My unfailingly positive experiences with the graphic novel have come to an abrupt and conclusive end.  The Five Fists of Science by Matt Fraction unambiguously sucks.  The “five fists” are Nicola Tesla, Mark Twain (more of a science cheerleader in the book, but whatever), and a one-armed junior-level assistant named Timmy. Seriously.

5 fists

The villains in the story are the industrialists of the time - Morgan, Carnegie, etc.  The intro says that Carnegie was really a nice guy though. So they’re just kidding.  It was terrible.  Maybe it is the genre that isn’t my bag. According to WikiPedia, 5 Fists is a steampunk graphic novel.  Think of the crappy Will Smith/Kevin Kline movie Wild Wild West, and you’ll get the picture.  I have nothing nice to say, so I’ll move on.

Luckily, I’ve been having a positive graphic novel experience that offsets the 5 Fists experience.  Some geniuses decided to give the 9/11 Commission Report the graphic novel treatment, and it is riveting.  You can check it for free a chapter at a time at Slate. I didn’t read the original, so I have nothing to compare it to.  I highly recommend it.  I feel smarter already, and there are six more chapters to come.