Xkcd: Volume 0

I love this book, and this book got my middle-school aged son hooked on Randall Munroe's other books.

I'm a long time fan of xkcd.com and this purchase is a great way for me to just say thank you for all the work Randall has done. This is an amazing collection of comics from his earlier years and many of them are as funny as ever. Randall makes it clear that much of these is available at his website for free, but those of us who hanker for the feel of dead-tree edition will love this none the less. Randall also adds various tidbits to the book that wasn't in the website. Extra puzzles are sprinkled all over the pages of the book and though I'm not much in terms of solving them, reading the solutions online is surprisingly satisfying. This is really a no brainer - buy it!

While most of my XKCD favorites are scattered throughout the later works, this collection of earlier cartoons has so many fantastic gems that made me say 'yes, that's how it is... that's how I am!'. They get at the core of your being. The additional puzzles and hidden bits just made the whole thing more exciting and provided some fun and challenge to owning the book. Let's just say that I treasure it and while Randall shouldn't rush new ones out, I'm sure when they come I'll be waiting with bated breath.

Did I say funny? And smart? And also strangely and perversely really, really incomprehensibly funny? Randall Monroe will expand your mind while making you laugh. I love it, my 6 year old can barely understand most of it but loves it anyway, and my 10 year old recites it to everyone he meets and is is daily choosing to spend his time thinking about the methods and concepts of science because he really wants to get the joke. Anyone who is curious about science, or life, or has a kid they want to encourage to be curious should buy this book and also check out the author's even more awesome: https://smile.amazon.com/What-If-Scientific-Hypothetical-Questions/dp/0544272994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487885040&sr=8-1&keywords=what+if

Parent awareness warning, this book is definitely not for kids. My 11-year-old loves the “What If” books, which advertise this book. I’m glad I skimmed this before giving it to him because this book contains VERY adult content.

It all began here, in xkcd, the web comic by the brilliant and insightful Randall Munroe. I've visited the xkcd site on occasion to relieve a little stress, and have a good laugh. Munroe has a way of explaining things so that even the most complex ideas are comprehendible -- and he does it with stick figures. Amazing. If you are a nerd, a geek, a computer science major, physics major, electrical engineering major, human being, or other sentient life form, you need to read these comics. Visit the xkcd website, or find the starter kit right here in this book.

I completely share the author's opinion in the prologue when he states that even if this comic was always meant to be on the Interntet, there is something beautiful about having the strips in a tangible book. Make no mistake, this book is clearly intended for fans of XKCD and because of that the humor of some of the comics and the jokes hidden in the nature of the book itself will be lost on casual readers. The book itself is well printed and bound so it should last if cared for properly. Some of the strips have the falvor text written sideways between the panels which is pretty awkward to read but that doesn't really detract from the comic itself.

First of all I am not a long term fan of xkcd. It was mentioned on an article I read and i looked it up on Google. I was only going to read a few of the comics but ended up clicking random for some time. Instead of reading it online i decided to look for a printed version and luckily found it. It was everything I expected and am glad i bought it. Now i can read the comics wherever I want. The only bad thing about this book is that it doesn't have all the comics but if he makes another book i will be one of the first to buy it.

Ich finde das Buch sehr gelungen. Die Comics im Internet haben mich schon umgehauen und als ich sah, daß es die Comics auch als Buch gibt, musste ich zuschlagen. Der Humor ist allerdings sehr speziell und nicht für Jedermann. Man sollte entweder einen Informatikhintergrund oder naturwissenschaftliche Kenntnisse bzw. Interessen mitbringen. Manche von den Comics, vor allem die rein mathematischen verstehe ich nicht. Trotzdem habe ich an denen, die ich verstehe einen Heidenspaß. Für Leute, die sich für solche Themenbereiche interessieren eine klare Kaufempfehlung. Wenn geplant ist, das Buch zu verschenken, nochmal genau überlegen, ob es tatsächlich geeignet ist.

Although all the comics are published in the web (and can be viewed freely!), to have them on physical form is a nice way to say thank you to the author. Besides, there are plenty of notes from the author that make the comics even funnier. Definetly a must-have if you are a fan of his or an avid reader of nerdy-web comics such as SMBC or PhD comics.

Extrêmement bien construit, riche, dense... aucun regret quant à cet achat! Munroe souligne au début de son livre qu'il lui semble absurde pour qui que ce soit, dans la conjecture économique actuelle, d'acheter des planches imprimées d'une BD disponible gratuitement et légalement en ligne... Et il a raison. Mais bien entendu, il ne parle pas de son livre: cet objet est en effet bien plus qu'une simple reproduction de sa BD sur papier! Il contient des codes, des renvois et liens en pointillés entre ses planches, des anecdotes et annotations souvent plus complètes que celle du site... Pour tous les afficionados du webcomic, pour tous les scientifiques avérés, avertis, ou simplement curieux, et pour tous les explorateurs de l'humour (absurde, binaire, Newtonien, etc.), cette édition est un petit bijou!

How can you not love it. Funny and witty, it makes you think, makes you happy, and sometimes a little sad. Buy it because it is a good book. Buy it because the author is so good and puts so much time into freely giving away their material (online). Extra thought: its a good, easy little gift as well. No too big and not too expensive, but will surely brighten your friends day!

Imprescindible para la estantería de cualquier "friki" que vive conectado permanentemente y cercano a la cultura informática, geek, redes, programación,... La mayoría de las viñetas (si no todas) están disponibles por internet, pero desde mi punto de vista eso no le quita valor en absoluto.