Logicomix

Starred review from June 22, 2009
An ambitious full-color exploration of the life and ideas of philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, the book meticulously interconnects Russell’s life, the timelessness of his ideas and the process of creating the book. While a comic about the “quest for the foundations of mathematics” may seem arduous, it is engrossing on many levels; the story moves, despite heavy philosophical and technical information, as the images, dialogue and narration play off each other. Russell’s story is framed within a speech he gave on the brink of America’s entry into WWII, in which he expounds his life and philosophical journey. Russell’s story is also framed by the creators working in Greece, as they discuss and mold his life into a narrative structure. One of the most prominent themes is the conflict and symbiosis between “madness and logic.” The fear of madness haunts Russell because of childhood trauma, as he neurotically pushes himself toward what he conceives of as its opposite, a system for certainty. Inventive, with both subtle and overt narrative techniques, the comic form organizes the complex ideas into a simpler system, combining to form a smart and engaging journey through the ambiguity of truth.

Starred review from July 15, 2009
Orphaned, insecure, and brilliant, Bertrand Russell (18721970) sought true certainty through mathematics and logic. His "Principia Mathematica", created with Alfred North Whitehead over ten painful years, brought wide acclaim but not certainty, as the Vienna Circle of philosophers and Ludwig Wittgenstein upset his approach with wholly new paradigms. Ultimately, Russell turned to how to live one's life and found peace at last by supporting pacifism and a rational, humanistic ethic. The comics creators begin the story in Athens as characters themselves, before Russell takes over as narrator. As finale, we join the creators at a performance of Aeschylus's "Oresteia", where Athena herself resolves the tragic cycle through rational ethics: democratic vote and tolerance of differences. VERDICT This brilliant graphic novel wraps academia's big ideas of Truth and Meaning into a story about the thinkers and their passions, by turns fascinating and charming with deft color art. Doxiadis is an expert in the relationship of mathematics to narrative and Papadimitriou a computer science professor.M.C.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2009
Bertrand Russell—philosophical superhero?

Part of the narrative strategy here is metacomic: Authors Doxiadis and Papadimitriou, along with artists Papadatos and Di Donna, are not only the creators of this graphic novel with academic underpinnings, they are characters within it, confronting the challenge of how to make Bertrand Russell's inquiries into logic and mathematics understandable to the"average reader," while questioning whether said average reader even exists. They ultimately conclude that"mathematics and comics, like oil and water, don't ever mix!" The average reader (if he or she exists) might well agree. Framing the narrative is a lecture given by Russell, protested by isolationists, on the eve of Britain's entry into World War II against Nazi Germany. Since he has been asked to speak on"The Role of Logic in Human Affairs," he jokes,"If I take the injunction literally you shall hear the shortest lecture in recorded history." Interspersed with his talk, and the authors' attempts to turn this presentation into a graphic narrative, are flashbacks exploring"Bertie" Russell's life and the intellectual development that led to Principia Mathematica in collaboration with Alfred North Whitehead. Soap-opera strains of madness taint the bloodlines of philosophers who strive for logic; affairs of the heart owe little to the brain. Young Russell challenges his philosophical mentors and ultimately faces challenges from his own gifted student, Ludwig Wittgenstein. For those who come to this narrative without much background, the volume helpfully includes a short afterword that helps distinguish fact from invention, a longer notebook with capsule biographies of those featured in the narrative, definitions of concepts and even a bibliography.

Despite the collaborators' best efforts to emphasize the human element, this graphic novel can't help but read a lot like a textbook.

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Starred review from October 1, 2009
From the 1880s to the 1930s, mathematicians and logicians were hot to settle the foundations of mathematics. In the thick of the great quest was Bertrand Russell (18721970), who is at the center of mathematician-novelist Doxiadis and confreres dramatic graphic novel. In a New York lecture days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, the famously pacifist Russell waxes autobiographical to an ultimate effect that, though directly related to the outcome of the great quest, isnt foreseen by the audience. Besides the frame constituted by the speech, from which the narrative flashes back to the incidents of Russells life, the book employs a second one featuring the creative team. In that frame, Doxiadis stresses the passions of Russell and his fellows, many of whose lives were marred by mental illness, while computer scientist coauthor Christos H. Papadimitriou points out that, though it failed, the quest enabled the development of computer science. The artists involved ask and sometimes answer especially good questions. Alecos Papadatos contributes exemplary clean-line-style cartooning (that is, in the European mode apotheosized by Herg's Tintin stories), and Annie Di Donna adds gratifying color. Subplots in both frames and main action further enrich this graphic-novel masterpiece.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)