2D Goggles

2D Goggles

Otherwise known as The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage.

Sydney Padua

18 pages in three stories, plus “origin” page.

Updates as completed

For those of you without any idea of who Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace is, well, I don’t blame you. I typed out a page of history then wiped it out and decided to just send you to the origin page instead. It’s better this way.

In short, the two made the first computer and use it to go on steampunk adventures.

The comic reminds me of Hark, A Vagrant! (considering that I found 2DG through HV!, this is hardly surprising). That is to say, it’s accurate except when it isn’t. Babbage never built his machine, there certainly wasn’t a musical underworld in England, and some of the bits and bobs are anachronisms. This is fiction, after all. But what IS impressive is the level of research and detail that went into the parts that were true. A lot of the small details are from the writings of Lovelace and Babbage, which have been studied extensively by Madame Padua. The characters are also real-life figures, and their personalities come from their works.

I highly advise reading the notes that come after each comic. They are long, yes, but worth getting through.

I bet you’re wondering whether it’s a good comic. That’s what you came here for, isn’t it? Well, as you might have guessed, I loved it. Perhaps it’s my enjoyment of history and science, or the steampunk theme that is so popular. Perhaps the humor?

Ah, but it’s the mixture of all these elements. While there is the requisite amount of sci-fi-quality science, such as a crank-powered gun that can cause constructive interference with sound, especially music, until the source explodes. That’s pretty soft. However, it is interesting to hear about the cables that Babbage planned to string all over the city to hasten mail delivery, and other neat facts. For example, the engine was designed to jam when given the wrong input instead of providing the wrong answer. Genius!

So, yes, it was entertaining. And you don’t have to be a math genius to understand it, either. Like I said, it’s a sci-fi story, the science is only there as a wooden support that occasionally peeks through a tear in the scenery. It is helpful to read the notes, though.

It’s clever, that’s for sure. Funny? I’d say so. Educational? I suppose, if you read the notes. Worth your time? Absolutely.

A word in warning, however: The pages are hard to navigate. There’s no continuous flow outside the links at the bottom of the comics themselves. Thus, you should go to the “Series” button in the top bar, then access them there. Each comic will have a link to the next somewhere below, either before or after the notes. Enjoy!