Epicurus the Sage
Encyclopedia
Epicurus the Sage was the name of a 2-issue limited series
written by William Messner-Loebs
, with art by Sam Kieth
. Each issue was bound in a graphic novel
format, and was 48 pages long, without advertisements. It was published by Piranha Press
, the "alternative comics" imprint of DC Comics
.
__FORCETOC__
Epicurus
appears as the main character of the book, traveling the ancient world with Plato
and Aristotle
's young pupil Alexander the Great, sometimes with Aristotle himself. Together, they wander into various major Greek myths (e.g. the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades), and discuss the philosophical questions raised, with a great deal of slapstick humor.
The book mixes history, mythology, and humor to relate the teachings of Epicurus. The narrative tends to anachronistically
show other vaguely contemporary writers and thinkers, such as Aesop
(who died two centuries before the historical Epicurus was even born), as backwards, foolish, fascistic, or all three, while the philosophy of Epicurus is portrayed to be more tolerant and humanistic; it is pointed out more than once that Epicurus is one of the only ancient philosophers who would teach women.
Various notable personages, from both history and mythology (e.g. Alcibiades
and Zeus
), appear as secondary characters.
(ISBN 1-4012-0028-1) by Cliffhanger
, an imprint of Wildstorm
. This book featured a new painted cover by Sam Kieth
, a black and white "Epicurus" story from Fast Forward #3, and an all new 36-page Epicurus story by Kieth and Messner-Loebs.
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
written by William Messner-Loebs
William Messner-Loebs
William Messner-Loebs is an American comic book writer and artist from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs...
, with art by Sam Kieth
Sam Kieth
Sam Kieth is a New York Times best-selling American comic book writer and illustrator, best known as the creator of The Maxx and Zero Girl.-Comics career:...
. Each issue was bound in a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
format, and was 48 pages long, without advertisements. It was published by Piranha Press
Piranha Press
Piranha Press, an imprint of DC Comics from 1989 to 1994, was a response by DC to the growing interest in alternative comics. The imprint was edited by Mark Nevelow, who instead of developing comics with the established names in the alternative comics field, chose to introduce several unknown...
, the "alternative comics" imprint of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
__FORCETOC__
Plot
Ancient Greek philosopherGreek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...
Epicurus
Epicurus
Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism.Only a few fragments and letters remain of Epicurus's 300 written works...
appears as the main character of the book, traveling the ancient world with Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's young pupil Alexander the Great, sometimes with Aristotle himself. Together, they wander into various major Greek myths (e.g. the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades), and discuss the philosophical questions raised, with a great deal of slapstick humor.
The book mixes history, mythology, and humor to relate the teachings of Epicurus. The narrative tends to anachronistically
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
show other vaguely contemporary writers and thinkers, such as Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
(who died two centuries before the historical Epicurus was even born), as backwards, foolish, fascistic, or all three, while the philosophy of Epicurus is portrayed to be more tolerant and humanistic; it is pointed out more than once that Epicurus is one of the only ancient philosophers who would teach women.
Various notable personages, from both history and mythology (e.g. Alcibiades
Alcibiades
Alcibiades, son of Clinias, from the deme of Scambonidae , was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War...
and Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
), appear as secondary characters.
Issues and reprints
The original run of the comic consisted of two issues:# 1 - Visiting Hades (1989)# 2 - The Many Loves of Zeus (1991)
Collected editions
In 2003, both books of the series were reprinted in a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
(ISBN 1-4012-0028-1) by Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger (comics)
Cliffhanger was an imprint of Wildstorm, publishing creator-owned comic books. It was founded in 1998 by Joe Madureira, J. Scott Campbell and Humberto Ramos, when Wildstorm was still part of Image Comics ....
, an imprint of Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
. This book featured a new painted cover by Sam Kieth
Sam Kieth
Sam Kieth is a New York Times best-selling American comic book writer and illustrator, best known as the creator of The Maxx and Zero Girl.-Comics career:...
, a black and white "Epicurus" story from Fast Forward #3, and an all new 36-page Epicurus story by Kieth and Messner-Loebs.