The Ellipse

This week on Incidental Comics: math humor. Because education should at least attempt to be funnier. 

Learn more about eccentricity.

Daydream

One of the most fascinating books I read last year was Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. It's a strange combination of novel, poetry, and pure imagination. When I finished it, I wanted to draw every city in the book and make up a few of my own. 

Order a poster here.

Music for a Ridiculous Ensemble

See if you can spot Dylan, Daft Punk, and a digeridoo. I recently did an interview with a great blog called Illustration Concentration - check it out for some intimate secrets about how Incidental Comics are made and a couple previously unreleased sketchbook pages. For an extended musing on the above cartoon, keep reading.

Famous Chairs

Further reading: Chair Blog and How to Design a Chair. Get a poster here.

New Year's Resolutions

Ultimate Sledding

Design Like Nobody's Watching

Function World

This comic is the product of my former life as an engineering student and math tutor. Since I burned all my old college notes, I had to dust off my TI-83 graphing calculator for reference material. I also consulted Wolfram Alpha - that website is amazing.

Also: there is still time to order Incidental Comics posters before the holidays! Follow this link or visit the "Poster Shop" tab at the top of the page.

The World-Famous Architect

Works of Fiction

Map of Thanksgiving Dinner

Literary Devices

If you would like to nominate Incidental Comics as a "Best Webcomic of 2011," you can go here to voice your support. No pressure!

Thanks to all my high school English teachers for providing the deeply ingrained knowledge behind this comic. And a very special thanks to my proofreaders at the Kansas City Star, who put up with my three consecutive misspellings of "Onomatopoeia."

And finally: English teachers and students, past and current - you can get a poster of this comic for your classroom or reading nook here.

Posters for Sale

The problem with webcomics is that you can't cut them out and tape them to your wall. You can't hang them from your refrigerator. You can't even use them as last minute wrapping paper.

In response to this problem, I'm selling posters of many of the comics featured on this blog. They're perfect for the book fiend or jazz fan in your life. They'll help proclaim your status as a reluctant grown-up or frustrated creative person. You can even put them on your refrigerator!

Details can be found here or by clicking on the "Poster Shop" tab at the top of the page. All posters will be shipped in indestructible cardboard tubing in time for whatever holiday you choose. Below are a couple samples - plastic frame, gallery lighting, and bird photographs not included.

Escape from the digital world.

I have a complicated relationship with technology. It's given me access to endless information, increased my music collection exponentially, and allowed my comic to be read by real people who are not myself (at least I think they're real people). If I don't pay attention, however, I waste countless hours searching for things like "Prince song + karaoke + epic fail" and "cute toy poodles." So I drew this comic to remind me to get outside more often.

Also: I've added a Poster Shop page to my blog! You can purchase an 11"x17" poster of this comic and many others for a very modest price. Click on the "Poster Shop" tab at the top of the screen, or go here:
http://thoughtballoonhelium.blogspot.com/p/poster-shop.html

All You Need