Books Edition!
(I’ll do a Web/Documentary Edition soon.)
I want share some of books that helped me (and Jim) make the book Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier. Even though I draw in a very cartoony style, I still have to do my homework when it comes making nonfiction comics!
I also want to share some space-related books that inspire me, or that were just really fun reads! Not everything that inspires me is nonfiction, and fiction has long inspired scientists and astronauts (and, well, lots of people). Just like Mary Cleave reading Robert Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit–Will Travel when she was a teenager!
Okay, books! First up, research:
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe.
I needed to see what it was like to be an astronaut candidate in the 1960s, so I read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. This also started me thinking about how the world was different back then, especially for women…
The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackmann
I will not forget the countless people who have lived before me that fought for equality. But even greater than not forgetting, I want to seek out stories about more of these people. Before working on Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier, I had no idea who the The Mercury 13 were. Now I do, and I’m hoping that our book will do the same for others as it did for me: open a door to a world of histories.
But what about the more recent days of the space program? Well, first I turned to one of my favorites:
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chris Hadfield.
I love this book. And Chris Hadfield’s videos were actually what got me re-interested in space as an adult. I think science communication is a skill in and of itself, and Chris is very good at it.
But I also knew that the internet had an incredible treasure trove of astronaut experiences:
Yes, I know, this is not a book, but it was one of the most engaging ways for me to see what it was like to be an astronaut today! There are SO MANY GREAT VIDEOS of astronauts showing us how they live and do science in space!
Back to books…another one of my favorites:
Packing for Mars by Mary Roach.
Mary Roach is one of my favorite writers of all time. Making science digestible and relatable is what she does best. This book is great because it’s research and inspiration for BOTH Astronauts and one of my current book projects (a graphic novel about life and science in Antarctica). You might be wondering “What do Space and Antarctica have in common?” The answer is “A LOT.” Read Packing for Mars if you want some more answers.
For many of the spacecraft (rockets, vehicles, satellites, etc.), I pulled from my existing collection of space books (plus I used this as an excuse to buy EVEN MORE space books):
This is a fraction of the space books…SPACE BOOKS!
I was also able to find a lot of references online (again, I’ll post more about those later).
How about inspiration? I’ve been interested in space, specifically astronomy, since I was a kid. I blame this book for starting it:
Glow in the Dark Constellations by C.E. Thompson and Randy Chewning.
Have you ever had a book that you would sneak under the covers at night to read? This was that book for me. It came out when I was 8, and I still have my copy.
I still like astronomy and now I have my very own telescope (I took that photo of the moon on the right!):
Inspiration for both space and comics? I looked to Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin:
Explorers on the Moon by Hergé.
And sometimes, I just want to read a fun space adventure story (I mean, bonus for all the mech fights in this):
Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer.
Last but certainly not least: recommendations! Did you like Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier? Are you itching to read more comics about space? Well, these are some of my favorites:
Science Comics: Rockets by Anne & Jerzy Drozd.
Were you interested in the technology in Astronauts? Do you like seeing stuff launch? Or maybe you’re just really into talking animals? This book is super-fun look at the history of space flight and a great introduction to how us humans managed to get into space.
Maybe you want to got further…maybe you want to travel the whole Solar System. In that case, I recommend:
Science Comics: Solar System by Rosemary Mosco and Jon Chad.
Yes, I am a sucker for talking animals. This book is a great introduction to the planets and other celestial bodies in our solar system.
Maybe you’re interested in becoming an astronaut or working in a space-related field someday?
The Mars Challenge by Alison Wilgus and Wyeth Yates. (out June 2020)
And that’s it…for now.