Medical Mentions are a group of graphic works. The graphic works reviewed here are books whose primary topics are not medical, and yet they cover a medical topic with some depth at some point in the work. The rest of the work might be fictional or nonfictional, while the medical portion is often technical and five pages or more. The reviewer will usually neither recommend nor discourage reading the work, except when the rest of the work is deemed outstanding or terrible, respectively. Typically, six graphic works will be part of the review with one paragraph for each. Prior Medical Mentions can be found at I, II, III, IV, V, VI , VII, VIII, IX, X – Comic Strip Edition #1, XI, XII, XIII – Comic Strip Edition #2, XIV — Genre Fiction Edition. With that in mind here’s Medical Mentions XV.
Book Reviews by Kevin Wolf
Dogmatix & the Indomitables – Show No Mercy for the Romans by Yves Coulon (Author), Matthieu Choquet (Author), Jérôme Erbin (Author), Rene Goscinny (Creator), Albert Uderzo (Creator), Philippe Fenech (Illustrator), Jean Bastide (Illustrator), Nanette McGuinness (translator from French); pp 29 – 49 for medical mention; ISBN: 978-1545815380; Publisher Papercutz; October 2024; paperback; 80 pages.
I’ve been wanting to review an Asterix book (authors R. Goscinny and A. Uderzo) for some time. Though their famous French satirical series has had a potion-making Druid with a somewhat medical name (Getafix), their 40 some books had never fit the graphic medicine definition, except perhaps as an allegory. Most characters have humorous names (Villagers: Obelix (Asterix’ best bud), their Gaulish Chief Vitalstatistix, Impedimenta (Chief’s spouse), Cacofonix (bard), Geriatrix (oldest villager), Unhygienix (fishmonger); Romans: Julius Caesar, Ignoramus, Giveusabonus, Obsequius, and well over a hundred other characters). There’s one story in the lighthearted post-Asterix series (actually a prequel), about Dogmatix—before he became Asterix’s canine companion—by new writers and artists. Their drawing style perfectly mimics the original author’s style. This tale is written by Matthieu Choquet, illustrated by Jean Bastide and translated from French by Nanette McGuiness entitled “We Shall St-Hic!,” a play on the word stick? This story covers an epidemic of Gauls getting the hiccups during an occupation by the Romans in 52 BCE. The Gauls defeat the interloping Romans by mostly ignoring them, but if that’s not possible by satirically having fun in fighting them. Though often difficult in reality, I sometimes think this is the best form of attack of a tyrant: ignore, make fun of, laugh at, and otherwise find amusement in the tyrant’s seriousness.
The Secret Garden on 81st Street – A Modern Graphic Retelling of The Secret Garden by Noelle Weir (writer) & Amber Padilla (illustrator); ISBN: 978- 0316459709; Little, Brown & Company; October 2021; paperback; 256 pages.
How many times can The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett be adapted for a graphic novel? Apparently at least three times. And so far, each adaptation, that I’ve read, has been a great one. Sincerely, Harriet where “Pearl, the older adult character, talks about reading The Secret Garden as a means to talk about illness with her son who had Polio.” In The Secret Garden on 81st Street, we see the retelling as a story about grief after the death of loved ones and how each character reacts to those deaths differently. The colorful illustrations enhance the story. There are modern aspects with emails and online game play. We watch young Mary Lennox not remembering her parents, until one event brings her mother’s love back with her memories. Colin has panic attacks. Mrs. Medlock’s stern pronouncements try to protect the children from each other’s grief. And Mary’s Uncle Archibald (“Archie”) Craven, Colin’s father, grieves the loss of his husband, Masashiro, by fleeing into work and international travel. We watch Colin and Mary in a few therapy sessions with Dr. Sarkisian. The seemingly bereft garden, first created by Masashiro and lying dead or fallow on the rooftop of their New York City bungalow, becomes the key to renewing themselves and supporting each other. I recommend this middle grade book for the lessons one can learn about grief, the need for ending secrets, and life’s recoveries.
