The Art of War (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Many think that the ancient Chinese text known as The Art of War is a guide for leading men into battle. But in reality, the 5th century BC work is a treatise of how generals can win over their foes without any bloodshed whenever possible.

Sun Tzu was a brilliant strategist whose mere mention of his name inspired fear in the hearts of his enemies. Sun Tzu learned that from this intimidating reputation, he could sometimes lead his troops to victory without firing a single shot or raising of a sword. As a result Sun Tzu transcribed his philosophy on warfare onto a number of long bamboo slats. 

For over 2000 years, Sun Tzu,'s words were the primary guide of military tactics for the armies of the Chinese emperors. Over this period of time, The Art of War was divided into 13 chapters. After a Jesuit priest first translated The Art of War into a Romance language in the late 1700s, other scholars began to reorganize Sun Tzu's texts into thematic categories. Though the Chapter names vary by translator, the contents remain relatively untouched.

The Marine Corps, West Point, numerous companies across the United States and Japan, professional sports coaches, even the KGB have used Sun Tzu's philosophy as required reading. Captain Picard in a season one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation expresses relief that Starfleet still teaches The Art of War to its cadets. Yes, the works of Sun Tzu will live on in the 24th century!

The legacy of The Art of War and its influence on world history is undeniable. However scholars still can't agree if Sun Tzu even existed. For one thing, the name of Sun Tzu is an honorific. It means ' Master Sun'. The man known as Sun Tzu was born Sun Wu. A 2nd century record of the dynasties of China up to that point, identifies a text of military strategies written by a Sun Wu. It's believed that this is the author of The Art of War and that the title of Sun Tzu wasn't bestowed upon him until a millennium later. 

Around 2010, indy publisher Writers of the Round Table created the imprint SmarterComics which began with publishing a series of graphic novels based on popular business bestsellers. The Art of War was part of the first wave. 

In the graphic novel, Cullen Bunn pits Sun Tzu's narrative with everyday situations. Some are practical, like rival businesses attempting to woo a wealthy financier. Some have military applications, such as a platoon leader making strategic choices in hopes of avoiding an armed conflict. Through these scenarios, artist Shane Clester occasionally places Sun Tzu into the mix. He's often depicted as the advisor whose wisdom inspires the main character of each scene into action; including the one starring the mafia don! 

Unfortunately, the idea of business themed graphic novels wasn't a huge seller. A 2011 feature on the CBS News might have helped the company garner a little additional interest. SmarterComics' last post on social media was in April, 2013 on Facebook for a book called Future Favors the Bold about becoming an over achiever. Though the page remains active, no further postings or works have been forthcoming. The last publication from Writers of the Round Table Inc. appears to be a 2013 children's graphic novel called The Crusaders. In 2015, graphic novels from SmarterComics appeared in Ollie's Discount Stores nationwide. It's from a central North Carolina locale that this copy of The Art of War was purchased.

Completing this review completes Task #38 (Published in Black and White) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work) in Words and Pictures (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Prior to releasing his book Economix in 2012, writer Michael Goodwin took a bunch of volumes on the economy, moved to India, settled in and did extensive research on the economy. For over 2 years, Goodwin combs over theories by noted economists such as Adam Smith, Keynes, Friedman, Ricardo. Even less conventional 'experts' like Marx and Engels are explored in this graphic novel exploration of how money makes the world go round. 

Along with the theories, Michael Goodwin examined how those theories impacted the markets and society as a whole in practice in business; both public and private. To do this, the author has a global look at economics. But being an American, Goodwin's focus in this book is the American economy. And boy did the United States make a ton of blunders when it comes to money. 

Goodwin does a fairly decent job just recording the facts. But it's hard for anyone to give a balanced, straight line approach without putting too much of yourself in a book such as this. I could only read this book in small chunks, considering how infuriating a lot those blunders made me. I would say that the author presents 'just the facts' about 70% of the time with about 30% emotions and opinions running the narrative. 

As for the visuals, it's a mix of line graphs, cartoon and caricature. Tasked with all of this is artist Dan E. Burr (Presidential Misadventures). The line graphs went over my head. I'm strictly a bar graph and pie chart man myself. I thought the cartoons had that unifying feel as noted years ago by Scott McCloud. The caricatures, while definitely something you might see on the Jersey Boardwalk, captured the images of 300 years of politicians, dignitaries and economic experts pretty well. 

As I mentioned earlier, this book was not something I could consume in just a couple of days. It took me almost the entire month of July, 2022 to complete it. There was a lot of theory, a ton of history and a gigantic amount of injustice. Economix made me think a lot about the spending of cash; how I spend it; and how changes in the regime shifts our cash flow. Being a school teacher in a specialized subject, I'm scared to death about losing my funding and my job in the wake of the mid-term election and 2024. 

My eyes are also opened quite a bit to the amount of excess being put upon our world. It moved me so much that I'm ready to cut my spending, live more sustainably and stop buying things I don't need. And then I saw the new line of comic book tees available for sale on Facebook...

Guess I've got a long way to go before I change the world. 

Worth Consuming! - But it surely will infuriate you from time to time!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #11 (About Business) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 60

 
    On today's date in Madman history, Bank of America changed the name of it's credit card to VISA. It also underwent a major business structure change.
 
     The BankAmericard debuted in 1958. But because each branch of Bank of America was responsible for not only issuing their own cards they also had to collect fees and repayments on their own. Ideally, the plan was supposed to be smooth and easy. But as people got more mobile and traveled both nationwide and globally, the collection process became a nightmare. 

1977 magazine ad explaining the name change
to Visa.

    Another issue Bank of America didn't foresee was credit card fraud. Con men such as Frank Abagnale Jr. stole millions for BoA and dozens of other banks running scams involving credit cards. So in 1976, IBANCO, the International Bankcard Company, voted to restructure the BankAmericard into two entities: Visa USA and Visa International. Eventually, they would merge into just 1 Visa card.

A 1958 BankAmericard.

     The Blue and Gold Card, over the next 40 years, grew to become one of the top 2 most recognized credit cards used worldwide; Mastercard being the other. I've got one or two myself. Though to be honest, one is actually a debit card tied into the Visa company as a financial backer. Thus, if I ever overdraft my account, Visa will post bonds for my expenses- for a hefty fee of course!

What the heck did Elvis need with a credit card?

     Well, that's my look at 1977 for today. Until tomorrow- don't spend more than you can afford!