Graphic Medicine subjectId: 690684

WHAT ARE GRAPHIC NOVELS?
"Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer."
– Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics

WHAT IS GRAPHIC MEDICINE?
"The intersection between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare."
– Dr. Ian Williams, comics artist and physician & founder of GraphicMedicine.org

WHY IS GRAPHIC MEDICINE IMPORTANT?

• Develop critical thinking skills, visual literacy skills, and empathy
• Comics convey large amounts of information
• They are visual representations of knowledge
• They can engage students, patients, providers, caregivers, & etc.
• Makes invisble illnesses, visible like mental health
• Graphic novels cover a wide array of topics
• Processing text and images together allow for better recall and learning
• Offers perspectives from a wide array and diverse people from all aspects of health (Houk & Pomoutius, 2020)

Houk, K., & Pomoutius, A. (2020). Drawn to graphic medicine: Bringing comics into medical librarianship [Webinar]. Medical Library Association. 

When reading graphic medicine ask the following questions: 

• How does the author / illustrator depict illness, medical condition, mental health, or caregiving?
• Does the author include medical terms? Do you understand them? Does the author explain the terms?
• What emotions is the author / illustrator depicting? How?
• Does the text match the illustrations? Why or why not?
• Did any doctors play a role in the story? If so, was it good or bad experience for the characters?
• How does the story impact your views on healthcare and medicine?

When reading graphic medicine ask the following questions: 

• How does the author / illustrator depict illness, medical condition, mental health, or caregiving?
• Does the author include medical terms? Do you understand them? Does the author explain the terms?
• What emotions is the author / illustrator depicting? How?
• Does the text match the illustrations? Why or why not?
• Did any doctors play a role in the story? If so, was it good or bad experience for the characters?
• How does the story impact your views on healthcare and medicine?

• Graphic Medicine
  
• Pathographics
  
• National Library of Medicine - Ill Conceived & Well Drawn
  

• Make Belief Comix
• Making Comics
• StoryboardTHAT
• ​Canva Comic Creator

• Annals Graphic Medicine
  From Annals of Internal Medicine, Annals Graphic Medicine is a collection of comics by people who receive or provide health care and address medical topics.
• Illustrated PEN
  The Illustrated PEN is at the intersection of literature, journalism, and visual storytelling. They feature both fiction and non-fiction graphic narratives on a variety of topics including  comics journalism and illustrated reportage, stories of social justice, and personal stories among others.
• AMA Journal of Ethics Art Gallery
  A collection of user submitted original artwork that explores the "ethical dimensions of health or health care".
• Public Health Insider Comics
  The Public Health Insider website provides news about the effrots to protect the health and well-being of Seattle and King County in Washington. You can see their collection of webcomics here.
• Let's Talk About It: A Graphic Guide to Mental Health
  From the Cartoon Studies website, users can read and download this webcomic about mental health.
• Health and Wealth: A Graphic Guide to the U.S. Healthcare System
  From the Cartoon Studies website, users can read and download this webcomic about the U.S. Healthcare.
• Ink Vessel
  A collection of comics about the medical world created by Nathan Gray, M.D. a doctor specilizing in Internal Medicine and Palliative Care.
• PSU Collection of Graphic Narratives
  A collection of graphic medicine web comics from fourth-year medical students in Pennsylvania State University.

• Adventures in Depression
  An excerpt from Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half, this chapter explores the author's experience coping with depression.
• Cancer Owl
  Created by Matthew Paul Mewhoter, Cancer Owl explores his experiences living with cancer.
• Raised on Ritalin
  Created by Tyler Page, Raise on Ritalin: A Medicated Memoir looks at the author's personal experiences with ADHD, medication, and psychiatry.

• Comics for Good
  Comics For Good aims to provide factual information through comics and published weekly comics about COVID-19 during the pandemic.
• Graphic Medicine - COVID-19 Comics
  The Graphic Medicine website curated comics about COVID-19 with reliable information by categories; educational, vaccine, ethics/social justice, caregivers, patients, and others.

In this collection you will find a list of graphic medicine books primarily located in the Otto G. Richter Library. For a full list of titles, please take a look at our Graphic Medicine Collection.