Science: A Discovery in Comics
De Heer and her colorist husband, Yiri T. Kohl, proceed with science as they did with philosophy (Philosophy: A Discovery in Comics, 2012). Appearing as cheerfully animated presenters, de Heer and Kohl first define science and identify three kinds of scientists: gatherers (primary researchers), thinkers (theorists), and tinkerers (experimenters). Then they chart the history of science, beginning, despite Kohl’s protests about earlier civilizations’ accomplishments, with the ancient Greeks and Thales of Miletus, whose quest for a material first principle (water, he concluded) brought him the sobriquet Father of Science. Besides important persons, various scientific disciplines—from mathematics to quantum theory—and historical contexts—from antiquity to the twentieth century—are covered as they crop up. Although the information on any one topic is very basic, a great many topics are treated, thanks to the economy of de Heer’s visual presentation, and they are all handled very well, thanks to the energy of her drawing style and the vividness of Kohl’s coloring. If anything, Science is an even more successful, attractive, and engaging work than Philosophy. --Ray Olson