September 22, 2014

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From Angry God to Superhero

Scientifically informed comics are some of the best kind, and I’ve got a soft spot for unusual animals outside of the Farm and Zoo toyset species such as the amphibian axolotls.

By Glendon Mellow

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Scientifically informed comics are some of the best kind, and I've got a soft spot for unusual animals outside of the Farm and Zoo toyset species such as the amphibian axolotls.

Since 2012, Ethan Kocak has been creating The Black Mudpuppy, a webcomic about a vengeful Aztec god who has been punished and must do good deeds to regain his former powers. The comic is populated by character like The Black Mudpuppy's partner, a low-paid tropical fish enthusiast named Simon, and sham-TV doctor Doctor Hypochondria who makes people believe they are sick.

You can find the recent storyline, Salamanders from Hell by clicking on the image above to start at the beginning.

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Creating webcomics is a tough business and often goes largely unrewarded. Kocak discusses with his readers the direction of the strip, and is a fantastic presence in the #sciart community on Twitter. Give a bunch of issues a read, and consider supporting his work on Patreon.

Links

 

For the third year running, we are turning September into a month-long celebration of science artists by delivering new sciart to invade your eyeballs. The SciArt Blitz! Can’t get enough? Check out what was previously featured on this day:

 

2013: Cartozia Tales: a comic about Maps made by escaping geography edited by Isaac Cates

 

 

2012: Cretaceous Critter Coffee Co. art by Raven Amos

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