Graphic Science: Seven Journeys of Discovery

I have read a number of graphic novels by Darryl Cunningham, who has mainly focused his work on nonfiction, writing biographies about billionaires, Vladimir Putin, and Ayn Rand, as well as explorations of psychiatric conditions and science denial. He infrequently blogs here, sharing a look into some of his more recent fictional work.

I recently checked out his book Graphic Science from my local library, because local libraries rule. I had not read it before, though it has been out for some time, and I found it included biographies of several scientists whom I did not know much, if anything, about.  They are:

Antoine Lavoisier: A French chemist who named oxygen and identified it as a chemical element, beginning the system of organizing elements that eventually came to be represented in the periodic table.

Mary Anning: An English fossil collector whose discoveries changed how researchers thought about prehistoric life.

George Washington Carver: A Black-American botanist who studied ways to combat soil depletion as well as peanuts and sweet potatoes.

Nikola Tesla: A Serbian-American inventor who pioneered work with alternating current electricity and whose inventions paved the way for modern society.

Alfred Wegener: A German climatologist who explored and mapped polar regions and also put forth the first theories about continental drift.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell: An Irish physicist who discovered pulsars but was not among the recipients of the Nobel Prize this work garnered.

Fred Hoyle: An English astronomer who worked out the concept of nucleosynthesis, which is the process of creating new atomic nuclei from pre-existing neutrons and protons, and he also coined the phrase "Big Bang," ironically popularizing the term while rejecting the theory.

The images and text read in journalistic and informative fashion, showing the origins and high points of each person's lives and scientific interests. The book ranges far in terms of the topics covered, and I feel I learned much about each scientist and also got to know them as people. What is common in their stories is that they have been overlooked for awards or that their work has been misunderstood in some way. This book would be a great resource about some specific topics in science, which could be read as excerpts, or even as the seeds of a project in exploring scientists' lives and careers. It's a great collection of biographies.

The reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Johanna Draper Carlson wrote, "Reading them [the scientists] as people, some who undercut themselves with mistakes or unusual behavior, makes their discoveries all the more powerful and interesting." Joe at the Woolamaloo Gazette opined about the book that "each [chapter] shares this rather lovely approach – putting the human face on these events, people and discoveries."

Graphic Science was published by Myriad Editions, and they offer preview images and more information here. 

Science Comics: The Periodic Table of Elements: Understanding the Building Blocks of Everything

Explaining the "building blocks of everything" is a tall order, and this volume of Science Comics, The Periodic Table of Elements does an admirable job of tackling that gargantuan task. The framing narrative here is that Mel, a middle school student, is desperately studying for a science test to the point where it haunts her dreams. In this one specific dream, she meets a cute version of Hydrogen then confronts an evil Elemancer who can only be defeated through Mel's knowledge of the periodic table. For me at least, the D&D angle might not have been the most intuitive way to get into all this material, but I feel it is still a very effective narrative device.

As Mel quests to defeat the Elemancer, she has to recount a great many things, including what atoms and elements are as well as the history of the periodic table that includes a great deal about the contributions of Dmitri Mendeleev. This last part was especially informative to me, as it delves into how he organized the existing elements into groups according to their properties, leaving spaces for yet undiscovered ones(!), and creating a system that has stood the test of time to inform scientists both novice and expert. 

As Mel traverses the land, she gets to explain the properties of each grouping of elements she encounters, which are under the control of the Elemancer. These sections I found illuminating, because she uses her knowledge of these properties to get out of some pretty tough scrapes, reinforcing facts and ideas with actions. Also, the elements interact with each other, telling about their histories and also how they do and don't form bonds with others. I learned a lot from this book, and I feel it would be a great resource for anyone wanting to brush up on their knowledge of chemistry and the world.

The story and art are by Jon Chad, no stranger to science comics, whether they be entries in this series or his own Leo Geo books. He manages to balance drawings that illustrate science facts and models with others that tell a dynamic story full of fanciful elements. His strong storytelling skills shine here, making for a highly engaging and informative book. He sheds more light on his work on the Periodic Table book in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. In a starred entry, Kirkus Reviews summed it up as "solid gold." Johanna Draper Carlson wrote that it features "a great blend of educational content and framing story." Although she got a lot out of the book, Jen Stutesman wrote that it felt long and "might have been a more enjoyable read cut into sections, or even separate books."

Science Comics: The Periodic Table of Elements was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more information here. 

Graphic Science Biographies

I recently checked out this series of Graphic Science Biographies. They are slim volumes aimed at middle grades readers to help learn more about prominent scientists from history as well as their particular achievements. I think they are very engaging, and I loved how they do not shrink away from some of the more unsavory aspects of these figures, such as Newton's unpleasant and standoffish demeanor or Einstein's treatment of his first wife. They show these scientists as real people, which I think makes them more relatable and interesting.

