The Five Fists of Science by Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders

This graphic novels sets off a battle of Mark Twain, Nikola Tesla, Baroness Bertha Von Suttner vs. JP Morgan, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi, and Andrew Carnegie. Tesla and his assistant invent a giant robot which Twain and the Baroness see as a means of creating world peace on the theory that no one would want to face the annihilation of this massive weapon. Meanwhile Morgan and Edison construct a giant tower to tap into the dark arts and gain power for themselves through human sacrifices. Inevitably the two sides go into battle with good triumphing over evil. Or does it?

I liked the quirky use of historical characters in this book although I feel it could use more text and dialog to fill out the narrative.
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Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain team up against J.P. Morgan and Thomas Edison to achieve world peace. One reviewer calls it a rip-off of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and though I can see where he's coming from, I disagree. It incorporates some similar elements, such as taking figures from the past, putting them together, and having them team up against Evil-but Tesla and Twain were actually friends. And Tesla and Edison really hated each other. I was a bit astonished, honestly; I didn't expect such high-quality writing from Fraction or such good art from Sanders. Shame on me. It's fast-paced and funny. Also-I ( )

1899. Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla team up to fight crime. Fun. ( )

A mix of Jules Verne and H.P. Lovecraft, of the kind found in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; but this action-adventure story isn't reinforced by depth of characterization or sociopolitical commentary.

The best thing about the writing are the witticisms given to Mark Twain and the attention paid to Teslas's various tics. Sanders's illustration is very good, though monsters aren't his strong point. ( )