Nikola Tesla

This comic is a graphic biography of Nikola Tesla that was originally published in Italy in 2021. Tesla was a contemporary of Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Author Sergio Rossi poses a question for the reader: was Tesla a brilliant inventor or a visionary detached from his time? It is one of five historical fiction graphic biographies published in March 2023 of famous Europeans by Comixology Originals. Comixology partnered with Italian publisher Becco Giallo to translate each of these comics into English. 

Tesla was raised in Austro-Hungarian Empire during the mid-nineteeth century. While his family was poor, he was able to study and become an engineer. Searching to make a fortune Tesla emigrated to France and then the United States. While in America he obtained a job in Thomas Edison's laboratory where the War of the Currents began. Edison was a proponent of direct current for energy while Tesla believed in an alternate current. Tesla won the war as his alternating current was chosen to be used on a national scale.

The story was told in black and white drawings, usually two to a page. The narrators were two men who were discussing Tesla while driving in a car. One of them was a scientist and the other was a documentary film maker. This format was easy to read and understand. Note, though, that this comic is not a complete biography. Rather, it offers a good starting point for further reading about Tesla.

5 out of 5 stars.