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!
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jun 6, 2011 -
29 comments
SHIT COMICS: A deep resource of comics/cartoon arcana, lore, links, history, news and more. Why not check out some
Beibers,
early 20th century cartoon tips,
ULTIMO,
A Voyage To The Moon,
Never aired Dan Clowes Commercials,
James Kochalka Number One ,
A Pekar Family Circus, and
venturing vegetables. (Strange and occasionally NSFW)
posted by The Whelk
on Sep 14, 2010 -
10 comments
Polio: A Virus’ Struggle is a Graphic Novella by James Weldon.
When we eradicate a disease, do we ever think about how it may effect the disease?
Learn all about the history of Poliomyelitis, as he tells his story to the group.
posted by vertigo25
on Apr 12, 2009 -
16 comments
Jack Jackson, writing as Jaxon,
may have created the first underground comic, God Nose, in 1964. In 1969 he was one of the founders of RipOff Press. Jackson's work at that time included horror stories (in Skull Comics, RipOff's tribute to EC) and political fare. Jackson returned to
his native Texas in the 70s and began work on a series of
comics on Texas history. In 1979 he published
Comanche Moon,
the story of the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker and of her son, the great Comanche chief Quanah Parker. Jackson was influenced by
Texas History Movies, a 1920s comic strip by Jack Patton and John Rosenfeld that was compiled into booklets and used in Texas schools until the 1960s.
Other works by Jackson included the story of Spanish-Americans in the war for Texas independence, the Alamo as seen from both sides, and a look at
Sam Houston's relationship with the Cherokee. The subjects of
Jackson's comics tended to be history's dispossessed and, in 1998, he published
Lost Cause, a look at post-Civil War white Texans.
Accused of racism,
Jackson replied that he intended to
show history as it was, not as people wanted it to have been. The
Comics Reporter:
"Jackson's Texas was capable of grotesquery and atrocity because Jackson's art was able to communicate extreme, transcendent moments without hesitation or shame." Aside from comics, Jackson wrote a number of books on
Texas and
other history, including
the award-winning Los Mestenos, a study of Spanish ranching in Texas. He was a lifetime member of the Texas State Historical Society. Jackson's health deteriorated as he grew older and he suffered from diabetes and prostate cancer. On June 8, Jack Jackson
committed suicide near the Stockton, Texas cemetery where his parents are buried.
posted by CCBC
on Jul 26, 2006 -
19 comments
Bush Junta: A Field Guide to Corruption in Government - A substantial visual document (200 pages of comics from Fantagraphics, fact-checked with an extensive bibliography; the link goes to a number of sample pages) on the Bush Dynasty, from its beginnings benefitting off of Hitler and WW2 (that entire piece, which is printed in english, is posted in its original dutch online
here), to the Bush's connection to Reagan's assassination, CIA and Iran-Contra, ending with the unsettling origins and profiles of the current administration. A great election primer, featuring comics and art by Steve Brodner, Ralph Steadman, Spain Rodriguez and many others. (
Amazon link provided for a better description)
posted by Peter H
on Oct 11, 2004 -
11 comments
Volume Three is finally coming out! For those of you unfamiliar with
Larry Gonick,
here are a
few samples of this cartoonist's historical and scientific cartooning. He's done cartoon books on
physics,
statistics,
genetics, the history of the
United States, the
environment,
sex,
communication, and, of course, the
history of the
universe.
posted by interrobang
on Sep 10, 2002 -
7 comments
My buddy and I are in a pub, and I mention this website called
Gone and Forgotten, which is all about superheroes who were so ill-conceived that they were quickly abandoned. And my buddy says "What about the Metal Men -- do they talk about the Metal Men?" And I say "The Metal who?" And my buddy says "They were these robots, and they had each had the powers associated with the metal they were made of. Like, Lead could block x-rays, and Mercury could, I dunno, take your temperature or something." And I tell my buddy that, although I don't know if the Metal Men appear on the virtual pages of G.A.F., I am certain that
someone out there on the Internet has created a Unofficial Metal Man Fan Page. And
I am right.
posted by Shadowkeeper
on Aug 23, 2002 -
26 comments
Welcome to Teddy. Images, words, and comics about a relationship gone wrong, right, wrong, wrong, and wrong from Ethan Persoff; incredible stuff. Some language may not be suitable for work viewing, unless no one can see your monitor. (Thanks to
Velvet Cerebellum.)
posted by moz
on Nov 7, 2001 -
18 comments