On the other hand, the brevity of these books makes them better suited as secondary resources rather than introductory ones. They contain references to other scientists and scientific achievements in ways I think that readers more versed in science history would appreciate. But I do not think that less-informed readers would get those references. Still, these books are well researched, drawn in clear fashion, and very readable.

Marie Curie and Radioactivity chronicles the life of this famous scientist from her childhood in Poland, through her university career, and into her later life and grand achievements. I appreciated how it detailed how the occupation by Russia in particular had an impact on her family and national spirit. I also feel that it well depicted just how laborious her work was, with her having to literally mine huge piles of rock and ore in order to get the minute quantities of radioactive material that she studied.

Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution follows the life of this famous naturalist from his childhood where he was hounded by a demanding father to his various travels across the globe. He is depicted as a kind of dreamy wanderer who just wants to observe nature and collect his specimens. I appreciated how it showed that scientists can be quiet, introspective types.

We see the opposite of that sort of personality in Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity. Of course, he is somewhat larger than life, and I appreciated seeing how politically charged his work was. It shows him in multiple contexts, as standing against antisemitism, having to flee Germany during the rise of Nazism, and being an activist against nuclear weapons.

The final book in this series is Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion. It shows lots of episodes from his life, from his early inventions, to his college career, to his combating counterfeiting schemes. What I appreciated most about this volume is how it shows just how much his interests drove his research as well as how varied his interests ranged. In many ways, Newton was a kook.

I was not able to find out much about the author/artist here Jordi Bayarri, other than he is based in Spain and has created a few adult sci-fi/fantasy series in the past. His artwork here is presented in horizontal fashion, with each page having 4-6 panels, much in the fashion of the newspaper comics collections of my youth. I like the uncomplicated, colorful artwork that tells stories in clear, engaging fashion. Visually, these are some very accessible comics. Each book also has a timeline and list of further readings to help spur more learning about these people.

I was only able to find one review of this series, and it was for the Marie Curie book. Kirkus Reviews called it "A highlights reel of the great scientist’s life and achievements, from clandestine early schooling to the founding of Warsaw’s Radium Institute." They evaluated the whole series, "Engagingly informal as the art and general tone of the narratives are, the books will likely find younger readers struggling to keep up, but kids already exposed to the names and at least some of the concepts will find these imports, translated from the Basque, helpful if, at times, dry overviews."

All of these books were published under the Graphic Universe imprint, and you can find previews and more information about them here.

Marie Curie: A Life of Discovery

As you might guess from the title Marie Curie: A Life of Discovery is a biography of the famed scientist, and this book certainly captures the high points of her career from her pioneering work in radiation to her discovering multiple new elements to her multiple Nobel Prizes. She is still the only person to win those prizes in two separate fields, chemistry and physics. She was a pivotal scientist whose work is paved the way for many others, and I feel it is pretty easy to either lionize as an otherworldly figure or highlight her as a token great scientist. But she was also a person, and that aspect of her life is what this book portrays very well.

Its primary way of making Marie Curie's life feel palpable is through its artwork, which is painted in impressionistic fashion. It inserts color into what could be a drab, factual account, and it also features some broader scenes and landscapes, setting tone as much as conveying plot.

What I liked is how much the art contributes to the pacing, especially with some of the larger moments where double page spreads allow the story to breathe. In particular, I felt the sequence where Pierre met his unfortunate end was powerfully rendered. The artwork also packs an emotional wallop when used to show intimate moments of her life, including the aftermath of a miscarriage, her struggles being a woman in a male-dominated field, and the fallout from her husband's untimely death. In addition, the framing sequence, where Marie and Pierre's daughter Irène recounts these tales as part of a family history also makes everything feel more personal and direct.

Marie and Pierre talking about her work. In the original Italian version of the book.

What I also appreciated about this book was how it featured multiple facets of her life, from her cultural identity as a Polish woman living in Paris to her celebrity, where she was portrayed in the press in negative ways. It is strange seeing just how much she was used to bash on women in the news of the day, first described as a mere assistant to her husband (when she was actually his peer) and later as gossip fodder for her relationship with Paul Langevin. Overall, I enjoyed this book and how it depicted Marie Curie's life and work in nuanced ways. In the end she comes across as a human being and not just some figure from a textbook.

