> I love this trend of using comics to describe technical ideas (which, as far as I can tell, started in earnest with Julia Evans).
Julia deserves a ton of credit, but I think it's also important to remember whytheluckystiff's "Poignant Guide to Ruby" [1]. Going even farther back, Forrest M Mims' electronics books [2], which I remember being sold in Radio Shacks, get much of their fame and familiarity from being hand-written.
Also, "Starting Forth" by Leo Brodie is the earliest computer-related version of teaching with comics I can remember reading. It came out around 1981 and you can find an online version (including most of the original illustrations) here: https://www.forth.com/starting-forth/0-starting-forth/
Forrest Mims III taught me electronics as a teenager. Also Larry Gonick really rounded out my rusty calculus knowledge with his "Cartoon Guide to Calculus" [0] This is just the product page, no stupid referral on the link.
I remember this going back at least to The Little Lisper, though they more accompany the text than serve as explanations themselves. The aesthetic certainly leaks into the lessons.
Julia deserves a ton of credit, but I think it's also important to remember whytheluckystiff's "Poignant Guide to Ruby" [1]. Going even farther back, Forrest M Mims' electronics books [2], which I remember being sold in Radio Shacks, get much of their fame and familiarity from being hand-written.
[1]: https://poignant.guide/ [2]: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Electronics-Forrest-M...