Today (May 19, 2025) I have two stories, one about a new nano comic from the Czech republic and one with an overview of some nano comic books from the past.
Czech Academy of Sciences and Secrets of the Nano-World
How many nanometres does your hand measure? Why does nothing stand still in the nano- world? And what does atomic force microscopy allow us to do? This and more is revealed in the new comic book Secrets of the Nano-World, published by the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The comic book introduces the frequently mentioned, but rarely taught topic of nanotechnology to (not only) students and teachers.
It was the end of 1959 when physicist Richard Feynman, in his lecture “There is plenty of room at the bottom”, presented visions of the then-unimaginable miniaturisation and its consequences. Today, we encounter nanotechnology at every turn, often without realising it. How did we get here, how can we even imagine a nanoscale world, and where is nanotechnology heading? That’s what Sofia and Alex, high school students on a science internship, find out in the comic, as they are mysteriously transported back in time to the very moments of Feynman’s lecture and try to get back to their own present.
“Taking Sofia and Alex back in time allowed us to introduce the inventions that made the development of nanotechnology possible,” explains Julie Nekola Nováková, the story’s creator and a member of the outreach team at the Institute of Physics (FZU). “We would never have gotten to where we are without, say, the atomic force microscope. And how difficult is it to manipulate individual atoms? Readers can try that out on a larger scale with a little experiment!”
Prokop Hapala, who is involved in computational design of molecular machines at the FZU, consulted on the scientific and technical side of the comic. “I think it’s important for students to think of molecules not as abstract formulas on paper, but real objects that can be touched, broken and built again,” Prokop Hapala explains.
The comic was drawn by the artist Vojtěch Šeda, known mainly for his illustrations of historical books and comics. “What I enjoy about drawing comics is when I learn something new in the process,” says Vojtěch Šeda. “In the case of the comic about nanotechnology, which was a big step into the unknown for me at the beginning, this was 100% true.”
The authors have further plans for the comic book. “If you’ve had a chance to read it, you’ll know there’s room for a possible sequel… There are also plans for using elements of the comic in worksheets, infographics and physics-themed colouring pages,” explains Julie Nekola Nováková.
The comic book is freely available under the Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0, making it possible to translate it to other languages and otherwise use in science outreach and education across the globe.
Provided by Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
The educational comic book Secrets of the Nano- World is intended primarily for pupils of secondary schools and high schools. Its protagonists are two high school students Sofie and Alex, who mysteriously find themselves in the past during their internship – at the very end of 1959 at the time of Richard Feynman’s lecture that essentially launched the field of nanotechnology. And it is the famous scientist who is drawn into trying to help Alex and Sofie get back to their own time. To do so, however, they’ll need considerable knowledge of the world in the nano- dimensions…
h/t May 7, 2025 Google Alert
(Nano)technology in Comics (mostly from the NanoKOMIK Project)
Comic books are popular science communication vehicles that have their up and down cycles. Right now (2025) they seem to be experiencing the up part of the cycle. In doing a little research I stumbled across this article from last year, which critically analyzed the 2016 – 2017 NanoKOMIK Project,
Representations of science and technology, embodied as imaginaries, visions, and expectations, have become a growing focus of analysis. These representations are of interest to normative approaches to science and technology, such as Hermeneutic Technology Assessment and Responsible Innovation, because of their ability to modulate understandings of science and technology and to influence scientific and technological development. This article analyses the culture of participation underlying the NanoKOMIK project and the representations and meanings of (nano)science and (nano)technology communicated in the two nano-fiction comic books created as part of the project: Dayanne and Murillo. The power of nanoscience (2016) and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017). The article argues that despite NanoKOMIK’s efforts to engage the public with (nano)science and (nano)technology, it reproduces non-binding modes of public participation and transmits socio-technical meanings that are instrumental in the social legitimisation of (nano)technology. More specifically, the analysis shows that NanoKOMIK’s comic books, in addition to not problematising the risks and conveying an eminently positive view of nanotechnology, also communicate certain ‘myth-conceptions’ of scientific activity and its products. For example, they convey an individualistic and linear vision of research and innovation and an instrumentalist and neutral (or ‘value-free’) view of technology. These findings highlight the importance of critically analysing the ‘cultures of participation’ that characterise and reproduce ‘participatory’ or ‘collaborative’ projects and the representations of (nano)science and (nano)technology that they perpetuate.
I was particularly interested in this section from the paper’s Introduction, Note: Links have been removed,
A growing body of literature has highlighted the various benefits of comics in stimulating imagination and learning, especially among young people inside and outside the classroom. Comics are expected to help broaden thematic knowledge and promote greater engagement with science (e.g. [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21]). Although it is recognised that implementing comics as an educational and engagement tool requires appropriate mediation, this creative and communicative medium is seen as a fruitful resource for improving the meaning-making processes in science and technology (e.g. [22]). Despite the limited exploration of comics as a communication tool in the specific field of nanotechnology, there is support for the idea that comics can benefit specific target groups in several respects (e.g. [23, 24]).
Inspired by the creative potential of comics, several projects have been launched to develop and disseminate comic strips focusing on nanotechnology ‘superpowers’, particularly targeting middle- and high-school students. Examples include (i) Nano BlasterMan (2005), produced by the Taiwanese Ministry of Education; (ii) Dayanne and Murillo. The power of nanoscience (2016) and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017), produced as part of the ‘NanoKOMIK’ project (2016–2017) and co-funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (see https://www.nanokomik.com); and (iii) the comic competition ‘Generation Nano! Superheroes Inspired by Science!’ (2017), funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Nanotechnology Initiative of the United States (see http://nsf.gov/GenNano). [all emphases mine]
I always appreciate learning about comics and science communication efforts even if it happens 20 years after the fact (e.g., Nano BlasterMan from 2005). As for the ‘Generation Nano! …’ US competition, that seems to have run from 2016 to 2018. I have announcements for winners of the 2016 competition in my April 21, 2016 posting and winners of the 2017 competition in my July 10, 2017 posting. There was, apparently, a 2018 competition but all I have is a notice that there be an announcement of the 2018 winners at the 2018 USA Science & Engineering Festival (in my October 9, 2017 posting; scroll down about 40% of the way ) but never followed up with the winners’ announcement—until now! See this April 6, 2018 US National Science Foundation news release on EurekAlert. I can’t find any mention of a 2019 competition.
Getting back on track, this paper is quite accessible (assuming you can stomach some amount of jargon) and timely given what seems to be a resurgence of interest in using comic books for science communication.
One last thing, you can find the NanoKOMIC Project here, although it does not seem to be an active project at this time.