This book's creator Alice Milani is based in Italy. She has also published a graphic biography of Wisława Szymborska, a Polish author who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1996. She shares her art in this blog.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. BookDragon wrote, "When Milani isn’t explaining in the text – fluidly translated from the original Italian by Kerstin Schwandt – she relies on atmospheric, pencil-and-watercolor art to augment the narrative of Curie’s brilliant life." Kirkus Reviews summed it up as "An appealing volume for graphic novel and science enthusiasts." Jody Kopple concluded, "With a complex story structure and sophisticated science content, this addition to the canon about Curie is ideal for upper middle and high schoolers."

Originally published in Italy, Marie Curie: A Life of Discovery was published in the US by Graphic Universe, and they offer more info and an excerpt here.

The Comic Book Story of Beer

First off, I love both comics and beer, so this book should be right up my alley. Second, even if I did not love both of those things I would have to admit that this book is impressive, both in its scope and execution. There are just so many things jam-packed in here about the history of human civilization:  the role beer probably played in the first agricultural settlements, literary allusions to the beverage from the epic Gilgamesh and beyond, and pointed historical analyses such as how Prohibition killed off all the small breweries and led to a few monolithic companies that controlled people's tastes. Just look at the excerpt below and notice how much they manage to fit in without overwhelming the reader:

As you can see, the artwork is clear, concise, and well paced while the writing is simultaneously dense and easily navigable. Also, interspersed in all of this history is some science in the form of the chemistry behind how beer is made:

as well as a few profiles on specific, historically significant styles of beer:

By far the prevalent type of beer made and sold internationally. Who knew? These guys!

I should have known from the onset that this would be an excellent book. It is by writer Aaron McConnell and artist Jonathan Hennessey, the two creators behind The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, one of my favorite nonfiction, historical graphic novels, as well as an adaptation of The Gettysburg Address, which I have not read. They are joined on this look at the history of beer by co-writer Mike Smith, former head brewer at Back East Brewery. This interview with all three creators sheds more light on their work on this book, as does this interview at CBR.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been very positive. Publishers Weekly concluded, "The abundance of interesting little details in these illustrations pair well with the wealth of information that the authors provide." I was amused by this exchange in a forum at Beer Advocate (where, unsurprisingly, everyone seems to love this book) when one commenter called it the "'Beer Goggle History.' This consists of theories that credit beer with every major positive innovation" in western civilization. Emil Favila gushed that it was a book for anyone "whether you are a fan of beer, or just great storytelling." Matilo von Plume gave it an A+ and summed up, "This is a book that deserves a permanent place on one of your shelves; not only is it a fun and informative read, but the sheer wealth of beer style-specific portraits (easily located via TOC or index) makes this an invaluable resource for novice beer drinkers as well as those who want to broaden their tasting horizons."

You can see multiple previews and also learn a lot more about The Comic Book Story of Beer at its official website. It was published by Ten Speed Press.

Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb

Trinity is just what the title says, a graphic history of the first atomic bomb. This account details the Manhattan Project, the top secret project where the US developed the nuclear weapons that would end World War II. It does so in two ways. One, by introducing the major players behind the project, including the military leaders who organized it and the scientists whose work were instrumental in developing the weapon.

Two, it also does well in explaining just the scientific concepts that underpinned the eventual development of the bomb, by looking at elementary chemistry and physics. Thus, it is much a book about science as it is about history.

As you can see from the excerpts, the narrative is relatively straight forward and the art is very documentary, but they also have some personality and a sense of intrigue that keeps things from becoming dry. This book is an impressive debut graphic novel by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm. He has since gone on to create a second called Battle Lines, which is another graphic history about the US Civil War. He talks about his work on Trinity in this interview and also speaks about his process in this video.

Most of the reviews I have seen about this book have been very positive. Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review and summed up that it "succeeds as both a graphic primer and a philosophical meditation." Michelle Legro called it "a fascinating visual reimagining of a story that is at once tremendously culturally significant and thrillingly human." John Dupuis called it "a real gem" and "a wonderful example of the graphic novel as social history of science." Publishers Weekly was much less taken with the book and criticized a few of its features.

Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb was published by Hill and Wang, and they provided a preview and more information here.

Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout

Not Quite a Graphic Novel Month shines on!

I am not going to lie. I was geared up to hate this book. I saw it first in an airport in the graphic novels section but did not preview it. Always on the lookout for science graphic novels, I ordered it sight unseen from Amazon. When I got it, I opened it up and immediately thought, "Oh man, it's a picture book. What a ripoff!" So I set it aside for a few months. Now reading it, I see why it was put in with the graphic novels even though it really is not one. This book defies easy categorization, but I can tell you it's beautiful, informative, moving, and wonderfully strange. It is like a pictorial Moby Dick, a collection of disparate items and styles that hang together to give different aspects to complex narrative.

