Five Fists Of Science

Yes, that is Nikola Tesla with two lightning-shooting guns and some stylish goggles, flanked by his assistant Tim and being goaded on by the one and only Mark Twain. The Five Fists of Science is a short graphic novel, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Steven Sanders. [W]hile it had some laugh-out-loud moments, cool technology and a truly wicked Thomas Edison (as we all know he is, the damn elephant murderer), I wasn't entirely sold on this one.

Pairing Tesla, Twain and the Baroness Bertha von Suttner as a team united against the evil forces of J.P. Morgan, Edison, Guglielmo Marconi and Andrew Carnegie is a fun idea. While Tesla's team believes in science (and in Twain's case, a bit of showmanship), Morgan is relying on black magic show more and mythical creatures to gain power. Which will win?

Some of the dialogue in this book is hilarious and some of the art is inspiring. But then there are other times when some of the dialogue is repetitive and some of the art is a bit too dark to decipher. But, with a giant robot that works like Big O and looks like the Iron Giant, there's enough to enjoy in the book to make it worth reading for fans of science and/or steampunk. A fair warning, though, there is a decent amount of profanity and some blood in the book -- and more than enough New Jersey jokes.

http://webereading.com/2012/01/go-tesla-go-science.html show less

I love these types of stories, where real historical people are plopped into a fiction story, and Matt Fraction has a lot of fun with these people from history. It's also somewhat steampunky, which also wins points. The art is good, and it's a solid adventure. Well worth reading.

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

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 show more dialog to fill out the narrative. show less

This was a zany and over-the-top mashup of some of America's most famous 19th century figures. The reason for the comic book medium, the authors took a variety of characters, from Mark Twain to Nikola Tesla, and adapted them as they sough fit. Part Batman, and Part cliche Mad-Scientist the book steams along on it's own redicoulousness. It doesn't matter if the book seems crazy, it's supposed to. A great read for a boring afternoon.

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.

This graphic novel brings the reader back to the 1800's and the invention of electricity. While there was a great competition between Tesla and Edison over AC and DC, it might not have gone quite as this story tells it. A fun book, but the ideas and characters aren't developed very well.