Because I’m putting off working on something else YOU DEMANDED IT! The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage continue! (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, start here) Although Vampire Poets and Cyborg Napoleons have their charms, I’m forgoing them in favour of being Educational. So I bring you… RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES OF 1837!!– 
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CLICK FOR PART 2
Historical Notes: True: The Panic of 1837! Ada’s dialogue on the subject is stolen from a 1888 biography of Van Buren, quoted extensively in the Wikipedia entry. The resemblance to the present ructions is uncanny!
True: That is an actual horse race handicapping algorithm (with some modifications).
Not true: Wellington was only Prime Minister until 1830; it is however true that he is much funnier than Robert Peel, so in this alternate history he gets to stay in office.
Truthy: Lovelace’s gambling addiction gets mentioned occasionally in the slim background I have on her; it’s in dispute but I like it as a trait in a Mathematical Genius. Babbage may or may not have built a drink-serving Mechanical Woman– vague references but nothing solid.EDITED TO ADD: This was when I was just skimming Babbage’s autobiography, rather than avidly devouring it. She’s in there! Although she doesn’t serve drinks… I intend to Improve that. Also in that section: one of Babbage’s puns, with helpful chart.
This blog is, as the title says, dangerous experiments in comics.. it’s a learn-as-you-go excercise for me so any feedback on presentation (images– too big? too small? scrolliness good, or would you rather click-thru a series?), drawing (pacing okay? compositions confusing?), or content is appreciated. Something I learned already: it should go, character designs, THEN comic, not comic then character designs… Also– this blog is under construction kind of on the fly, so things might move around..
Comments
52 responses to “Lovelace and Babbage Vs The Economy”
You’ve stolen my heart and intellectual attention! Already building a personal Perfect Cast for the eventual movie version! (Too bad Bette Davis has croaked…her younger years variant would be ideal as youknowwho).
Cumberbatch pulled off Turing quite well. I could see him as Babbage.
For Ada, do you think Danica McKellar is too old?
Mechanical automata were all the rage in this era. The mechanical Museum of James Cox first displayed the Silver Swan (now residing at the Bowes Museum in the UK) in 1774, and was described then as a crowd puller. Babbage would have been aware of this and other very sophisticated automata being displayed in London and Paris.
I love that every time Wellington shows up he’s with the horse.
Love it. DON’T change font or picture size – the grumblers are reading this on their high power work machine while most of us, I’m sure, wait until we get home and use our old notebook. Also waiting for the T-shirt, and pyjamas?
I always suspected there was much work, trial and error behind a comic, successful or not. Your blog dissects and illuminates this wonderfully.
I consider your current work just a scetch, albeit a very complete scetch, and I wish the completed comic to be in print soon.
Warmly,
Anders Molander
So how would a cyborg Napoleon not be educational?
Hi.
This is, indeed, brilliant. Kudos!
Typo for you: in the panel with Wellington, hat in hand, between the two of them, I see “differene”. [Hope you don’t mind the proofing; I can’t help seeing things like that, and it seems pointless to waste the information.]
Best —
jon
So… Babbage was the Regency Lars and the Real Girl.
As a middle-aged economist and businessman, what am I doing writing a comment on this site? Well, my son introduced me to graphic novels and strips ( and also ‘Steampunk’ )and I think Lovelace and Babbage is brilliant – mature, witty and historically literate. Used as a vehicle for modern satire, these characters could be huge – entertaining but also acting as an entry point for all those wonderful larger-than-life personalities that led the industrial revolution. I’m not an artist so can’t comment on the style, but it is simple and easy to follow. However, for me, it is always the writing that is the key, and it is excellent. Create more, lots more.
Thank you very, very much!! I’m always chuffed to get a great comment. Its all for kicks and most uneconomical but I enjoy drawing them as much I hope as people enjoy reading them. More comics are on the way!
I saw the link to your site in a post to Word of the Day and I was pleasantly surprized. I love it! The funniest line was the one about shooting some bankers to keep confidence up. The scrolling rather than clicking is perfect. Thanks. Keep it up. -Dan
Madam, this is exceptional. Beautiful art style — love the expressiveness and spontaneity of your line work, and, as others have already commented, your ability to pack a huge conceptu7al punch into a single gesture…
And it’s clever and funny.
Ada Lovelace (and, to a lesser extent, Babbage), have long been fascinations for me — but I never thought that I’d see them together in one of my favorite artforms. I’ll be forcing all my students to read this.
Thanks so much — and please keep them coming.
If Wellington instead of Peel had invented the police, would they be called Noseys instead of Bobbies?
ComicPress: (Just a suggestion.)
Loving this so far!
Cybernetic Napoleon…
Cy…..leon.
O.o
OMG CYLON!
This comic has got to be the greatest comic idea I have ever seen. I love your art style and sense of humour.
thanks for the history lesson. honestly i would agree with most people here that i love your drawings style. very similar to mine where its effective yet scratchy and obscure yet representational. i love the comic so far and i hope you keep it up. nothing really bothering me yet but ill tell you if there is. thank you.
I like it all, very good. One thing, I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, is the little things like Babbage leaning against the horse. I thought that was a nice touch. (No pun intended!)
Definitely scrolling rather than clicking. And maybe bring in Grace Hopper — time travel, reincarnation, perhaps?
[…] more in the style of someone like Dylan Meconis more than Beaton; but in any case, who can resist a story that name checks Martin Van Buren, the panic of 1837, and the Duke of Wellington and his hor…? Not I; and neither you. You may want to start with the origin story. […]
I just found out about this project and I am absolutely in love with it.
