Manga/comic Guides to ...

[ConMan]

A while back, I ran across a couple of interesting series of books on Amazon. There are "The Manga Guide to ..." with titles including Databases, Molecular Biology and The Universe, and "The Cartoon Guide to ..." Chemistry, Economics, etc. For reference, this is what the Manga Guide to Databases looks like.

I bought the Manga Guides to Databases and Statistics, and they were both fairly good introductory guides to their subjects. I don't know about the Cartoon Guides, but the Manga ones have a mix of (sometimes incredibly contrived) story and more textbook-y content, and they are interesting and reasonably varied. The MG to Databases, for example, is set in a magical kingdom where the princess is having trouble dealing with inefficient processes in the sale of apples, until her father sends her a book that contains a "Database fairy", whereas the MG to Statistics has a teenaged girl asking her father to get one of his employees to tutor her in statistics, thinking she'll get the good-looking guy from the first chapter but winding up with a glasses-wearing geek instead.

Spoiler:

In the end she realises that she kind of likes him anyway, and then knocks off his glasses and discovers that he's pretty good-looking too. Of course.

Has anyone else bought or read any of these? Any good ones or ones to avoid?

[legopelle]

A while back, I ran across a couple of interesting series of books on Amazon. There are "The Manga Guide to ..." with titles including Databases, Molecular Biology and The Universe, and "The Cartoon Guide to ..." Chemistry, Economics, etc. For reference, this is what the Manga Guide to Databases looks like.

I bought the Manga Guides to Databases and Statistics, and they were both fairly good introductory guides to their subjects. I don't know about the Cartoon Guides, but the Manga ones have a mix of (sometimes incredibly contrived) story and more textbook-y content, and they are interesting and reasonably varied. The MG to Databases, for example, is set in a magical kingdom where the princess is having trouble dealing with inefficient processes in the sale of apples, until her father sends her a book that contains a "Database fairy", whereas the MG to Statistics has a teenaged girl asking her father to get one of his employees to tutor her in statistics, thinking she'll get the good-looking guy from the first chapter but winding up with a glasses-wearing geek instead.

Spoiler:

In the end she realises that she kind of likes him anyway, and then knocks off his glasses and discovers that he's pretty good-looking too. Of course.

Has anyone else bought or read any of these? Any good ones or ones to avoid?

I'm sorry, but I haven't heard of them before. I have heard the name Takahashi before though. Any idea if she's related to THE Rumiko Takahashi? Mana draws eyes in a manner similar to Rumiko's. But I guess every mangaka ever have been influenced by her.

Hmm.

[Robot_Raptor]

Huh, i've got two books of this sort,

The Cartoon Guide to Physics - Larry Gonick

Which was wonderful, it's a bit math light for my tastes, but it does a wonderful job of taking all the the concepts and giving you ways to visualize them.

and

Action Philosophers - Fred Van Lente

Which was a nice overview of all the philosophical thought from Bodhidharma on, if I recall it's organized by trains of philosophical thought, so it's each to follow how these things evolved.

Also both of them are very funny.