The author/illustrator of The Cartoon Guide to the Universe teams up with the University of California at Davis microbiologist to explain the basics of genetics in words and pictures. First published in 1983, and updated in 1991, the longevity of The Cartoon Guide to Genetics is testimony to its usefulness. The reviewer for TIGR's Genome News Network writes, "The amount of detail is impressive. ... The major strength of [The] Cartoon Guide is that the drawings by Larry Gonick are close to brilliant at presenting the physical events of the cell and the gene."