 2022
Less fun than the first volume, and more spelling mistakes. Judaism, f.e., was consistently spelled as Judiasm. Plus not a single woman! Beauvoir wasn't even mentioned in the Sartre chapter.
The chapters I liked best were the ones on Kierkegaard and the perpetually angry Wittgenstein.
The chapters I liked best were the ones on Kierkegaard and the perpetually angry Wittgenstein.
September 18, 2024
Fantastic but make sure you check out the completed edition instead.
From wikipedia:
Action Philosophers #4-6
# 4: - "World Domination Handbook" featuring Karl Marx, Niccolò Machiavelli, & The Kabbalah.
# 5: - "Hate the French" featuring René Descartes, Jean-Paul Sartre, & Jacques Derrida.
# 6: - "The People's Choice" featuring Soren Kierkegaard, St. Thomas Aquinas, & Ludwig Wittgenstein.
From wikipedia:
Action Philosophers #4-6
# 4: - "World Domination Handbook" featuring Karl Marx, Niccolò Machiavelli, & The Kabbalah.
# 5: - "Hate the French" featuring René Descartes, Jean-Paul Sartre, & Jacques Derrida.
# 6: - "The People's Choice" featuring Soren Kierkegaard, St. Thomas Aquinas, & Ludwig Wittgenstein.
June 7, 2014
If you’re like me and have a passing interest in philosophy but don’t want to read actual philosophy texts and would prefer a brief comic about a philosopher’s life and their work, writer Fred Van Lente and artist Ryan Dunlavey have created the series for you in Action Philosophers.
This volume gives each philosopher - Marx, Machiavelli, Ben-Luria, Descartes, Sartre, Derrida, Wittgenstein, St Thomas Aquinas, and Kierkegaard - a short comic each. Yet somehow Van Lente is able to compress so much information into each chapter and in such a way that you understand the theories and the philosophers themselves once you finish each one, no matter how inscrutable the subject matter may seem at first.
Both creators liven up the material by working in pop culture references and humour, and imaginatively present the philosophers in new roles. Like Marx and Derrida who adopt action movie characters from the ‘80s - Marx is Rambo and Derrida The Terminator (or The Deconstuctonator as he is here).
But the levity doesn’t get in the way of the information; instead Dunlavey’s artwork complements the script perfectly to help the reader understand it. Like in Derrida’s chapter where the comic itself becomes affected by Derrida’s deconstructionist philosophy to the point where it ceases being a comic, the authors go from being comic book characters to themselves in real life via real life photos and then the comic blinks out of reality!
It’s also enjoyable finding out about the philosophers’ lives too, like Wittgenstein who came from one of Europe’s wealthiest families but forsook his massive inheritance to pursue his work, even becoming a bricklayer at one point. He went on to write the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century, submitting it as his doctoral thesis!
If you’re a serious student of philosophy, you won’t get much out of Action Philosophers purely because these aren’t intended to be in-depth studies of philosophical theories. However if you’re a layperson and looking for bite-sized comics that are written and illustrated really well and tell you all you need to know about these philosophers and their work, look no further than this series.
This volume gives each philosopher - Marx, Machiavelli, Ben-Luria, Descartes, Sartre, Derrida, Wittgenstein, St Thomas Aquinas, and Kierkegaard - a short comic each. Yet somehow Van Lente is able to compress so much information into each chapter and in such a way that you understand the theories and the philosophers themselves once you finish each one, no matter how inscrutable the subject matter may seem at first.
Both creators liven up the material by working in pop culture references and humour, and imaginatively present the philosophers in new roles. Like Marx and Derrida who adopt action movie characters from the ‘80s - Marx is Rambo and Derrida The Terminator (or The Deconstuctonator as he is here).
But the levity doesn’t get in the way of the information; instead Dunlavey’s artwork complements the script perfectly to help the reader understand it. Like in Derrida’s chapter where the comic itself becomes affected by Derrida’s deconstructionist philosophy to the point where it ceases being a comic, the authors go from being comic book characters to themselves in real life via real life photos and then the comic blinks out of reality!
It’s also enjoyable finding out about the philosophers’ lives too, like Wittgenstein who came from one of Europe’s wealthiest families but forsook his massive inheritance to pursue his work, even becoming a bricklayer at one point. He went on to write the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the most influential philosophical works of the 20th century, submitting it as his doctoral thesis!
If you’re a serious student of philosophy, you won’t get much out of Action Philosophers purely because these aren’t intended to be in-depth studies of philosophical theories. However if you’re a layperson and looking for bite-sized comics that are written and illustrated really well and tell you all you need to know about these philosophers and their work, look no further than this series.