The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud; 90 – 93, 223 – 228 for medical mention; ISBN: 978-1338777215; graphix (imprint of Scholastic); April 2025; paperback; 288 pages; author’s website: https://goraina.com/; https://www.scottmccloud.com/
Claiming to be a middle school version of Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud provides wonderful lessons of how to make your own mini-comic, what a comic is, how to draw facial and body expressions, the potential of the blank page, some comic terminology, comic jobs, chatting with Raina and Scott, some resources, several cartoon art museums, and a weblink on copyright protections. The Cartoonists Club is primarily illustrated by Raina Telgemeier with her iconic bright colors, minimal-lined expressions, and joyful presentation; while Scott McCloud illustrates the medical mention in soft pastels. I do apologize for a late story reveal here, but I wouldn’t have a medical mention—needed to appear at www.graphicmedicine.org—if I didn’t share this story. Foreshadowed on pages 90 – 93, the medical mention is the untitled story that shy and insecure (though ever-growing-more-confident in her cartooning abilities), Lynda finally decides to share with the rest of the club about the death of her father and his contagious love of dancing. Though only a few pages (223 – 228), it’s deeply moving and portrays what’s involved with revealing a critical life event to an audience of friends, and then to an audience of strangers at a Mini-Convention. Here’s some more background about The Cartoonists Club. There are four diverse fictional kids (Makayla, Howard, Lynda, and Art) who provide most of the entertainment; each with different feelings, cartooning styles, and lessons to provide. The adults and parents become, if not initially, very supportive of the children’s cartooning talent. We learn about how at least three adults met at a Comicon when they were younger; and we see example of the wider support from established cartoonists. The story breaks the fourth wall on several occasions (glossary defines as “When a character becomes aware of the reader, like on page 175 [271]).” We even get a reference to Mort Walker’s wonderful The Lexicon of Comicana. I highly recommend The Cartoonists Club for the lessons about cartooning and the very entertaining stories around those lessons. See also the graphic medicine reviews of Raina’s earlier books: Smile, The Baby-Sitters Club – The Truth about Stacy, and Ghosts.
Ghost of Gaudí by El Torres (writer), Jesús Alonso Iglesias (illustrator) with translation from Spanish by Esther Villerdón Grande; ISBN: 978-1942367161; The Magnetic Collection of Lion Forge; September 2017; hardcover; 120 pages.
Nominated for the 2018 Eisner for Best U.S. Edition of International Material, Ghost of Gaudí—comic made at request of Ricardo Esteban, El Torres’ editor—is a graphically explicit murder mystery revolving around an obsession with the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. I have no expertise in architecture, nor Gaudí, but this book did cause me to look up if the word “gaudy” was at all connected to Gaudí. It’s not. There’s some forensic medicine used to help find the killer. Each chapter begins with a set of overlapping photographs of examples of Guadí’s works—some of which look like dripping candles on many high-steepled structures. Those photographic illustrations are covered in more and more blood as the chapters progress. The book opens with an eviscerating murder and a woman injured and hospitalized after diving to save a man from being hit by a speeding car. The murdered man was left in a “World Heritage House” by Gaudí. Ghost of Gaudí is about police forensics. This book’s original desired title (by El Torres) was Trencadís which are the bits and pieces of glass, chinaware, and tile shards that make up a mosaic. As El Torres writes in the Afterword (“Trencadís or the Origins of The Ghost of Gaudí), “’Trencadís’ … seemed … a great name for a murderer obsessed with Gaudi who hacked his victims to pieces … But you know? We’re only three [Torres, Iglesias and Esteban) pieces of a much larger trencadís, one that needs you, dear reader to complete [110].” Of course, Gaudí’s “victims” were tiles, glass, and chinaware.
