Category Archives: Nikola Tesla

June 30, 2015 · 1:00 pm

Review: Herald: Lovecraft & Tesla Vol. 1 (#1-3)

Much in the spirit of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” the action-and-character-packed “Herald: Lovecraft and Tesla” manages to deliver on its ambitious promise. You certainly have a sense of urgency going on as we see Amelia Earhart running smack into her ill-fated destiny with key figures, Nikola Tesla, H.P. Lovecraft, and even Albert Einstein, determined to save her. Of course, Amelia would say that a woman doesn’t need any saving! All this glorious activity, written by John Reilly, is brought into a crisp clarity by the pencils of Tom Rogers. And then that is given a warm glow and finish by Dexter Weeks in charge of inks, coloring, and lettering. The new trade paperback collects the first three issues to this six-issue series, published by Action Lab Entertainment.

This is exactly what you would hope it would be: a faithfully realized adventure mashup with a steampunk energy running throughout. You don’t just get all the famous players lined up or lounging about. They’re really walking and talking characters and substantial references are made to who they are and what might motivate them to travel in similar circles. Well, in this case, truth can be stranger than fiction. For instance, the real Nikola Tesla actually did hang out with Mark Twain. Thankfully, the narrative picks up on some essential truths, like the fact that Nikola Tesla, despite his brilliance, was taken to the cleaners by Thomas Edison. Or the fact that the athletic Harry Houdini was actually friends with the intellectual Lovecraft. These choice bits of factoids are treated lightly and smoothly.

We also don’t waste any time in getting to a free-wheeling fantasy, particularly the romantic pairing of Tesla with Earhart. You have to have these two together for the rest of the story to work. It’s Earhart who somehow gets caught up in swiping one of Tesla’s experiments. And this leads to the big chase that slides into confrontations with ancient gods, secret societies, strange technologies, and even occultist Aleister Crowley.

Hats off to Tom Rogers for his spirited depictions of everyone involved and his dynamic handling of settings. He has quite an energetic style that mingles a tight adherence to details with a lively effortless quality. He really enjoys bringing in an intense angular look to his people and places. What Rogers makes look bold and smooth, might turn out stilted in a lesser talent. So, there, you’ve got a very solid creative team all working together on something special, something that I can actually get excited about.

If you happen to be Beaverton, Oregon, this Wednesday, July 1st, stop by the Things From Another World comics shop to see Tom Rogers in person as he’ll be there signing from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. To RSVP and check out more details on that event, go right here.

And visit our friends at Action Lab Entertainment right here.

Review: RASL by Jeff Smith

Nikola Tesla, the man that Thomas Edison viciously attempted to discredit, has emerged from the fringes and regained his role as the top wizard in the public’s mind. Among the new crop of science fiction that he’s inspired, there is Jeff Smith’s remarkable new graphic novel, “RASL.” Originally a comic book series, starting in 2008, this hardcover collected work goes a long way in stoking the fires of popular imagination.

“RASL,” which stands for “Romance At the Speed of Light,” is a multi-layered roller coaster of a story. Our hero, or anti-hero, goes by the nickname of “Rasl” and, in our first look at him, he appears to be little more than a thief, although a highly unusual and sophisticated one. We see him hang off a high-rise ledge, pop into a penthouse apartment, and make away with an original Picasso. He fights off a lizard-faced man. And he escapes by being zapped by a turbojet contraption. Yeah, then things really go nuts.

Rasl, it turns out, is far more than the coolest thief ever. He’s Dr. Robert Johnson, a genius-level scientist who has gotten a little too close to the military industrial complex. The good doctor knows too much and is left burdened with figuring out what to do with this special knowledge. Much like all of humanity has been burdened since the atomic genie was let out of the bottle, something else is on the horizon to threaten everyone–but this one is not going to fit in any silo.

In matters of life and death, all bets are off and anything can happen. Smith plays quite well with this sort of high-octane tension. It’s a “North by Northwest” kind of pacing mixed in with a doomsday scenario that cleverly unleashes many a favorite sci-fi theme. You get the Philadelphia Experiment mashed with the Tunguska Event. And you most assuredly get a close look at the world of Nikola Tesla. It is Tesla technology, after all, that allows Rasl to “drift” through dimensions.

What keeps this narrative grounded is Rasl and the circle of characters he interacts with on his journey. There are two women, for instance, that are key to helping him maintain his sanity, let alone complete his mission. There is Annie, who only really knows Rasl as a bushy-haired hoodlum. And there’s Maya, who only really knows Rob, the great man of science. She also happens to know Rob as her lover. Too bad she’s also married to Rob’s lab partner, Miles. Between the two of them, Miles and Rob can provide the greatest scientific breakthrough in ages–if only it were that easy and morally unambiguous.

