Webcomics and Graphic Novels, Fantasy and Sci-Fi by Mark Oakley!
What
is, Thieves &
Kings?
“Thoroughly
engrossing self-published black-and white fantasy saga. [. . .] This is
a story for fans of Bone, Elfquest, Nausicaa, or Harry Potter to fall
in love with; highly recommended for teen and adult fantasy readers
everywhere.”
Please become my Patron! It's super-easy. See Patreon to find out how. -Now, don't worry; everything will remain free to read here, (many of my readers do not have credit cards, after all). But I'm a full-time cartoonist and I need to pay the bills. There are hundreds of folks reading, so those who are able, please consider chipping in with as much or as little as you choose. Even a buck a month would be a blessing! Those of you who have already extended your support, oh my goodness, Thank-You! It literally means the world to me!
New Episode #320 - Next Episode, Thursday December 13th
-No DRM -No Hassles -Super High Quality -Whole Books with all the extras!
Technical note: I'm using a new sales system for this which doesn't require all kinds of complicated filling out of forms and such. The back-end magic is worked by Gumroad, an awesome new on-line system designed just for digital content; easy payment, reliable delivery, no mucking around. -And holy smokes! They play fair, taking 5% + 25 cents per transaction. Are you paying attention Apple and Amazon? This is how it's done.
NEW! Stardrop eBook Now Available! (See the Studio News (below) for the scoop on this!)
Visit the Australian StarDrop Mirror. (Thanks to Andrew and Katherine for their wonderful support over the years!)
Read the latest stuff before everybody else. Become a Patron!
Dec 9th, 2018
New Pages posted - 258 to 260
I've decided to publish the long-talked about Jenny Mysterious free on-line, with new pages every week, starting right now! BUT I am asking folks to become Patrons. Please support my comics with as little or as much as you choose with a monthly subscription, (even just a dollar would be fine!). It's really easy. See my Patreon page for details.
I failed at Math, but Mandelbrot still inspires me
For some reason, I started thinking about math a couple of days ago. I don't know why exactly; I floundered around in math during my time at school until finally flunking out in grade 10. It wasn't pretty.
I had no idea what was going on! I couldn't understand how the other kids could listen to the gobbledegook language the teacher was speaking, (like the muffled wah-wah noises the off-panel teachers in the Peanuts cartoons spoke with), nod with bored expressions, -and write it down and understand it and pass tests and such! It was amazing! I'd just feel stunned and look around sometimes for the hidden camera. No way did any of that make sense..!
But it did, and I failed often and badly.
Still.., there's always been something about numbers which appeals to me. I find the whole mystery fascinating. And, to be fair, I was very good at geometry. -In a balancing kind of way, I was very good at it when it served to confound the other students. That was my mystery language! -Once I could visualize things, there was no stopping me! However, that's a rather limited super-power, because once I got beyond 3 dimensions, it became impossible to visualize the results, and I become lost and hopeless once more. I'm evidently a creature meant to function best in 3D.
Anyway...
I decided a couple of days ago to do some thinking about Fractals. -They're nothing new, and everybody has seen the famous shapes on the covers of science magazines and nerdy posters, but I couldn't remember how they worked or why, so I decided to figure it all out again. It didn't take too long, because fractals are really quite simple, so that even a dunderhead like me can work it out.
And the Mandelbrot Set blows my mind!
Check it out:
Z = Z² + C
That's it!
The idea is that you pick some arbitrary number for Z and for C, run the equation, and when you do, you get a new number out the other end. Then you take that new number and make it equal Z, and then you run the equation again. Rinse and repeat. You get a unique number every single time. Then you use a basic plotting scheme with simple rules. X, Y coordinates. -And you end up putting dots all over the chart. Those dots create fantastically complex shapes that never seem to repeat.
When you run the equation a HALF BILLION times, why, you get a shape which is super complex and deep. The authors of this little math experiment made a video (above) where they zoom into it, and it feels like you're a parachute jumper falling endlessly into god's eyeball or something
Anyway, I thought that was cool; how you can find an infinitely deep shape in such a simple equation!
Over-Seas customers, please inquire about shipping costs.
-Otherwise, I'll ship via sea mail; costs about half and takes 4-8 weeks. Thanks!
The Red Book Vol.1
(154 Pages)
cover price: $18.95
ISBN 0-9681025-0-6 Pay: $15.00 CAD
The Green BookVol.2
(260 Pages)
cover price: $24.75
ISBN 0-9681025-1-4 Pay: $20.00 CAD OUT OF STOCK!
Introducing...
The NEW VOLUME 1 Contains both the old RED and GREEN books! (412 Pages)
$27.95 CAD
(Orders from outside Canada and the U.S. use this page please!)
The Blue BookVol.3
(184 Pages)
cover price: $24.75
ISBN 0-9681025-2-2 Pay: $20.00 CAD
The Shadow BookVol.4 (272 pages)
cover price: $24.75
ISBN 0-9681025-3-0 Pay: $20.00 CAD
The Winter BookVol.5 (208 pgs)
cover price: $24.75
ISBN 0-9681025-4-9 Pay: $20.00 CAD Apprentices, Book I Thieves & Kings Vol.6
(104 pgs)
ISBN 0-9681025-6-5 Pay: $15.00 CAD
~OR~ Download Tablet Version
$8.25
Thieves & Kings presents. . , The Walking Mage
64 pgs ISBN 0-9681025-5-7
Full Color
$11.00 CAD Thieves & Kings presents. . , Riverwolf Music from Oceansend $15.00 CAD
Stardrop (192 pgs) ISBN 978-0-9681025-7-2
$12.95 CAD
Stardrop Vol 2 "A Place to Hang My Spacesuit" (208 pgs) ISBN 978-0-9681025-8-9
$12.95 CAD
Stardrop Vol 3 "Home in Time" (208 pgs) ISBN 9781926496054
