by Matt Peters One of the weirdest villains to appear in Marvel comics was a character who looked like a muscular humanoid covered in boogers. Known as the Asthma Monster, the mucoid miscreant had a pressurized tank on his back and a handheld spraying device that he called his Aller-Gun. He used his gear to spread a synthetic allergen that could cause asthma attacks, even among people with no history of asthma. The Asthma Monster wasn’t the most compelling character Marvel introduced in the 1980s, but the publisher wasn’t aiming for its usual audience when it created him. The… Read More
Women Discoverers: Top Women in Science
awaiting review
Don’t be afraid of surgery! Comic monkey takes pediatric patients by the hand
Guest post by Claudia Thomas & Anne Schirrmeister A large body of evidence indicates that dealing with pediatric patients’ anxiety prior to surgical interventions is not optimal, and that this is true worldwide. Literature shows that preoperative anxiety results in increased pain after surgery, a higher incidence of postoperative delirium and longer hospital stays. In addition, behavioral disorders like enuresis nocturna and separation anxiety as well as sleep disorders and nightmares often occur. Developing easy-to-use and standardized tools for reducing preoperative anxiety in children could be an approach to address this problem. Using the ability of imagination and magic thinking… Read More
Chunky and the O-Beast
Guest review and response illustration by Northwestern medical student Victoria Wu Chunky and The O-Beast is a delightfully relatable children’s tale of a young African-American boy named Chunky and his terror at learning that he is becoming the “O-Beast”. Chunky is your average, fun loving boy who enjoys eating oatmeal cookies with his friends and playing kickball with the other boys at the park. He also has a family that loves him very much and cares about his health enough to notice his increasing weight gain. One day, Chunky is taken to the dreaded doctor’s office, and learns that he… Read More
The Voice of the Eye: Keynote address by David Small
David Small’s keynote address “The Voice of The Eye” from the 2011 Comics & Medicine conference, Chicago. As a prelude to his talk, David played this video. David discusses his graphic memoir, three errors of the traditional physician he observes through his book, how to turn memories (or lack thereof) into a coherent story, some critical scenes of the book, and his influences in creating it.
Viral Combat: Monica Fights the Flu
Created through a collaboration of six University of Chicago medical students and one University of Chicago MFA student in 2011, this wonderful educational comic helps kids (and adults!) understand the virology and symptoms of influenza.The process and value of immunization against the flu is also described. Q&A inset boxes are used to clarify terms and provide reinforcement of learning. Compelling watercolored character-driven illustrations bring to life the metaphors of the text. A last page glossary of terms further clarifies the text. A Hektoen Journal article about the book can be found here.