Logicomix: An epic search for truth

Really enjoyed this, both as a person who studied Philosophy at Oxford (where my tutor was very keen indeed on Wittgenstein) and as someone who is deep in the comics world.



I love the self-referential nature of the work, with the creators discussing the best way to tell the story (and indeed, arguing about what kind of story it even is - is it a tragedy or a story with a happy ending?). This even ties into the comics story-telling itself, with depictions of self-referentiality in the part where they are discussing paradoxes. And overall, the comics story-telling is done niftily - for instance, there are plenty of those large panels where the characters loop and wander within a landscape as they talk (good avoidance of talking head syndrome, which would otherwise be a big danger in a comic of this nature).



Most of all, I loved the depiction of the various philosophers, logicians, and mathematicians within its pages. Gottlob Frege as someone who could have stepped out of a Miyazaki film! Robotic-looking Kurt Godel! Bertie Russell himself, the central figure - womanizer, searcher after certainty, finding humanity in his later years after what the reader suspects must have felt to others like a rather inhuman earlier part of his life.



All this, and I think it even passes the Bechdel test too, despite in principle being about old dead white men.



In some ways best of all is the way I came to find out about it. R and I were doing a road-trip in Greece, and stopped in a service station near Sparta. It had a bookshop, and he was looking for a copy of the Little Prince in Greek - which it had, but it also had Logicomix in the original Greek. I say original, in that it came out first in Greek, as the creators are (almost all) Greek. The copy that R bought was the, what, third or fourth printing? It had gone through thirty or forty thousand copies in Greek before it was even available in English. Blimey!

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Re-read prior to reviewing it for 1001 Comics. Even better second time round; upgraded from four stars to five.

Nicely done biography of Bertrand Russell and his search. I didn't like the editorial panels nearly as much as I liked the bio, and though I get why they included and ended with The Orestia, I still found it jarring. I wanted more Bertie. I enjoyed the majority of this graphic novel very much, and would recommend it to all the math/logic geeks I know.

The parts that were kind-of biography of Bertrand Russel were very good. The parts that were the book's creators patting themselves on the backs for how smart and clever they are, making a graphic novel! about math! and logic! got really old and annoying.

You might think that a graphic novel in which the mature Bertrand Russell, in 1939, gives a talk on "The Role of Logic in Human Affairs" would be a real snoozer. Actually a lot of people would; this book isn't for everyone. But I was fascinated by how Russell used the story of his life and quest for higher mathematical and logical truth to relate to the then-burning question of whether the USA should intervene in the developing European War. I remember in college in the early '70's that Bertrand Russell had a devoted following who had elevated him to near-saintly status; he comes across here as a flawed genius whose devotion to logic shook the world of epistemological thought. A fascinating and well-constructed look in graphic novel form at a complex man and scholar -- but if your college philosophy classes put you to sleep, don't bother.

This is a great book about where to draw the line between the irrational and the rational, both literally and figuratively.

Weaves a story of logic, mathmatics, history, love and war. Not your grampa's comic book.

I love this kind of comic book philosophy. It sort of follows Wittgensteins advice to try & reduce philosophy to some kind of joke

A perfect blending of ideas and graphic story-telling. A fictionalised biography of Bertrand Russell, it manages to embrace the thinking of most C20th mathematical and philosophical giants - Russell, Whitehead, Hibbert, Cantor, Wittgenstein, Godel, right up to Turing - inside a compelling argument. Rather brilliantly, the creators of the book use narrative and design tropes to present as well as explain the big ideas, ultimately leaving some important questions unanswered - which is rather the point. Challenging, nourishing, entertaining.

"Logicomix" is a graphic biography of renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell. The book is ambitious in its aims -- to paint a portrait of Russell's life, to introduce readers to his works and to examine the link between madness and the pursuit of logic. Doxiadis, Papadimitriou and co. tell a story from their own point of view as enthusiasts trying to unravel a puzzle; the team behind the book make frequent cameos throughout the book (almost overtaking it in parts).Ambitious as the book is, I find it guilty of overreaching and spreading itself too thin. For example, the overwrought presence of the narrator and confused distinction between plot and subplot weakened the narrative. On the plus side, the art is meticulously done, and the close interplay of text and image really speaks to the volumes of the work that went into this book.

Logicomix is a fascinating introduction to the life and ideas of mathmetician/philosopher Bertrand Russell, told in graphic novel form. The book impressively and ambitiously captures the tumult and passions of the search for the foundations of mathematics and logic in the early 20th century, and throws in romance, madness, history, and the Greek play Oresteia. A neat trick that keeps the story is accessible is when the authors and illustrators insert themselves at various points in the story, debating how to present it most effectively.

Excellent graphic novel about Bertrand Russell. The way the story is told is very interesting: not only do we see images of the past, with all main characters in logic, but these images are mixed with images of the authors of the book: their discussions on which parts of history to include, and why (or why not). This combination gives a very dynamic way of receiving the infoamtion present in the book. Besides this style, the book itself contains a lot of information, both on the characters and their research topics.

