This is a modern biology text in a cartoon format from bestselling author Larry Gonick and Dave Wessner, professor of biology at Davidson College.

Beginning with an account of life's essential organic chemistry, cell structure, and energy, it goes on to describe how life extracts useful energy from food (cellular respiration and fermentation), how plants and other producers make that food from air, water, and sunlight (photosynthesis), and how DNA stores information to create genetics, gene regulation, and reproduction.

The narrative then goes macro to show how interactions between these mechanisms and their environment lead to an immense variety of multicellular organisms with complex organ systems.

Finally, the text explores the systems of species, ecosystems, energy flows and chemical cycles--and what happens when biological systems are disrupted.