(x, why?) is a webcomic of math-related cartoons and humor, or whatever else comes to mind. And that's when it gets really weird. Geek-based humor will occur!

Plot

(x, why?) does not have an ongoing plot. However, some characters reappear on occasion.

For example, the Co-Median characters reappear in the Dinner Party sequence.

The Math teachers are just trying to make it through the day.

Trigonometry Jones is trying to find a Lost Compass.

Chapters

The series is not divided into chapters. Each strip should stand on its own or part of a short series.

Characters

There isn't one set of main characters. (x, why?) does have a roster of recurring characters. Some are numbers, shapes or other mathematical symbols. Also, there are a group of math teachers as well as a handful of stick figures, ready for a quick joke when I don't have the time to make a bunch of real people.

Major characters

Many characters have appeared in the strips. Here is a sample.

Character	Age	Appearance	Bio/description
9	unknown	Looks like a talking 9	Not much is known about 9, except that he likes to play tennis and was a member of the Emperor's Tennis Club.
7	unknown	Looks like a talking 7	Not much is known about 7, except that 7 has a big appetite.
2	unknown	Looks like a talking 2	Not much is known about 2, except that she is a mean chef, has hosted dinner parties, and, apparently, has flown the space shuttle.
10	unknown	looks like a talking 10, with antennae	Not much is known about 10, except that he is a good friend of 9, standing by him at a press conference, and, apparently, has flown the space shuttle.
Math teacher	30s		Frustrated math teacher He's a sci-fi geek, surrounded by more mundane students (and co-workers)
Mr. 0	unknown		Bombastic host of highly-rated talk show on the F(x) News channel. In a world of zeroes, he's a great big zero. Apparently, Mr. 0 has taken a ride on a space shuttle.
Trigonometry Jones	unknown		Explorer/mathematician, usually wears his hat, and does his own stuntwork. His adventures have taken him in search of the Lost Compass. You should never tell him the odds.
Sherlock Pi	unknown		Pi is a P.I., a Private Investigator, involved in a long-distance relationship with a London-based cutey.

Minor characters

Character	Age	Appearance	Bio/description
St. Patrick	unknown		He used his power to drive ALMOST all the snakes out of Ireland...
Nillary	unknown		Just a zero from the campaign trail. Currently, a minor character. Whether or not she gets elevated to major character is really out of my control at the moment.

Background                                                                           

The comic started as a few images scrawled on a loose leaf notebook. Not all of those have made it into the strip yet.

The images were originally intended for use in a math class.

My math class spawned a blog at blogger.com, which fell into disuse for two reasons: first, blogger.com was blocked for several months by my school, and second, my school district started their own blog.

I resurrected the blogger.com site to post jokes and cartoons that didn't fit with the current curriculum or that were just so far out of left field that they would be over the heads of my students (and some of the teachers).

The name (x, why?) has an interesting origin: I was in an education class several years back. At one point we were grouped together according to subject and grade level we taught. I was grouped with other junior high and high school math and science teachers. Each group needed a name for itself.

These were the characteristics that separated us from our colleagues: our group was the only one composed solely of men, and we had 2 math, 1 science and 1 science/math teacher. We quickly came upon the XY chromosome and (x,y) as something in common, and the universal question "why?", which is the basis for both disciplines.

I put that together into one name, and we christened ourselves "(x, why?)", which in my opinion was the best group name in the class.

Links

• (x,why?), the webcomic 
• Mr. Burke's Math Blog, which is also called "(x, why?)"                                   .