An “Existential Terror and Breakfast” Companion:

After reading the latest entry to my serial “Existential Terror and Breakfast” and the latest issue to Mr. Square, are you left with wanting another fix of philosophy or comics? Combined? AGAIN?!

Though I have already recommended Existential Comics, I did not touch on the originator of the idea Dead Philosophers in Heaven (found here). They are both excellent comics that have philosophers across the ages interact with each other, but Dead Philosophers in Heaven is the original gangsta of the two and has a special place in my heart.

Dead Philosophers in Heaven – The Artwork:

If you are a fan of Terry Gilliam’s animations from Monty Python’s Flying Circus the aesthetics of Matt Russell and Nick Gibb’s will seem familiar and pleasing. Each philosopher is represented by either a photograph, sculpture, or painting of them in black in white. The lack of color is actually a strong suite as it gives the comics an air of seriousness that is often and relentlessly betrayed. The early comics still hold as looking well made, but as the series goes the amount of Photoshop and photo manipulation skills improve and the comic looks increasingly well made.

Dead Philosophers in Heaven – The writing:

These comics are extremely witty. The comparison of Monty Python’s Flying Circus holds with the range of humor and mix of highly cerebral philosophical concepts. One of my all time comics portrays Descartes going back to his cabin for more existential meditations. He stares at a fire for forty something days and It… escalates. It escalates REALLY quickly.

The unfortunate thing is that this comic has not been updated since May of last year and as of right now there is not anything on their site to suggest as to the reasons. It has gone on hiatus in the past, so there is reason to believe that this will not be a permanent state for the site. Regardless, the archive is one that is worth going to and the comic is one of the best things to grace the internet. Give them an e-mail when you drop by and beg them to make more, I want my favorite comic back!

“Existential Terror and Breakfast” Updates every Wednesday, Its “Companion Piece” updates every Thursday.