YMMV / The Cartoon History of the Universe

• Awesome Ego: The portrayal of some figures, such as Ramses the Great.
• Genius Bonus: Often. Some jokes are pretty funny on their own... unless you know the full depths of what's being referenced; then they get hilarious! For instance, volumes concerning Athenian democracy and the Roman republic are chock full of hints that will go over your head if you're not up to speed on American politics. Any section covering religion/philosophy will have short but sweet summaries of core beliefs and/or points of interest, often using modern idiom (Confucius' focus on protocol, ancient Greece's frequent festivals, Jesus' sayings are paraphrased to emphasize the variety of topics he covered and the variety of ways he did it, and Krishna revealing the mind-blowing nature of what is actually real to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita is truncated to "THIS is real!" and a full-page picture). You could just as easily be learning these points by reading them, though.
• Magnificent Bastard: Themistocles proves one of the most cunning and charismatic individuals Ancient Athens ever produced. Born the son of a vegetable vendor, he rises to become one of the city's leading political voices, and ostracizes most of his major rivals. Recognizing that the Persian Empire still poses a threat, he recommends that Athens use a rich vein of silver to build a powerful navy. When Persia invades Greece again, he fails to gain command of the allied navy, but bribes Spartan admiral Eurybiades into going along with him. After the initial strategy to stop the Persians fails and Athens is destroyed, he successfully lures the Persian fleet into a trap at the Battle of Salamis, turning the tide of the war. Once the Persians are defeated, the Athenians return to the rubble of their city to rebuild, but the Spartans forbid them to rebuild their city walls. But Themistocles successfully has them rebuilt on the sly by distracting the Spartans with fake negotiations. Not long after, he gets banished from Athens, but manages to bounce back by relocating to Persian territory, ending his days in the lap of luxury as Governor of Magnesia. One of the few major historical figures to never be portrayed in a demeaning light, Themistocles serves to demonstrate many of Ancient Greece's greatest virtues and vices.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The Cartoon History of the Modern World was written during the Aughts, and it shows. The Professor makes a few references to then-current events, such as criticizing Private Military Contractors (a reference to Blackwater) and "freedom fries."

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