TO THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE!
[…] they saved the economy of Great […]
Bwahahaha! I grew up in Mobile! And learned Ada! Awesome comic dudes! :D
*weeps* I, too feel that I require mental stimulation. Huzzah that good friends have linked me to this surfeit thereof! Do keep up the good work!
>> That is my only issue with Blambot’s webletterer font, which is otherwise beautiful– some of the symbols are very unclear. Not great for a comic about math! I’m thinking of making a handwriting font for myself at some point..
So? Just use some other font for this glyph. Don’t believe those self-righteous font designers that think their ouvre can’t be touched.
Genius. Complete genius. McLoud should be proud, big scrolling rulez awesome. And, man, you put the nerd morale back way high! I couldn’t praise you enough.
[…] present the only complete comic is Lovelace and Babbage Vs The Economy. A more representative half-baked episode is Lovelace and Babbage Vs The Salamander […]
I like this comic, especialy what you did to Mr. Van Buren’s face. I happen to know the great-grandson of Mr. Van Buren and plan on E-mailing him a link to this comic….
as soon as I get his e-mail address; In any case its a great comic and hope to see many more.
[…] are some enjoyable web comics about Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace here, here and here – even includes a coupla Gaussian copula gags (and for aficionados of the game of Horse!: […]
Since Wellington’s horse — at least his most famous horse — was named Copenhagen, can we look forward to a Copenhagen Interpretation joke? Or would that be too bohring?
“as an initial tactic, I’ve had some bankers shot this morning to keep up confidence”
Genius. Pour encourager les autres. Please, more.
Love that Lovelace is fluent in today’s popular geek internet culture (twitter, emoticons – what about some wikipedia references/jokes?).
This is brilliant. I throw my tuppence in that you continue this. Computer scientists everywhere will give you accolades. (And maybe even buy your art. ;-)
Brilliant stuff. The panel with the newspaper is my favourite- especially the bit about the walk at trader jumping from the top floor. Laughed myself silly!
God, you HAVE to continue. This stuff is BEYOND awesome! :D
(OMG!Van Buren is priceless, btw. XD)
This is absolutely delightful – can’t wait for the next one!
These comics are just delightful — please do keep it up!
I love your line-strength variation — the scribbliness at the edges in some places, combined with crispness in others. And you really have a gift for expressions.
Wonderful stuff, thank you for sharing!
Scrolling! Awesome strip. This is SO going in my blog. When I launch it. Finally.
Loving it! Art is fabulous, and witty as hell. Keep up the good work!
Scroll-through works for me. I also loved the details – Babbage leaning on the horse, and the US President blaming an unpopular, warmongering predecessor – can’t think who that reminds me of . . .
Bring on the next instalment!
Marvelous! I can’t wait to see more.
Love it!! When can I get a Lovelace & Babbage T-shirt? ;)
I discovered this comic through finding a shirt at a clothing swap.
>Current size is ok for me, though some panels might be a tad big (the huge ones
This is the frustration of composing for the screen– I have a really hi-rez screen so big images can look pretty tiny.. it’s really helpful to get feedback on this!
>my favorite panel, “Or parliament shall withdraw your funding”
Bizarrely, I almost dropped that one because I felt I couldn’t draw it right!
>Speaking of which, did Babbage really have a swamp in Georgia?
>The only problem was the percent sign in Babbage’s swamp spiel. It looked like a mutant zero.
That is my only issue with Blambot’s webletterer font, which is otherwise beautiful– some of the symbols are very unclear. Not great for a comic about math! I’m thinking of making a handwriting font for myself at some point..
Heh, I made that up.. probably not!
Greatings, sydneypadua.com to GoogleReader!
Saurooon
I like scrolling way more than clicking through. Current size is ok for me, though some panels might be a tad big (the huge ones). Loved shooting the bankers. And Ada’s facial expressions are just wonderful.
Looking forward to your next comic-fueled procrastination!
I hereby pledge that the next time I am in urgent need of a computer, I shall holler TO THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE!
Sorry – I meant Mobile, Alabama, of course.
Great! I think my favorite character is the horse, and my favorite panel, “Or parliament shall withdraw your funding”. But isn’t shooting bankers a bit extreme? The poor bankers! They can’t help it if all the rest of the world speculates.
Speaking of which, did Babbage really have a swamp in Georgia?
Looking forward to more adventures, including (I hope) struggles with street musicians-
I like the scrolling rather than click-through. I’m the type who hits “Back” (<–) every time I leave a page and start fresh from my homepage, except when following a link.
Current size is good for me. I like the incidentals – the mysterious crane behind the building, the footman’s expression when Wellington enters with his horse, Van Buren’s expression (I just got a dollar coin with him on it – surprised me, now this – am I destined to find ol’ Martin everywhere now?) on the newspaper, Babbage leaning on the horse’s flank reading the paper and his remarks about his swamp property (that was a nice character moment for him – swamp property? :D ) and their expressions when future funding was threatened. Wellington was politically goofy – executing bankers? Hee! I also like Wellington’s look with the boyish hair once he doffs the hat. The only problem was the percent sign in Babbage’s swamp spiel. It looked like a mutant zero.
Bwahahaha! God I love these two–in large part because I love your drawing. I love the way you put emotions into the body language, that’s my favorite type of comics drawing.
Also, that mechanical woman made me laugh out loud. A big, barking laugh that drew stares.