The Cartoon History of the Universe

    (Rip Off, 1978-1992)
™ and ©1978-1990 Larry Gonick

This series is no less ambitious than a comics-format distillation of all of known history. Larry Gonick has undertaken the job of relating history through panels, word balloons, and captions, and he succeeds brilliantly. This series is delightful and informative, and never gets bogged down in tedious facts or dates.

Larry Gonick has done other comics, including a history of the United States, and comics about particular science fields, but this is his finest work. Gonick presents the concepts of the ancient world in modern one-liners and puns, and the effect keeps the interest up through the sometimes complicated stories.

When the Doubleday collections began in the ‘90s, this series came into public notice. It’s a fine series that perfectly demonstrates the flexibility of the comics medium.
Jump to issue:
  • 1
    #1
    Jan 1978
    Cover: $1.00
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Vol. 1: The Evolution of Everything; B&W
    2 copies from $8.50
  • 1-2
    #1 - 2nd printing
    2nd Printing Cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1979
    Cover: $1.25
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Newsprint, B&W, $1.25
    1 copy for $34.95
  • 1/DLX
    #1 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1978
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    1 copy for $5.98
  • 2
    #2
    Jan 1979
    Cover: $1.00
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 2: Sticks and Stones; B&W
    2 copies from $4.75
  • 2-2
    #2 - 2nd printing
    2nd Printing Cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1981
    Cover: $1.25
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    1 copy for $6.98
  • 2/DLX
    #2 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1979
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    2 copies from $7.98
  • 3
    #3
    Jan 1979
    Cover: $1.00
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 3: River Realms; B&W
    1 copy for $4.75
  • 3-2
    #3 - 2nd printing
    2nd Printing Cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1979
    Cover: $1.25
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Newsprint, B&W, $1.25
    1 copy for $4.99
  • 3/DLX
    #3 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1987
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    3 copies from $6.00
  • 4
    #4
    Jan 1979
    Cover: $1.25
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 4: Part of the Old Testament; B&W
    3 copies from $4.98
  • 4/DLX
    #4 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1987
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    1 copy for $4.00
  • 5
    #5
    Jan 1980
    Cover: $1.25
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 5: Brains and Bronze; B&W
    1 copy for $15.00
  • 5/DLX
    #5 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1987
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    4 copies from $4.98
  • 6
    #6
    Jan 1981
    Cover: $1.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 6: Who Are These Athenians?; B&W
    3 copies from $2.50
  • 6/DLX
    #6 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1987
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    3 copies from $4.98
  • 7
    #7
    Jan 1984
    Cover: $2.00
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 7: All About Athens; B&W
    2 copies from $9.98
  • 7/DLX
    #7 Deluxe Edition
    Cardstock cover by Larry Gonick
    Jan 1987
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    B&W
    2 copies from $7.00
  • 8
    #8
    Jan 1991
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 8: Is Everything Sacred?; B&W
    3 copies from $3.00
  • 9
    #9
    Jan 1992
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volume 9: Family Matters; B&W
    1 copy for $4.98
  • Bk 1-4
    Book #1 - 4th printing
    Sep 1990
    Cover: $14.95
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    1 copy for $10.50
  • Bk 1/A
    Book #1 Variation A
    No cover price
    Sep 1990
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Reprints #1-7
    1 copy for $14.99
  • Bk 2
    Book #2
    Oct 1994
    Cover: $15.95
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Reprints Vols. 8-13
    2 copies from $11.50
  • Bk 3-7
    Book #3 - 7th printing
    Cover: $21.95
    W: Larry Gonick  ·  A: Larry Gonick
    Volumes 14-18; B&W
    1 copy for $25.99