Broken Frontier

Friedrich Nietzsche sold only a hundred or so copies of each one of his books of philosophy while he was alive. Plato got sacked as court philosopher to the rulers of Syracuse – twice! The Indian monk Bodhidharma did not attempt to set the tenets of Zen Buddhism down in writing during his lifetime.

Now we know what their problem was.

They should have been publishing comics!

After three solid weeks of reorders, Evil Twin Comics is reporting that it has sold out of the Xeric Grant-winning comic Action Philosophers #1, in which Marvel Comics scribe Fred (AMAZING FANTASY) Van Lente and cartoonist Ryan Dunlavey tell the lives and ideas of history’s A-list brain trust in a hip and humorous fashion. The first issue feature Nietzsche, Plato and Bodhidharma.

“Ryan and I are overjoyed that this kind of material has received such an enthusiastic response from the comics community,” Van Lente said. “It just proves that comics are capable of communicating any kind of content – Non-fiction such as history and ideas work just as well in comics as adventure fiction.”

While Evil Twin Comics is cleaned out of copies at its Brooklyn headquarters, both Diamond and Cold Cut Distribution have copies available to retailers -- though those are dwindling fast. When asked about the possibility of a second printing, Evil Twin publisher/ActPhilo artist Dunlavey replied, “If we did one it probably wouldn’t happen until our third issue hits the stands in mid-September, so we’re encouraging readers to check with their retailers to see if they have any remaining copies.”

The second installment of ACTION PHILOSOPHERS, the ALL-SEX SPECIAL, is solicited in the April 2005 Previews (APR05 2879 Page 304) with a June 8 release date. This all-ages (yes, really) book proves that philosophers use organs other than their brains, focusing on what goes on between the sheets as well as between the ears of thinkers Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand and St. Augustine.

Readers can still check out a free preview of ActPhilo #1 at www.actionphilosophers.com.