September 2, 2025
Maybe because I love comics and I love the idea of philosophical thinking but man did I absolutely adore Action Philosophy. I found this book at a free library in my friend’s Chicago apartment and what a find it was. Despite starting the series in Volume 2, something I rarely would dare to do, the book was incredibly easy to dive into. Thankfully, it’s not one where you have to have read all of Volume 1 to understand. The only perquisite one needs is the interest in philosophy and a tolerance for comics.
If you have that, I more than recommend this book. Think of it as a light size, bite size, buffet of the world’s most famous and notorious big thinkers. Some you’ll want to learn more about. Some you’ll be glad to know their name just so you can artfully name drop them in conversation. Some you’ll scrunch your nose at and will only remember them for their horrendous theory. Either way, if you also come across this book, whether at a book store, library or serendipitously, I wholeheartedly encourage you to also pick it up (unless you like neither comics or philosophy then please leave it to be discovered by another).
If you have that, I more than recommend this book. Think of it as a light size, bite size, buffet of the world’s most famous and notorious big thinkers. Some you’ll want to learn more about. Some you’ll be glad to know their name just so you can artfully name drop them in conversation. Some you’ll scrunch your nose at and will only remember them for their horrendous theory. Either way, if you also come across this book, whether at a book store, library or serendipitously, I wholeheartedly encourage you to also pick it up (unless you like neither comics or philosophy then please leave it to be discovered by another).
June 5, 2017
I learned more about philosophy from this series of comic books than from all my years of school. Action Philosophers! Giant-Sized Thing, Vol. 2 is a fantastic introduction to mostly western philosophers. It's ridiculously entertaining and despite the graphic format is very thorough. For each philosopher we learn not only what they had to say, but also their life story, how their contemporaries perceived them, and how their ideas are related. In this volume I particularly enjoyed learning about the lives of St. Thomas Aquinas and Wittgenstein.
Recommended for adults. The books depict violence, drug use, and sexuality in a way that is very straightforward. Even though overall message is good, these things can make it difficult to use in education. However, there is more than enough great stuff here for any educator to use.
Vol. 2 contains:
Karl Marx
Machiavelli
The Kabbalah
Descartes
Sartre
Derrida
Wittgenstein
St. Thomas Aquinas
Kierkegaard
Recommended for adults. The books depict violence, drug use, and sexuality in a way that is very straightforward. Even though overall message is good, these things can make it difficult to use in education. However, there is more than enough great stuff here for any educator to use.
Vol. 2 contains:
Karl Marx
Machiavelli
The Kabbalah
Descartes
Sartre
Derrida
Wittgenstein
St. Thomas Aquinas
Kierkegaard
February 28, 2008
penuh sindiran.
lucu banget anke dotnya mesti paham ide orang-orang yang ditulisnnya baru bisa ketawa.
lucu banget anke dotnya mesti paham ide orang-orang yang ditulisnnya baru bisa ketawa.
November 10, 2014
"Dari tiap orang berdasar kemampuannya, untuk tiap orang berdasar kebutuhannya"
February 5, 2025
I admire the attempt and, frankly, trying to synthesize Wittgenstein or Derrida in a five page graphic story deserves a medal of some sort. Alas, the drawings are pretty terrible and the text cannot accomplish to be elucidating, funny and breezy all at once. That said, it was interesting to see how Fred Van Lente approached this almost impossible task. I wish I could add two stars for effort and high goals. As someone that absolutely abhors super-hero comics -I find them insanely boring- and prefers more real life graphic novels, this books swing so far in the other direction that much needs to be worked out.
August 5, 2019
Selalu kesulitan memahami filsafat.
February 23, 2022
Penjelasan filsafat yang sangat mudah dipahami oleh pemula yang tidak paham filsafat sekalipun
November 23, 2009
Berbeda dari buku pertamanya, sepertinya filsafat yang ada di sekuelnya ini jauh lebih susah untuk dicerna sama otak dan perasaan gue..wakakakak...
Gue tau filsafat gak as easy as ABC. Perlu pencernaan yang lebih jauh, berhubung otak gue lebih sering dijejalin sama chick-lit dan genre fantasi jadinya komik Filsuf Jagoan! Jilid 2 ini resmi menjadi komik tersulit yang pernah gue baca dan entertaining-less. Ekspetasi gue adalah setidaknya setelah filsafat diterjemahkan ke dalam sebuah komik, everything will be easier (mudah dicerna). Tapi ternyata, gue tetap harus ngebaca berulang-ulang dulu sampe ngerti (atau bahkan gak ngerti-ngerti..hehe) atau ini adalah masalah penerjemahan ke Bahasa Indonesia yang kurang oke? Well, I don't know that for sure... Maybe yes, maybe no..
Kalo gue masih bisa keep up sama komik pertamanya, untuk yang kedua ini I'm totally lost. Se-lost pengetahuan gue soal jalan-jalan di Jakarta...hehe..
