Abstract
Scientists are trained to tell stories, scientific stories. Training is also needed to comprehend and contextualize these highly nuanced and technical stories because they are designed to explicitly convey scientific results, delineate their limitations, and describe a reproducible “plot” so that any thorough reenactment can achieve a similar conclusion. Although a carefully constructed scientific story may be crystal clear to other scientists in the same discipline, they are often inaccessible to broader audiences. This is problematic as scientists are increasingly expected to communicate their work to broader audiences that range from specialists in other disciplines to the general public. In fact, science communication is of increasing importance to acquire funding and generate effective outreach, as well as introduce, and sometimes even justify, research to society. This paper suggests a simple and flexible framework to translate a complex scientific publication into a broadly-accessible comic format. Examples are given for embedding scientific details into an easy-to-understand storyline. A background story is developed and panels are generated that convey scientific information via plain language coupled with recurring comic elements to maximize comprehension and memorability. This methodology is an attempt to alleviate the inherent limitations of interdisciplinary and public comprehension that result from standard scientific publication and dissemination practices. We also hope that this methodology will help colleagues enter into the field of science comics.
Highlights
IntroductionThe language of scientists and their stories, even at its best, can often be compared to Tolkien’s
The language of scientists and their stories, even at its best, can often be compared to Tolkien’sOld Entish, described by an Entish native speaker as “a lovely language, but it takes a very long time saying anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.” This is because scientists must describe every meticulous detail of their controlled and repeatable experiments, how these experiments target specific processes to evaluate nuanced hypotheses and, hopefully, report new, exciting, often incremental findings that are published in scientific journals after rigorous peer review [1]
The aim with comics is to transport a substantial amount of information through imagery and, in our case, we provide an opportunity for the audience to delve deeper into the topic by providing the reference to the scientific article
Summary
The language of scientists and their stories, even at its best, can often be compared to Tolkien’s. Old Entish, described by an Entish native speaker as “a lovely language, but it takes a very long time saying anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.” This is because scientists must describe every meticulous detail of their controlled and repeatable experiments, how these experiments target specific processes to evaluate nuanced hypotheses and, hopefully, report new, exciting, often incremental findings that are published in scientific journals after rigorous peer review [1]. We developed a methodology aimed at natural scientists to provide step-by-step instructions on how to conceptualize and design a comic based on an individual scientific publication. This includes the development of a concept, a detailed storyline, and versatile characters.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