I loved this book. It is great. It is wonderfully conceived and wonderfully executed. The drawing is great and draws the reader in to the situations and the characters. The writing is great too. Could be a spoiler: I'm a little leery of the ending with its seeming conclusion that computers have changed everything. I want to think more about what seems to be the moral teaching of the story, which I guess is engagement in the world on a human level, away from abstractions and theories...and maybe that it is abstractions and theories that lead to the bad things in the world. I think I will read it again before I return it to the library.

I don't read graphic novels very often, but this one is about Bertrand Russell-- so I had to. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The artwork is wonderful and the story-line is engaging. The explanation of his work and its importance to modern day is well thought out. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in philosophy, mathematics or a wonderful read.

I have been curious about this book ever since I heard it was coming out. How would mathematics, logic, and Bertrand Russell work in a graphic format? Part of the answer turned out to be the writers and graphic artists discussing this in the book. While it didn't work out perfectly it did get the job done. I am glad that such subjects as the foundation of mathematics is getting exposure in the graphic novel arena. Maybe Einstein and his theories will be next. Or Alan Turing. Overall, the final result of Logicomix opens some doors for more works in this are. At least I hope it does.

Secret Santa office present! Well can you still call it that when it was one of those Yankee Swap debacles? I will still call it that because I'd rather not acknowledge the Yankee Swap debacle. Anyway good present..Interesting to read, since I am easily impressed by serious work in math. I am easily doubtful, though, too.I like all the pieces in this book a lot. I like comics and I like nonfiction and biography and even the philosophy lessons, and I like the Oresteia and meta-discussion about what's come after this work of Bertrand Russell's. Unfortunately the more kinds of things there were the less I was sure what the book was meant to be like. So I started to miss things -- Is it bad I don't really understand Russell's Paradox? Why the Greek tragedy, exactly? Where did the story of the second half of Russell's life go?Particularly, I liked the thematic connection made to the invention of the computer, and the idea of Russell's eventual theoretic victory being proved in that field. I wish there'd been more about it here -- perhaps the creators really are working on a follow-up on that subject, as they meta-joked they could, but if not it seems a missed opportunity to bring it all home. Web programmers I know are interested in the book for these reasons too. It's definitely meaningful.Probably worth a reread one day.

I enjoyed this book. You get a glimpse of mainly who Bertrand Russell was or more accurately might have been and his quest for the foundation of mathematics. You also get introduced to logic, set theory, Russell's paradox and many other famous mathematicians. It's a quick read and definitely different and entertaining.

A great Sunday morning read. Inspiring and informative. I was disappointed with the ending however. Russell's sense of failure was clearly a pre-existing condition, Cristos is correct to point out that there was no failure, in fact quite the opposite. Russell is not unique in having his work marginalized or disproved nor in making the decision to limit the scope of their work for pragmatic reasons. In fact he shares this with even more great thinkers than the so-called "madness" that the authors imply haunts great thinkers. I would have liked the comic to end with the promise of continuing the story with the next generation. There is surely enough human politic, comedy, and tragedy there so satisfy even the purest Greek blood. Rather the comic jumped the track and latched onto an over extended, flatulent analogy. I should have taken the obvious hint to put the book down when Manga molested the owl. All that being said, however, I really loved this book and applaud those who worked on it. It is clearly a work of love and passion and I was touched by it.

Resolution of the copy is terrible, unreadable at this point. Deeply disappointed. Such a promising book ruined for me.

You can't zoom in, the strips are very small to read and low quality.

If not the most gripping graphic novel I've read, this is certainly on of the most intellectual. It tells a simplified and slightly dramatized life of Bertrand Russell, using the structure of a reflective lecture on logic's application to real life, given in the US in the early days of World War II when the debate about whether to enter the war was hot and heavy. Add yet another framing structure where the co-creators of the book debate the themes of logic and madness, and that Papadimitriou is invited to co-author because as a computer scientist he can explain exactly what Russell, Frege, Goedel, Hilbert, and the others were trying to do and whether they succeeded or not. As both a math major who focused on pure logic, and a computer scientist myself, I can't judge how well the explanation of theory works for others. For me, it felt sincere but incomplete, no pun intended.

Reommended.

Since I read that the introduction was written by Fernando Savater, I anticipated a masterful work. Logicomix combines my innate passion for mathematics and that love I have for literature, so coming across this text at the beginning of my career made me realize that I don't have to abandon either of my two interests, and I can still thrive.

I recommend this comic for those who like mathematics and for those who don’t, because it offers a more historical and fun perspective, dynamic and specifying terms so that the reader doesn’t get lost.

