Logicomix

Logicomix
is a graphic novel on the foundational quest in mathematics.
Set between the late 19th century and present-day, the graphic novel Logicomix is based on the epic story of the so-called "foundational quest" in mathematics. This was a heroic intellectual adventure in which many of the protagonists wound up insane, consequence of their Icarian pursuit of absolute knowledge. Written by Apostolos Doxiadis, author of the international bestseller Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture, a novel that essentially invented the "math fiction" genre, and leading theoretical computer scientist Christos Papadimitriou, the book tells its tale in such as way as to make the lofty intellectual and mathematical material accessible and relevant, without watering it down.
The book intertwines the philosophical struggles with the characters' own personal turmoil. These are in turn played out just upstage of the momentous historical events of the era and the ideological battles which gave rise to them. The narrator of the story is the great Bertrand Russell, who stands as an icon of so many of these themes: a deeply sensitive and introspective man, Russell was not just a philosopher and pacifist, he was also one of the great heroes of the foundational quest. Russell's life story, depicted by Logicomix, is itself a journey through the goals and struggles, and triumph and tragedy shared by so many great thinkers of the 20th century: Ludwig Wittgenstein, G.E. Moore, Alfred North Whitehead, David Hilbert, Gottlob Frege, Henri Poincaré, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing.
A parallel tale, set in present-day Athens, records the creators’ disagreement on the meaning of the story, thus setting in relief the foundational quest as the quintessential modern adventure. It is on the one hand a tragedy of the hubris of rationalism, and on the other an origin myth of that most wondrous of human inventions, the computer.
Story and Concept by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou
Script by Apostolos Doxiadis
Character Design and Artwork by Alecos Papadatos
Color by Annie Di Donna

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