Recommended lah, ya buat yang udah pernah (biasa) baca buku-buku filsafat. Mungkin mereka juga jadi bisa nangkep jokes yang ada di dalam komik ini.
Gue tau filsafat gak as easy as ABC. Perlu pencernaan yang lebih jauh, berhubung otak gue lebih sering dijejalin sama chick-lit dan genre fantasi jadinya komik Filsuf Jagoan! Jilid 2 ini resmi menjadi komik tersulit yang pernah gue baca dan entertaining-less. Ekspetasi gue adalah setidaknya setelah filsafat diterjemahkan ke dalam sebuah komik, everything will be easier (mudah dicerna). Tapi ternyata, gue tetap harus ngebaca berulang-ulang dulu sampe ngerti (atau bahkan gak ngerti-ngerti..hehe) atau ini adalah masalah penerjemahan ke Bahasa Indonesia yang kurang oke? Well, I don't know that for sure... Maybe yes, maybe no..
Kalo gue masih bisa keep up sama komik pertamanya, untuk yang kedua ini I'm totally lost. Se-lost pengetahuan gue soal jalan-jalan di Jakarta...hehe..
Recommended lah, ya buat yang udah pernah (biasa) baca buku-buku filsafat. Mungkin mereka juga jadi bisa nangkep jokes yang ada di dalam komik ini.
November 29, 2012
This was a fun way to get reacquainted with some great philosophers, or rather great minds, as you have there some spiritual masters and some psychologists. I thought their basic theories were well summed up, and of course often in a very funny way. So if you are afraid of launching into philosophy, that’s a great springboard.
There are 3 volumes available I believe.
I include larger cover pictures, so that you can see the names of the authors featured in each volume.
full post:
http://wordsandpeace.com/2013/01/28/g...
There are 3 volumes available I believe.
I include larger cover pictures, so that you can see the names of the authors featured in each volume.
full post:
http://wordsandpeace.com/2013/01/28/g...
September 6, 2008
This was a pretty fun book - a collection of short vignettes on a bunch of different philosophers, such as Karl Marx, Thomas Aquinas, and Soren Kierkegaard. Most of it was the type of stuff you would find in an introductory course on philosophy, but told with a strong sense of humour and a willingness to be irreverent regarding its subject matter (something that I think is essential for any book on philosophy geared towards 'the masses'). Recommended.
November 21, 2008
Pernah nggak, tidur lalu bermimpi sedang menyaksikan dialektika hidup filsuf macam Sartre atau Derrida?
Saya pernah, yaitu setelah menyelesaikan buku ini. Tadi malam. Bukan berarti saya sangat-sangat terkesan, tapi saya melanjutkan membaca saat terbangun di tengah malam. Supaya bisa ngantuk kembali saya pun membaca. Akibat sampingannya adalah para filsuf itu jadi ikut merebahkan diri di lantai bersama saya :)
Saya pernah, yaitu setelah menyelesaikan buku ini. Tadi malam. Bukan berarti saya sangat-sangat terkesan, tapi saya melanjutkan membaca saat terbangun di tengah malam. Supaya bisa ngantuk kembali saya pun membaca. Akibat sampingannya adalah para filsuf itu jadi ikut merebahkan diri di lantai bersama saya :)
January 18, 2010
I think Action Philosophers hit its peak with the chapters on Marx and Wittgenstein. I love the idea of Marx explaining the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie to a little boy like a character in a School House Rocks cartoon; and Wittgenstein stomping around perpetually pissed off because no one understands him strikes me as dead on.
August 14, 2007
Entertaining and clever comic depicting the "major ideas" of several thinkers - Descartes, SK, Marx, Sartre, Derrida, Wittgenstein, St Thomas Aquinas, Machiavelli, and Rabbi Isaac Ben-Luria!
October 21, 2009
Even funnier than the first volume!
Read
February 21, 2010Action Philosophers Giant-Size Thing, Vol. 2 (Action Philosophers!) by Fred Van Lente (2006)
March 1, 2010
Oh, Karl Marx. LOL. (Sorry, this is not much of a review.)
December 27, 2021
Belajar filsafat tidak selalu harus serius sambil membaca kitab suci para filsuf. Just read this, and you'll get everything from them.
November 3, 2011
Philosophy in comic form. What's not to love?
June 1, 2013
It's sort of humorous. I guess I'll learn more when I read these philosophers for myself.
June 17, 2013
Lumayan bagus untuk memahami sejarah para filsuf dan pemikiran mereka dengan cara yang sangat ringan.
September 28, 2010
Gini lho belajar filsafat ituuu.... =)
June 8, 2015
haha. informative & silly.
Read
August 9, 20111.0: Read this book
2.0: Ace Philosophy 101
2.0: Ace Philosophy 101
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews