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Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis

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guest review by Ed C. Children diagnosed with chronic diseases and medical conditions often have to adjust their lifestyle, bearing new responsibilities different from their peers. As someone diagnosed with asthma at the age of five, I grew up knowing when to use the albuterol inhaler that was always in my pocket. While I had the support of my parents and the understanding of my teachers, I never really had any specific instructional material as a kid to help me better understand and live with my condition. “Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis” addresses this with a different chronic… Read More

Nistar

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guest review by Ryan Montoya   A hero story has three parts: origin, conflict, and resolution. Nistar, the 2013 graphic novel by first time comic book author and expressive arts therapist Shira Frimer, with art by Joe Rubinstein, is a hero story. All the elements are there. We have our hero in Dr. Jacob Barak, an emergency medicine physician. We have our origin story explaining how Dr. Barak obtained his superpowers. We have our conflict in Dr. Barak trying to defend a young child against an evil force flanked by a dark army. We have our resolution with our hero… Read More

New Podcast Wednesday: Lydia Gregg and Iggy & The Inhalers

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Use the Quicktime player above to view images along with the audio. If you don’t have Quicktime, you can listen to the audio-only version below. This is the second half of the “Comics in Patient Education” panel from this year’s Graphic Medicine conference in Toronto. If you are able, be sure to check out the images that accompany both the talks as they are quite impressive! First up is Lydia Gregg with her paper, “Interpreting the unfamiliar: comics as a tool for improving care of pediatric patients with retinoblastoma.” The comic and treatment diary Lydia discusses can be viewed on the study… Read More

Sugar Baby

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Guest review by Hannah Marie Williams, student in the “Comics Narratives: Illness, Disability, & Recovery” course, Art Therapy Program,  School of the Art Institute of Chicago. “Sugar Baby,” by Nomi Kane, is a personal narrative comic about her experience getting diagnosed with diabetes, and a series of childhood experiences after. What I really appreciated about this particular story was the stories that did not have to do with disability directly, like the section “Zewish,” and the over-arching narrative of her wanting a dog. Too often in disability narratives, I feel as if the parts of the subject’s life that don’t deal… Read More

New Podcast Wednesday: Comics in Patient Education, Part One

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Use the Quicktime player above to view images along with the audio. If you don’t have Quicktime, you can listen to the audio-only version below. The first panel podcast from the 2012 Toronto Comics & Medicine conference is on the topic of Comics in Patient Education. In part one of this panel, we will hear from Cathy Leamy and Allison Zemek. The full Q&A from the panel will follow next week’s podcast. Cathy Leamy is an independent cartoonist, specializing in autobiography, humor, and education. She also works as a web developer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA, USA, building… Read More

Iggy and the Inhalers

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guest review and response illustration by Northwestern medical student Colin Joseph Abbott The Iggy and the Inhalers Program is a superb example of a multifaceted approach to health education for children. Dr. Thomas, a pediatric allergist, designed a story in comic form to educate children on the pathophysiology of asthma, proper inhaler use, and environmental triggers of asthma. His work extended beyond the primary comic book titled “The Adventures of Iggy and the Inhalers” to include complimentary videos, trading cards, posters, and stickers. Three of the primary strengths of the Iggy and the Inhaler comic program are its engagement of… Read More