I recently found a link to a series of Larry Gonick's mathematical cartoons that were originally published in Discover magazine:
- Beauty and the Beasts (neural nets)
- Prime Time (cryptography)
- Proof Positive? (probabalistic proofs)
- Lumps, with Mother Nature (chaotic mixing)
- Speed (relativity)
- The Solution (traveling salesman's problem)
- Filler Up! (space-filling solids)
- The Bowerbird's Dilemma (game theory)
- El Topo (DNA topology)
- Portrait of a Problem (protein-folding energy landscsapes)
- It's the Pits (wavelets)
It's great stuff. Here's a sample panel from the one on cryptography:
I've followed Larry Gonick's work for ages. He's famous for his easy to grasp, beautifully illustrated treatment of complex topics – as exemplified in the series of books he's published:
- Cartoon History of the Universe Vol I (1990)
- Cartoon History of the Universe Vol II (1994)
- Cartoon History of the Universe Vol III (2002)
- Cartoon History of the Modern World Vol I (ETA late 2006)
- Cartoon History of the United States (1991)
- Cartoon Guide to Chemistry (2005)
- Cartoon Guide to the Computer (1983)
- Cartoon Guide to the Environment (1996)
- Cartoon Guide to Genetics (1991)
- Cartoon Guide to (non)Communication (1993)
- Cartoon Guide to Physics (1992)
- Cartoon Guide to Sex (1999)
- Cartoon Guide to Statistics (1994)
Although I made fun of the Learn ASP.NET in 24 Hours meme, I am a big fan of learning subjects in cartoon form. You learn more when you're having fun doing it.