I don’t think I have much to say about this comic; let yourself be surprised and take a pleasant break reading it. It's a bit difficult to digest, but it has marked me like never before. I don't give it 5 stars because I feel the ending could have been better developed; however, overall it was an enjoyable and interesting read. (Translated from Spanish)

Oh, this was wonderful. I've long been a fan of Bertrand Russell, and it was great to read something written so well about his life and ideas, and the ideas of those around him. Yes, some elements were fictionalized, but I think the creative team still had a good grip on Russell's personality. I was very impressed.

Eh, it's fine. It looks great, it moves but fundementally, if I want to know about Bertrand Russell, I will read his wikipedia page, followed by a biography. Or one of his books. I'm failing to see how this is much more than a finely illustrated wikipedia page.

Overall, a good story about a topic I knew little about (the life of Bertrand Russell). I wasn't thrilled with the narrative structure, which sometimes got lost in its own ebb and flow and felt a bit clunky at times. But still, it was a decent tale.

It was hard for me to think of the world of mathematics being on shaky ground. I graduated with a Math degree, so much of the mathematical material was familiar. The biographical and historical information on Russell was fascinating. This lends more power to the idea that there is a relationship between genius and madness. I'd love to see what they could do with a similar book on Turing's life.

Super interesting, this is somewhere between a non-fiction biography of Bertrand Russell and a history of early logical thinking.

Way overrated. It's just a biopic of Russell. I learn Math from any Ted video better than from this book. If we can get the message by just surfing into Wikipedia, why spend so much energy in drawing pictures and writing dialogue.

A decent, if shaky, biography of Bertrand Russell, with brief explanations of the chief problems of logic and philosophy he took on. For someone who's already read about this, it's pretty shallow and suffers from the "Best Of" disease, but I also don't see it making a huge impact on readers new to Russell, Cantor, Wittgenstein, and Goedel. It's all a bit wishy-washy, with a distracting self-referential streak, with authors arguing about the book's flaws themselves; I'm sure it seemed charming, but it comes across as confusing more than anything else. The illustration style is great, with some unconvincing color work.

‘Organic life, we are told, has developed gradually from the protozoan to the philosopher, and this development, we are assured, is indubitably an advance. Unfortunately it is the philosopher, not the protozoan, who gives us this assurance.’
—Bertrand Russell

‘Logic! Good gracious! What rubbish! How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?’
—EM Forster

Logicomix has the admirable idea of presenting us, in comic form, with the story of the search for the logical underpinnings of mathematics in the early twentieth century, told mostly through the life of Bertrand Russell.

Usually, when this story comes up at all, it seems to be told by way of a prelude to the birth of computing (in, for instance, Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which rushes past Russell to get to Turing), so it was nice here to see it placed front and centre. And on the whole, the details of these often quite abstruse theoretical investigations are very well explained here, embedded as they are in the context of the main players' personal lives and professional rivalries.

I really love Bertrand Russell for the way that his professional logicalism did not impede his towering moral authority – he embodied a pacifistic, anti-authoritarian activism that was awakened during the First World War and that lasted until the end of his life, when he was still being dragged away from protests by police in his eighties. This moral sensibility takes a backseat to the quest for logic in the book, though it's definitely there – a framing story concerns Russell's feelings about pacifism in the 1939 war, and within the main story the authors are careful to show the effects of the first war on all the major characters.

I have to admit, with my ideal image of Russell in mind, it was painful for me to read about the way he behaved towards his first wife and his children, about which I knew nothing before I read this. The authors – as they themselves explain – are very concerned to make sure that this is a story about these mathematicians' and philosophers' private lives as well as their professional investigations. Though I have to admit, the drama in the forbidden relationships and family secrets never seemed quite as engaging to me as the actual nerdy stuff about logic.

I had lingering doubts as I read this of whether it was really suited to the comics form: somehow, it never really felt like it was playing to the strengths of the medium. I was also not convinced by the choice to include several metanarrational interludes in which the authors and illustrators talk about how best to tell the story; this seemed, on the whole, more of a distraction than anything else, although a final section set during a present-day production of the Oresteia is a tour-de-force.

There's lots to get out of this book and I'd definitely recommend it, but in the end it's one of those pieces that I admired more for its concept than its execution. Illogical perhaps – but that, as the book demonstrates, is to be expected.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The art is fun, and I found the discussions about logic and its foibles interesting. I think I would have liked it better as a straight biography of Bertrand Russell; the drive to make a fictional story out of what is actually a pretty interesting subject confuses me. Why add layers of fiction to something good enough on its own?

I admit that the idea of "historical fiction" just doesn't do it for me. Makes no sense. Tell a true story and call it historical, or tell a traditional story and call it fiction. I don't like blending the two.

And, finally, the end of the book lost me. What was the point? Maybe I am too tired to put it all together. But, rather than wrapping things up in a meaningful, poignant way, I felt like the end just sort of petered out. Like they were just done and wanted to draw some cool pictures.

But still, worth a couple days' read.