The Cartoon History of the Universe: Difference between revisions

* [[Cosmic Deadline]]: Pretty much in the end. The last few pages of the final volume has the Professor talking about all the current events happening as the book is being written.

* [[Curiosity Causes Conversion]]: Noted in several instances, but particularly when it comes to the history of [[Christianity]] (where it is emphatically [[Truth in Television]]). For instance, in one panel, a pagan Roman couple in the arena watch with fascination as a Christian martyr enthusiastically welcomes death by lion ("C'mon! What are you waiting for?"):

'''Pagan Woman:''' [[Creepy Monotone|Must...find...out...]] }}

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: One or two minor errors that stand out only in contrast to the enormous amount of research the author obviously ''did'' do. For instance, Gonick states that when Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church, Thomas More, the Archbishop of Canterbury, protested and was assassinated. Apparently he has confused Thomas More with Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was assassinated four centuries earlier when Henry II ranted, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?!" Thomas More was never Archbishop of Canterbury. He was Henry VIII's chancellor; when he balked at the break with Rome, he was stripped of his office and eventually tried and executed for treason, as recounted in Robert Bolt's play, ''A Man for All Seasons.'' However, Gonick will edit out errors from subsequent versions when they are pointed out to him.

* [[Doing in the Wizard]]: The series gives secular accounts of semi-historical events described in such sources as ''[[The Bible]]'' and ''[[The Iliad]]''. For example, rather than say that Aaron parted the Red Sea, it says the Jews ditched the pursuing Egyptians in muddy terrain. This is due to some scholars believing that the parting of the Red Sea is a mistranslation. Other times, however, the comic directly recreates scenes from religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, keeping the deities intact.

* [[Dramatic Irony]]: Frequently. For instance, when Mohammed changes the qibla to Mecca

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]: Lykurgos from Spartan history/legend, described as "great and mysterious", is drawn with one.

* [[The Ghost]]: the Prophet Mohammed and certain other figures from Muslim history, out of respect for mainstream Islam's prohibition on visual representations of them. This decision was made well before the international Mohammed cartoon controversy. The one main figure in that section he does show tells the reader that he never really bought the religion and doesn't actually care if he's shown.

* [[Idea Bulb]]: Lampshaded.

* [[The Internet Is for Porn]]: Alluded to in a footnote in ''[[Cartoon History of the Universe|Cartoon History of the Modern World: Volume II]]'', the narrator mentions that the birth control pill was the greatest invention of the 20th century, prompting two characters in bed to say:

'''Man:''' Sex can make me forget about the Internet, but the Internet can't make me forget about sex! }}

* [[Jewish Mother]]: Referenced in the bit on the semi-legendary Jewish Queen [[wikipedia:Gudit|Judith of Ethiopia]]:

'''Ethiopian soldier''': God, I feel so guilty... }}

* [[Moses in the Bulrushes]]: Covered during the life of the actual Moses.