Ostensibly, this book is about two things: the lives and love of Marie and Pierre Curie, which act as the narrative thread connecting the second topic, the history of radioactivity. The Curies discovered polonium and radium, pioneering study of the elements and radioactivity. For their efforts they won Nobel Prizes, but they also fell victim to health problems from being exposed to radiation over long periods of time. They were titans of the field, lending their name to an elementary unit and beginning study of a phenomenon that has transformed the world, leading to medical advances, renewable energy, terrible disasters, and the most destructive weapons on the face of the planet. This book touches on all of these areas, and more. Today, Marie Curie is sometimes unfairly regarded as a token female scientist, and Pierre as her husband/collaborator, but as this books shows, such slight regard is unfounded and insulting. This book reanimates their stories and celebrates their lives and achievements in appropriate fashion.

Lauren Redniss, this book's creator, is an author and artist who has been published regularly in The New York Times. She also is the author of the book Century Girl: 100 years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies. From 2008-2009 she was a fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars & Writers at the New York Public Library, and she became a New York Institute for the Humanities fellow in 2010. Redniss speaks extensively about her impetus for creating this book here.

Redniss's artwork is beautiful and haunting. Much of the artwork is cyanotype, a photographic printing process that produces a ghostly effect meant to echo the glow of radium or an x-ray. She also makes good use of collage to portray historic and informational text pieces. From the artwork, her account of the artistic process, and the copious footnotes in the end pages of the book, Radioactive is an obvious labor of love for her.

This book has garnered some impressive praise. It was a 2011 National Book Award Finalist. Dwight Garner raved that "the word 'luminous' is a critic’s cliché, to be avoided at all costs, but it fits Ms. Redniss’s book pretty snugly. This is a story with a hefty half-life." Dr. Mary Jo Nye called it "a book that truly is out of the ordinary, and it is well worth reading and contemplating." Marcia Bartusiak added, "Finishing the book, I went back to the beginning and read it again. Just as I did with my favorite picture books as a child." Kathy Ceceri called Radioactive "a rich and complex story of life, love, and science told through narrative and imagery. It is a powerful and beautiful book."

Some preview pages are available from the author here. The book's publisher HarperCollins provides numerous links here.

Why it's not quite a graphic novel: Radioactive is not a graphic novel, but it is not quite a picture book either. It is a collection of beautifully rendered art that tells a story by itself but not necessary in sequential order. There are also substantial text pieces that could stand alone. All together, this book provides a unique experience as a well researched piece of nonfiction, an affecting love story, and an evocative series of images.

The Stuff of Life: A graphic guide to genetics and DNA

Many of the recent advances in genetics were not too long ago thought only possible in the realm of science fiction, so maybe it is only appropriate that science fiction elements are brought in here to explain scientific theories. This graphic novel (which is more of a graphic textbook, if you ask me) includes the full report of Bloort 183, an alien scientist. He comes from an asexual race of beings who resemble sea cucumbers and are being threatened by disease. In seeking a cure, he is charged with researching how life on Earth works.

His report is chock full of information, starting with chemical and biological explanations for how DNA works on the cellular level. From there, Bloort 183's report explains how heredity works, traits get passed on or selected, and how these genetic processes are coming to be manipulated by people. Along the way, many of the major genetic researchers are highlighted, including Darwin, Mendel, Franklin, Watson, Crick, and Thomas Hunt Morgan. Luckily for the reader, the alien monarch who sent Bloort 183 on this mission needs things explained more fully, so what can be dense information gets relayed in more relatable ways.

This book is the creation of Mark Schultz and the brother art team of Zander and Kevin Cannon. Schultz has been working in comics for decades, most famously on sci-fi adventure stories like his Xenozoic Tales (aka Cadillacs and Dinosaurs). He has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards and is currently writing the Prince Valiant newspaper comic. The Cannons often work together, on books with Jim Ottaviani and Alan Moore, but Kevin has published his own Eisner-nominated graphic novel Far Arden. Zander's most notable solo work is the Harvey-nominated series The Replacement God. Their expert craft and attention to detail are apparent in the artwork.

This interview segment on NPR sheds more light on what went into the book's making. Along with this media attention, the book has received mostly positive reviews. John Hogan appreciated the mix of serious science information in a not-so-serious format. Berel Dov Lerner thinks that the book is entertaining and informative, even if it does try to tackle a bit much at times. Johanna Draper Carlson was a bit put off by the text heaviness and amount of technical information, but in the comments section it seems like her critiques may be a function of audience.

A preview, video, and other reviews are available here from the book's publisher Hill & Wang.

A sequel of sorts, Evolution, is also available from creators Jay Hosler and the Cannon brothers.