Science Comics Anyone?

Hello everyone! Tyrone, here! I’m sure you all love reading Burt’s blog, but what if things got a bit more artsy around here? I’m excited to announce my upcoming masterpiece in the making – a comic book starring myself, Toni, Burt and some friendly new fish faces.

Why a comic book you ask? While Burt uses writing and this blog to share what he and the scientists are up to, I’m more of a visual guy. I LOVE comics!!! But most people assume they’re restricted to superheros or one style of art (although a Superfish sounds pretty awesome). Comics are actually a sequential art where the shape, size, and relationship between panels conveys just as much information as the text itself. They’re really good at portraying abstract concepts in science that are difficult to convey with words – so I thought I’d give it a try!

I’ve turned a big wordy science article published in the Maruska lab into a comic for you readers. I’ve worked really hard storyboarding and sketching a draft for you all. I’ve started the final process of inking everything and once that’s done that’s when the real fun will begin. Like I said, I’m more of a visual guy so not only am I working on this because I love art, but I think I could use it as an educational tool as well! I can use this opportunity to test whether or not readers engage in learning about science more when it’s presented in a traditional format, such as a scientific journal article, or my more untraditional comic book.

I’ll be giving a pre- and post- questionnaire to students chosen to read certain materials to see whether or not there’s a difference in their attitudes towards science and how much they learn! Students will be selected to read either: 1) a scientific journal article, 2) a ‘news-type’ summary of that article, 3) the comic book I’ve created, or 4) nothing (the control group). I’m rooting for my comic to be just as educational as the journal article, but way more fun!

As the star character in this story I don’t want to give too much away about the plot – but like Burt’s blog my goal is to share what fun and exciting discoveries go on in our lab with you all – just in my own unique way. To get everyone excited, here’s a sneak peak at a couple of pages I’ve finished. Only 18 more to go – then on to publication and fun science for the public!

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