I haven't gotten my dog-earing hands on it yet, but for those of you near Berkeley...

Mathematician turned illustrator and cartoonist Jason Shiga [1] and his new graphic novel Meanwhile [2] have a pre-pub launch party this Sunday, Feb. 28th:

Books Inc. [3] ~ 1760 Fourth Street ~ Berkeley, CA ~ (510) 525-7777 ~ 6 to 9 pm

Ten years in the making, the full-color Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-like comic for kids (and grown kids) follows little Jimmy on his journey through choices great (to time travel or not?) and small (vanilla ice-cream or chocolate?). Page tabs [4] and winding tubes [5] lead the reader through a whopping 3,856 story possibilities.

Meanwhile's self-published roots began with Shiga carefully constructing each copy--tabs and all--by hand to sell at local shops and conventions. Its complicated structure and groundbreaking format no doubt contributed to the ten years taken to reach mainstream publishing.

Per Shiga's website [1], his comics often feature "exciting uses of math." So, of course, Meanwhile somehow introduces quantum mechanics and parallel universes (to, um, kids) amidst fantastical hijinks initially instigated by chocolate ice-cream. Take the calculator, leave the ice-cream.