Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1 is
here. Part 2 is
here.
A lot of ground gets covered in this volume. It details the life of
Muhammad and the rise and spread of
Islam. It also touches on Asian and African history, follows the exploits of the Turks and other nomadic peoples, and covers
medieval life in China, India, and Japan. Some other high points include "the
Dark Ages,"
Muslim Spain, and the European Middle Ages from the
Crusades to the
Black Death. The book goes on to cover the
Italian Renaissance and various naval expeditions to explore the world, concluding with
Christopher Columbus's historic departure in 1492.
Larry Gonick wrote and drew this
series of books, which has been coming out sporadically since 1978. This volume of the series won the
2003 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and has received many accolades. Reviewer
Jerry Stratton raves that all the
Cartoon History of the Universe books "should be on every bookshelf of the English-speaking world."
Some sample pages from the book are available
here. Another preview is available from publisher
W.W. Norton.
More graphic novel resources at
http://graphicnovelresources.blogspot.com