''Epicurus the Sage'' is a two-issue limited series

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

, written by

William Messner-Loebs William Francis Messner-Loebs (; born William Francis Loebs Jr., February 19, 1949) is an Americans, American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his a ...

, with art by

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and '' Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

. The two issues were published in 1989 and 1991 by Piranha Press, the "alternative comics" imprint of

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Plot

Ancient Greek philosopher Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics ...

Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...

appears as the main character of the book, traveling the ancient world with

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

's young pupil

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, 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 Aesop ( ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE; formerly rendered as Æsop) was a Greeks, Greek wikt:fabulist, fabulist and Oral storytelling, storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence re ...

(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 (; 450–404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently ...

and

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

), 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 paperback () by

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

, an imprint of

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

. This book featured a new painted cover by

, a black and white "Epicurus" story from ''Fast Forward'' #3, and an all new 36-page Epicurus story by Kieth and Messner-Loebs.

References

1989 comics debuts Comics set in ancient Greece {{DC-Comics-stub