About the Book
Using a science comic format to engage readers of all ages, Mosquitoes SUCK! conveys essential information about mosquito biology, ecology, and disease transmission needed for community-based control efforts. Starting with a story of a dystopian mosquito-less future, Mosquitoes SUCK! travels back in time to depict the present-day work of a scientist in her lab and the curiosity of the students she works with as they learn about the history of mosquito-human interaction, science as an ever-evolving tool, and the need to balance cutting-edge preventative technologies with broader care for environmental stewardship.
Author Bio
Katherine Richardson Bruna is a professor of sociocultural studies of education at Iowa State University. Trained as an educational anthropologist, she uses the tools of observation to examine and shape the cultures that arise in particular learning contexts. Sara Erickson is a medical entomologist who studies the interactions between mosquitoes and the pathogens they transmit. She has worked in mosquito laboratories all around the world. Lyric Bartholomay is a professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the director of the Midwest Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease. Bob Hall is an artist who has worked for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and drawn some of the most famous comic heroes of all time, including Batman, Spiderman, Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers. Some of his recent comic works include World of Viruses (Nebraska, 2012), Carnival of Contagion (Nebraska, 2017), and Mosquitos SUCK! (Nebraska, 2021). Judy Diamond is a professor and curator of informal science education at the University of Nebraska State Museum. She is the lead author of the comics World of Viruses(Nebraska, 2012) and coauthor of Carnival of Contagion (Nebraska, 2017) and C’RONA Pandemic Comics (Nebraska, 2021).
Praise
“Simply brilliant! A fresh, accessible, and vibrant sketch of the not-so-simple mosquito and of our struggle with her deadly diseases.”—Timothy C. Winegard, author of the New York Times best seller The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
“Centered on a youth perspective and full of characters (human and not) for youth to identify with, Mosquitoes SUCK! is valuable for curious readers of [all] ages.”—Julia McQuillan, Willa Cather Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
