I’m a huge fan of storytelling and illustration. Especially graphic novels. I soon plan to start writing and illustrating my own stories, but until then I am collecting inspiration.
This graphic novel is what every urban planner, environmental scientist, and engineer didn’t know they needed. Or anyone who overthinks the resources they use daily and how that use impacts the system as a whole.
Hidden Systems does a fantastic job at illustrating and explaining various scales of different systems, the historical context of how those systems originated, and the unequal distribution and function of said systems.
From the start of the book, the author is asking questions I ask myself daily. Such as. “how is there enough water for everyone all the time?”, or “How does the internet work?”. To my surprise, Hidden Systems had the answers, and It was about to expand my understanding of the world. It is truly a feat of science communication literature.
Teeming with color, smells, existential narratives and physicality, Ant Colony is a full sensory experience. It makes the small world of ants feel vast. The style pulls you in with it’s vibrant sheets of color, contrast, depictions of anatomy, gore, and overall creative illustrations.
Using dark and dry humor, Deforge tells stories of this world through multiple characters. With each story a new perspective of the ant colony is reveled.
I was instantly drawn to this graphic novel from the cover alone. The abstract and creative style and voice in Ant Colony is along the lines of work I would want to create. I’ve truly never encountered anything like it before.
Comics/graphic novels are a way of bridging the gap between where people are, and where we need to get to understand our world in a way where we can solve scientific and technological problems. They are the perfect vessel for science communication for people of any age because we are naturally drawn to stories.
The Last of the Sand Walkers ingeniously communicated scientific concepts within a story about survival, family, exploration, and justice. Three core components to our existence as a species. Another key element is that these characters are insects and not humans. I believe children should be exposed to stories like this to cultivate understanding/sympathy at a young age for beings that exist alongside humanity. Without this understanding, our species and society maintain a narrow perspective of what beings hold value. This has led us down a dark path of destruction and pain for the non-human life that inhabits the planet.
Savannah Thomas 