The Cartoon Guide to Life, the Universe, and Everything

Rhaomi — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:20:53 -0800

Larry Gonick is a veteran American cartoonist best known for his delightful comic-book guides to science and history, many of which have previews online. Chief among them is his long-running Cartoon History of the Universe (later The Cartoon History of the Modern World), a sprawling multi-volume opus documenting everything from the Big Bang to the Bush administration. Published over the course of three decades, it takes a truly global view -- its time-traveling Professor thoroughly explores not only familiar topics like Rome and World War II but the oft-neglected stories of Asia and Africa, blending caricature and myth with careful scholarship (cited by fun illustrated bibliographies) and tackling even the most obscure events with intelligence and wit. This savvy satire carried over to Gonick's Zinn-by-way-of-Pogo chronicle The Cartoon History of the United States, along with a bevy of Cartoon Guides to other topics, including Genetics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, The Environment, and (yes!) Sex. Gonick has also maintained a few sideprojects, such as a webcomic look at Chinese invention, assorted math comics (previously), the Muse magazine mainstay Kokopelli & Co. (featuring the shenanigans of his "New Muses"), and more. See also these lengthy interview snippets, linked previously. Want more? Amazon links to the complete oeuvre inside! Reading note: All the book titles in the post above link to readable versions on the web. Some of the older Cartoon Guides and the first chunk of the original Cartoon History of the Universe comics (through Volume 9 -- ancient China) are available in full; the rest, including the (two-part) Modern World series and The United States, are available partially through Harper-Collins' free book preview feature, which includes the first dozen or so pages of each book and then jumps ahead randomly from there to the end. So pay attention to the page numbers on those links to avoid getting caught off guard by the (unannounced) page-skips! Amazon links:

Cartoon History: The Cartoon History of the Universe I (Vol. 1-7): From the Big Bang to Alexander the Great (1990) The Cartoon History of the Universe II (Vol. 8-13): From the Springtime of China to the Fall of Rome (1994) The Cartoon History of the Universe III (Vol. 14-19): From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance (2002) The Cartoon History of the United States (1991) The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution (2007) The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 2: From the Bastille to Baghdad (2009) Cartoon Guides: The Cartoon Guide to Genetics (1983) The Cartoon Guide to the Computer (1991) The Cartoon Guide to Physics (1992) The Cartoon Guide to (Non) Communication (1993) The Cartoon Guide to Statistics (1994) The Cartoon Guide to the Environment (1996) The Cartoon Guide to Sex (1999) The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry (2005) Other: Kokopelli & Company in Attack of the Smart Pies (2005)

Nothing is Forgotten

Gator — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:29:28 -0800

Nothing is Forgotten, a lovely little wordless comic about loss, fear, kindness, and memory.

Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name

flatluigi — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:10:41 -0800

Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name is a 'sugarcoated horror' webcomic that's wonderfully illustrated and typeset.

True Oklahoma stories

drezdn — Tue, 26 Oct 2004 18:56:03 -0800

Why is there a tiny video camera inside my intestines... Jeffrey Rowland, creator of WIGU, has a new comic telling "true" stories from his life.

MetaFilter posts tagged with Webcomic and illustration

The Cartoon Guide to Life, the Universe, and Everything

Nothing is Forgotten

Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name

True Oklahoma stories