Think Like a Cartoonist – A Celebration of Humor and Creativity by Leigh Rubin & Friends; 5 – 6, 19 – 22, 57 – 59, 71 – 74, 75, 115 – 119, 133 – 139, 145 – 149, 175 – 177, 180, 197 – 198, and 203 of medical mention; ISBN: 978-1956313048; RIT Press; October 2023; paperback; 250 pages; author’s website: https://rubescartoons.com/
The author of the syndicated comic strip, Rubes, decided to explain the unexplainable (or for the thesaurus lovers, the inexplicable). I’ve enjoyed Rubes for decades. In Think Like a Cartoonist, using stories from friends and the author himself, we learn about creative solutions to difficult problems accompanied by a single-panel comic strip or two. Some of those difficulties occur in the medical world. For example, in the story entitled “Clumsiness and Caffeine,” authored by nurse Susan Lutz, we learn a clever way to get a patient—who believed medical people were error-prone—to re-sign a new consent form because the original had the wrong patient’s ID manually embossed on it. To prevent an angered patient, Susan thought “… maybe he would accept another type of human frailty [6]” and accidentally on purpose spilled coffee on the original consent form and the patient accepted the need for re-signing a new, clean form. Other medical occurrences include “Hospice and Humor” by Sam White, cartoonist with a strip where “COVID” is worth 33 points in Scrabble; a gnat causing insomnia in “Insects and Insomnia” by Dave Boito; hearing stories about those interred at a cemetery in “Lessons from the Spirit World” by Deb Goodrich; the staying power of ergonomic chairs; helping an autistic child communicate and socialize in “Ocard and Nagron” by Morgan Young; learning about horrors (sorry … normal work) in a turkey-processing plant from the author who went on to become a licensed clinical social worker in “Fate Ain’t What It Used to Be” by Steven Hendrickson; Rubin himself writing about creating a Boy Scout patch in “Patches and Pandemics” (Like Rubin, I only made it to Star scout … actually from a short line of Star scouts with my father and brother among them); there’s “Media and Microbes” by Jay Hardy about creating a business that makes culture media to grow bacteria “that now supplies more than 10,000 laboratory customers … [146]” ; and more. And Rubes are funny! To prevent complaints that Rubin was promoting cigarette smoking (“Plan ‘Bee’”) with this strip; he added a disclaimer:
From Think Like a Cartoonist, pages Rubes strip (197) & disclaimer (198)
Apocalypse Taco by Nathan Hale; pp of medical mention; ISBN: 978-1419733734; Amulet Books (imprint of Abrams); March 2019; hardcover; 128 pages; author’s website: https://www.nathanhaleauthor.com/.
Yes, the author, Nathan Hale, is a distant relative of that Nathan Hale. Hale has written about a dozen non-fiction books of historical figures or events in his Hazardous Tales series, including Cold War Correspondent – a Korean War Tale, Underground Abductor (about Harriet Tubman), and Above the Trenches (about WWI). Among his fictional books, there’s one awaiting review at this website entitled The Mighty Bite. For the current review, I found a science fictional book entitled Apocalypse Taco that fits the medical mention’s definition. Apocalypse Taco is about roommates and bioengineering graduate students Alice, Wendy, and their “Captain Weirdo [49]” roommate, Kevin. Kevin figures out how to genetically modify bees to be miniature replicators of anything (cars, food sources, animals). He keeps these miniature bees in a Quaker Oat tubular “containment barrier [57].” Did I mention that this book can be funny and ridiculous at times, and Kevin’s becoming megalomaniacal (“I’m not just a Queen [bee], I am a God [emphasis in original, 55]”? With these replicating, genetically modified bees, Kevin claims he want to feed the world. Kevin’s brain controls these miniature bees. He needs other’s brains to expand his bees’ output; and he tries to recruit Alice and Wendy to his cause. I bet you didn’t see this coming: the bees escape their containment barrier and rabidly multiply and take over a whole community. This takeover occurs at a taco stand, which had been the primary food of the miniature bees. And food consumption plays a major role in this horror tale. Creatures are miniature no more and their shapes and abilities are at the mercy of Hale’s imagination. We see a tooth covered creature (from one of Kevin’s teeth) another that’s countlessly armed (not guns but actual arms). Most of the events cohere in an out-of-control bioengineering-experiment sort-of-way, but not all of it makes sense (it does move into alternate dimensions/space in order for the rest of the “world” to not participate in the apocalypse … at least for a while). There are other characters and a theatrical play to (maybe) be performed. How will this all turn out? I guess you’ll have to acquire a copy to find out. Or will you?
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