Philosophy: A Discovery in Comics

Former film student and theologian de Heer, already known for comics on subjects ranging from Buddhism to magic mushrooms, turns her gaze to Western philosophy. Beginning with a very general introduction to the topic, she fast-forwards through nearly 25 centuries of axiomatic reasoning, from Socrates, whose thoughts so endeared him to his fellow Athenians they made him drink poison; to the thinkers of post-Roman Europe, cunning but constrained by religion amid the ruins of a greater age; to Nietzsche, whose works fell victim after his death to editing by his anti-Semitic sister; and beyond. De Heer knows her stuff and possesses a charming style. The one flaw in her book is its brevity and the impossibility of cramming 2481 years of thought and logic into only 120 pages without misplacing vital details. This is less a primer than an appetizer. (Sept)