Cover Image: Zeropedia

Zeropedia

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Member Reviews

'Zeropedia' by Fabcaro with art by Julien Sole is a humorous and informative collection of comics about science.

The book poses a series of questions about science (like 'What is infrared?), then presents answers and funny comics about the idea. There are entries about lots of branches of science as well as famous scientists.

I learned a few things along the way and the jokes were dumb, but funny. The art is in a cartoonish style, but helps to illustrate the principle as well.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

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One of those fun books to have in your table that you can go to when you just fell like learning something new!
A good and fun read

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A fun book to come to again and again! Each page gives you information about a different topic. Definitely more of a coffee table book than a sit down and read in one sitting kind of book. Would definitely recommend to that person that wants to broaden their range of random information for trivia night.

Copy received from Netgalley in exchange for review. All opinions here are expressly my own

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I was somewhat surprised to read some of the more negative reviews about this book.

I think children will really enjoy it - it has nice illustrations and lots of little jokes to help engage the reader in the subject matter. I did smile at a few of them and I also learned a thing or two that I did not know before (Lazarus Taxon anyone?).

My only problem with it is that there seems to be no recognisable order to the facts - it is not ordered alphabetically or by subject matter. However, I think it would be great for the kind of children who love poring over the Guinness Book of Records or find Horrible Histories funny.

Thanks again to Netgalley and Europe Comics for the chance to read this ARC.

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This is an illustrated encyclopedia with a humorous twist. It will appeal to students who will be attracted by the cartoons and stay for the trivia.

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Hmmm… This is one of the thousands of books that act as guides to trivia, telling us either what you think everyone else knows except you, or trying to answer a question you'd hoped you were the only person to have ever thought interesting. But this is a graphic novel one, which means that every question has to waste a full page with its ten words at most, and every sentence in the answer has to act as caption to a hellishly unfunny cartoon that only ever succeeds in disturbing the flow of the text. Oh, and the subjects are really naff, until the book suddenly swings into the vaguely interesting, giving us the real name for microphone feedback, and introducing us to the Lazarus taxon, the lithophone and more. But it then goes back into being only for children, talking of Roswell and Nazca – subjects everyone finds interesting, but almost everyone knows about. Nobody, but nobody though, will find this funny. This is far too patchy and random to recommend. One and a half stars.

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*I received this book as an eARC from Europe Comics via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is an illustrated encyclopedia. It's all you need to know about all you need to know. The format is simple. A question is asked, then a page of comics about some facts and some funnies to answer.There are some pretty science-y terms in this book.

I would have absolutely loved this book as a kid. There's a lot of scientific terms, but they are presented in a way that anyone can get at least the basic understanding of with added humor. And pretty pictures. I give this book a 4/5.

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Zeropedia is an entertaining and funny collection of information. I enjoyed reading it. It was a fast read, and I liked the illustrations. I think readers from middle graders to adults can enjoy it and learn from it.

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I downloaded this book a few days ago and decided to show it to my fledgling graphic and manga book club. The response was interesting. The manga fanatic did not want to look at it (I had just given him a new series to look at) the other who enjoys graphic novels was interested and said he thought we should purchase the book for the library. I had queried the what to me was quirky humour of the pages and my reviewer said he enjoyed it. The pictures are clear and the comments and illustrations are interesting. The first one about infra-red reminded me of the story about "the Emperor who had no clothes." I like the broad breadth of knowledge that is being imparted and feel that the book is like a modern day "Horrible History" or similar. The fun element allowing some facts to stick in the memory..

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Really enjoyed this! A fun and easy way to learn about lots of different topics. Definitely recommend.

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I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great informative comic. Every encyclopedia should look like this, wait, that’s not a thing anymore. But all of these terms were presented in a way which was fun, easy to understand, and humourous. The artwork was done well, and I think the subject matter chosen was great. I actually learned a lot.

Great book. I think the author should make another, or make it into a series. Kids and adults alike would love it!

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I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

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*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Zéropédia —published by Europe Comics— was an enjoyable, quick read, perfect for those that, like me, believe the words quoted at the start of the book: “It is far better to know something about everything than to know everything about something”. That’s the book, in a sentence: a little about everything, without depth, but wide, far-reaching: always expanding, like the universe, unto crazier topics and their branches.

The graphic novel consists of a series of one-page comics, six panels each, that set out to answer life’s most complicated questions: ranging from art to philosophy, economy to zoology, religion to conspiracy theories. The purpose? Making even the trickiest subject accessible to newcomers.

I don’t think this, the learning experience, was real in practice. The comics were more humor than fact, definitions condensed to a few words. Moreover, I believe the jokes landed better if you already knew “something” about the topics being discussed. It was nevertheless fun. I particularly appreciated the sarcasm when pseudoscience was explained, the hints of “scientists don’t think this” sprinkled throughout.

The art style was vibrant, inflicting nostalgia: It reminded me of Sunday mornings spent reading comic strips in the newspaper.

Overall, I had a really good time! I wanted to keep reading, in search of the next joke. I’m sure every fan of random facts and wittiness will think the same. However, if you’re looking for real introductions to complicated topics, a starting point for deeper research, this book might not work.

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