10,000 Comics!

On Friday the 30th August 2013 editors Paul Thompson and Lydia Wysocki went to check the loading bays for comics. They were not disappointed. A nice man had signed for them the previous evening, not sure what to do next. Two pallets worth, about a metre high and three meters across. What to do with all those comics?

I AM STANDING ON 1.5TONS OF @nclsciencecomic AND IT IS GLORIOUS
— Lydia Wysocki (@lyd_w) August 30, 2013

A thing that'll make you taller than all other humans? Yup, it's going to get stood on. The comics were so tightly packed on the pallets that they were able to hold the weight of not one but two whole humans. This comic is greater than the sum of its parts for sure. 

Thank you to everybody who helped make this comic 10,000 real things. Our contributors, our supporters, our editors, Engage NE, Newspaper Club and the nice man who signed for them on arrival. Look how happy our first reviewer is.

A challenge - each comic, folded once, is roughly 5mm, how many would we need if we wanted to stack them all the way to the moon?

Introducing Graham Pearce

Graham is the creative force behind Exceptional Man, working with scientist Karolina Rygiel and his regular colourist Jim Cameron.

Who are you?
I'm Graham Pearce, a boy from Cornwall who now lives in the North West and draws comics in his spare time. I've won an episode of The Weakest Link, I've never been drunk and once stood next to Stan Lee for 2 seconds (but keep showing the photo to make people think we're great mates).

What have you done / what are you doing?
I've spent the last 12 years writing, drawing and publishing the satirical action comic SGT MIKE BATTLE: THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO! I've got dozens more ideas in development and am currently creating a new comic called SWOOPER HEROES with my 6 year old niece.

What excites you about comics?
Comics are so versatile and it's a medium which allows you to create characters and worlds with nothing more than a sheet of paper and a pencil!

What excites you about science?
Science fascinates me more as I get older as I realise how little I understand about it.

Contact/Links
@mrgrahampearce
www.sgtmikebattle.co.uk

Introducing Hayley Fowler

Hayley is the scientist behind our Climate Change and Extreme Weather comic strip. Hayley worked with artist Adam Murphy. It was great fun!

Who are you?
I am Professor of Climate Change Impacts in the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Newcastle University. I look at changing weather patterns, extreme rainfall and flooding mainly but in my spare time I love climbing, running and road biking and have two little boys (4 and 2).

What have you done / what are you doing?
I have been at Newcastle University since doing an MSc here in 1997. I became a Professor last year. Originally I was a Geographer (at Cambridge University). I have always been interested in how things work - both natural processes (Geography) and man-made (Engineering). I made the move into Civil Engineering during my MSc as I wanted to be able to find solutions to problems as well as understand processes! Currently I am looking at how heavy rainfall events might change in the UK in the future - particularly those that cause flash flooding in the summer - like the Toon Monsoon on 28th June last year. I also love communicating science - whether to the public/children, other academics or industry/government - you might see me in the Movies at the Monument this summer talking about using social media in science, or catch me giving the Joseph Lister Award Lecture at the British Science Festival on Wed 11 September, 2pm. Northern Stage - Climate change, extreme rainfall and flooding: what is happening to our weather?

What excites you about comics?
I was an avid Beano and Dandy reader as a kid, moving on to Asterix, Calvin and Hobbes and then The Far Side. I like the simplicity of comics. Important messages and concepts can be brought across clearly and simply but with great impact as you have the visual message as well as the words. They are also usually funny and I like the wry take on life that comics tend to bring. Using visual media is going to become more and more important in teaching and learning in the computer age and comics could be an important part of that.

What excites you about science?
What has always excited me about science is doing experiments or building computer models to find out how things work, what causes certain things to happen? At the moment I am very excited about finding out (for the first time) what might happen to summer heavy rainfall events in the future - we have tantalising results that show that these might intensify from our work with the Met Office - and also how the Himalayas might be affected by climate change - it is a really important water resource (from melting snow and ice) for a large proportion of the world's population. These are some of the big questions I think about.

Science Comic : Artists, Writers and Scientists

This page used to contain a list of our contributors while the Science Comic was in production - we now have a complete list of all the Newcastle Science Comic Artists, Writers and Scientists.

A (very brief) History of Robots

Salutations Fellow Scientists! Today we're learning about robots in this two page strip from Nigel Maughan. Click on the pictures to see each page at full size.

Send us your comics! 
Like science? Like comics? We're taking submissions for our blog, this is open to any age and ability (in short everybody). Email your science based comic to newcastlesciencecomic+web@gmail.com and we'll put it on the blog. Want to know more about what we're after? Check out our Open Call for Online Comics page.

Introducing Ramón Pereira

I've just come across a wonderful Pinterest board curated by Heather Wilson, the artist of our Heartland comic. She's gathered some wonderful art as inspiration for the page. A wonderful comic all about rhythm and movement. Ramón Pereira is the writer of Heartland, which is based on the science of Winne Tong. Look out for this one in the comic folks, it's mint.

Who are you?
I'm a writer, teacher, and tireless reader.

What have you done / what are you doing?
At the age of 21 I started with fanzines. Since then I went on to write short stories and articles for magazines. I've taught comic script writing and I've recently finished my first graphic novel with the illustrator Ramón Boldú titled La voz que no cesa (The Voice that doesn't cease). It's a biography about the poet Miguel Hernández, who died in jail at the end of the Spanish Civil War. It will be published by EDT and will be in bookstores September 2013.

What excites you about comics?
Comics are an excellent medium for storytelling. It's possibilities are endless because you have the resources that literature brings coupled with illustrations at your disposal. And all this combined with the language used in comics: onomatopeies, unlimited use of narrative times and, in essence, the possibility of doing anything you want. We can tell galactic stories, westerns, stories about love or superheroes without any type of budget or impediments like materials to start off with. With comics, nothing is impossible.

What excites you about science?
I'm passionate about science because it distances us from superstition and ignorance. I'm not saying that it's the only discipline that gives a sense of truth to the world, but it's discoveries have undeniably helped improve the lives of people. As technology helps us communicate better with each other and improve daily life, I think that there are also other dangers we need to take into consideration from other disciplines such as philosophy.

Contact/Links
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ramon.pereira.7359
BLOG: http://ramonpereirasegura.blogspot.com.es
EMAIL:  ramonpereiraprofesor@hotmail.com