THE WHIZ KIDS FROM DARPA

Author-illustrator Gil’s middle-grade anthology of educational comic strips offers humor, compassion, and scientific facts.

This collection contains 10 stories starring four adults who’ve been transformed into younger versions of themselves—along with one, biologist and behavioral scientist Wade Cross, who’s become a talking bear. (It’s all related to an “incident” involving time travel.) Each character is an expert in a particular area, and they all work for the U.S. government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. The stories vary in length, with some spanning multiple pages and others told in just two.Some provide additional backstory about a particular member of the cast, which includes physicist Isaac Juan Lee, who’s autistic; computer scientist Cody Krilienko, who’s transgender; linguist Rosie Stone; and mechanical engineer Quentin Branch. Each story, or chapter, concludes with a brief explanation of the featured scientific topic, from “Ground Freezing” to “Artificial Intelligence.” The comics’ tones vary, which works successfully; some are humorous, while others are more serious, such as one that explores the concept of a bone marrow transplant. The book also includes metafictional jokes that older readers will enjoy, including references to copyright infringement, and even a story that features former President Barack Obama. However, the comic strip panels’ formatting, often six to a page, lacks much variety. The cartoon-style illustrations are fun, though, with saturated colors and organic lines. The characterization is also surprisingly well developed, considering the book’s short length, with some exploring mature relationship dynamics. Specifically, Wade and Rosie must navigate changes in their relationship, which was romantic before the transformation.

A fun collection that accessibly presents complex concepts to a young audience.