April 5, 2018

Angela Boyle ′16 (that’s me) edits, curates, etc. etc. the natural science comic anthology Awesome ‘Possum. Volume 4, with 34 creators, is currently live on Kickstarter. Through Awesome ‘Possum, artists share their love of nature and science. And many CCS folks are taking part in sharing this love.

Tillie Walden ′16 did the inks for the cover, which Angela has colored. And Jon Chad, Publication Workshop teacher at CCS, contributed an inspiring introduction essay. And Angela Boyle talks all about figs, from our myths to the 850 species of Ficus.

From “Fantastic Ficus, Full of Figs” by Angela Boyle

Hedj ′17 shows herbivores eating meat. They used a lovely framework, actors on a children’s show including talking animals, to frame the conversation between the show star and her deer costar, Deirdre.

From “The Casual Carnivore” by Hedj

Bridget Comeau ′15 did a comic about the shoebill, a large bird from Africa. The taxonomy of the shoebill, what scienctific name is should have, is up for debated. And it’s habitat is being destroyed so it has reached vulnerable status.

From “The Shoebill” by Bridget Comeau

Stephen R. Bissette, History of Comics teacher at CCS, and Ross Wood Studlar ′07, teamed up to create a comic about Bissette’s first time seeing a komodo dragon at the zoo. From that experience, we go through the history of komodo dragons interactions with humans.

From “Skin and Saliva” by Stephen R. Bissette and Ross Wood Studlar

David Humphreys ′16 looks into the pros and cons of zoos. How have the harmed animals? How have they benefited animals? What can we look for in the future?

From “Are Zoos a Good Idea?” by David Humphreys

Salakjit ′16 shows us the newly discovered ghost slug. These pale, carnivorous slugs were discovered in Wales in 2008, and they recently discovered them throughout the United Kingdom.

From “The Ghost Slug” by Salakjit

Rachel Ford ′18 explores the A’ay Chu River in Alaska. Looking back through history, we watch as the river is born and then how it dies.

From “A’ay Chu River (Slim’s River)” by Rachel Ford

Moss Bastille ′17 unveils the aye-aye, or bad-luck lemur. He looks into the myth behind the aye-aye’s lengthy finger as well as the facts we have found looking more closely.

From “Bad Luck Lemur” by Moss Bastille

Shashwat Mishra ′16 introduces us to the Haast’s eagle, the largest eagle to ever soar the skies. Feasting on giant moa on the South Island of New Zealand about 600 years ago, they are now extinct.

From “Haast’s Eagle” by Shashwat Mishra

Kelly L. Swann ′16 lets us listen to the caracal, a large-eared cat. She asks us, “What are those ears for?” And we are waiting for an answer from the next scientist to work with them.

From “My, What Hairy Ears You Have” by Kelly L. Swann

Tom O’Brien ′15 talks about ligers and other hybrids. We learn about how hybrids work. Why some are viable and others are not.

From “Ligers and Other Hybrids” by Tom O’Brien

Laura Martin ′17 introduces us to Farley Mowat and his work with wolves in Canada. Farley was an eco-conscious voice and quickly figured out that while they wanted to blame the wolves for the decline in caribou population it was more likely human hunters decimating the population.

From “Farley and the Wolves” by Laura Martin

The Kickstarter is up through April 25 at noon, so go pledge, get a book, and help fund the cost of printing and paying the artists!