Drawn in a very clean and animated way, “RASL” is a joy to behold. The characters are all very compelling and the storytelling is immersive. It is perfectly tuned which is what makes what unfolds all the more captivating. Rasl must not only deal with what to do to potentially save the planet. He must confront what it means to exist in the first place. Not only that, given the magnitude of this misadventure, the very notion of reality is explored, just like it is in any good work of science fiction. What makes Smith’s tale special is his thoughtful selection of what to bring to the table.

“RASL” is published by Cartoon Books, available now, and you can check it out here.

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Filed under Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Jeff Smith, Nikola Tesla, RASL, Sci-Fi, science fiction, Time Travel

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June 3, 2012 · 9:07 pm

REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR DVD Review

It seems like only yesterday (well, 2006) that many of us were feeling full of regret over what could have been as presented in the enthralling documentary by director Chris Paine, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” And now, only a blink of an eye later (2011), we have an amazing answer in Mr. Paine’s follow-up, “Revenge of the Electric Car.” Oh, these are exciting times we live in! Yes, you better believe it, the future is now. We really do have electric cars. We’re at the early stages, but, as the film makes clear, there is no turning back. It’s history in the making and this time we’re getting it right.

Wall Street Journal columnist Dan Neil sets the tone in the opening segment as he ogles various sports cars he spots on a drive through LA. He recalls, wistfully, his love of fast cars. Everything about them was beautiful. “The only problem was the gasoline in the tank.” By measures humorous and contemplative, this documentary navigates through the maze of facts and comes out with a fully charged story centering on four main characters. 2006’s “Who Killed The Electric Car” made the case for how the electric car was scuttled before it had a chance at the dawn of car development. Then, to make matters worse, when GM recently developed a viable electric car, the EV1 (1996 – 2002), it chose to recall it and scrap it. This “sequel” picks up where the original film left off as GM re-enters the electric car market in 2008. But they have forfeited their head start. There are new players and it’s going to be a heated race.

The narrative is quite compelling as it hangs on four men coming from four very different directions. Each is given a title, and appropriate background music, as we enter their world. First, we meet “Mr. Detroit,” who is none other than the macho showman, Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of GM. This guy is such a legend in the business, having led various auto giants throughout his career, that he already has his own nickname, “Mr. Horsepower.” You would be hard put not to like the man. While he may not exactly believe in global warming, he has come to see the reality of electric cars. This epiphany has been spurred on by “Rocket Man,” Elon Musk, who made is fortune as the creator of PayPal. He now divides his time between Tesla Motors, his own rocket company, SpaceX and a new wife and five children. You almost see his head spin as the story unfolds. We see him struggle with his first entry in the e-car market, the Tesla Roadster, a ultra high-end car that is so expensive to create that Mr. Musk must go back to buyers still waiting on their orders and tell them that the price tag has gone up. We then do a zippy segue to “The Outsider,” Greg “Gadget” Abbott, an e-car converter. He is in the business of retrofitting old cars and turning them into e-car hotrods. He is caught at a difficult time with some unfortunate mishaps but remains optimistic. His portrait gives us a sense of the grassroots enthusiasm for e-cars.

Full of dramatic effect, we’re introduced to “The Warrior.” This is Renault-Nissan’s Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn. The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Neil likens Mr. Ghosn to Sun Tzu, author of the classic in military strategy, “The Art of War.” The Ghosn strategy, according to Mr. Neil, is taken from this book and is, “Be where your enemy isn’t.” It is a game plan enacted with a vengeance with a commitment of 6 billion dollars behind it. “Every day that our competition delays is a good day for us,” Mr. Ghosn states with gusto at a news conference. His approach is full on: A purely electric car, with a 100 mile range, priced for the widest market. Unlike Tesla Motors, and its Roadster (prior to the Model S) priced at $100,000 and up; and unlike GM’s Chevrolet Volt, which has a backup gasoline engine, the Nissan Leaf is purely electric and priced right at about $30,000. Mr. Ghosn, with such a determined spirit about him, is undeniably in the driver’s seat. At the time this documentary was made, Mr. Lutz and Mr. Musk seem oblivious to him. Even towards the end, when the two men literally bump into each other at a major car show, they seem puzzled by the Nissan Leaf and its significance. It is fascinating to watch.

While it will still take some time before electric cars are the norm, the process has begun. All humanity, the Earth and all polar bears can breathe a sigh of relief. This documentary is essential viewing for all of us as we embark on a whole new way of life. Paced like a dramatic story, with narration by Tim Robbins, and full of insights by various auto industry insiders, you can’t help but get caught up in the narrative and root for the true hero in all this, the electric car. For more information, visit www.revengeoftheelectriccar.com.