Comic Book on Consciousness Kickstarter Campaign

This is a press release from Wisconson Public Radio.    This includes a new comic illustrated by Portland artists Natalie Nourigat.   

COMIC BOOK ON CONsCIOUSNESS Kickstarter Campaign

Exploring the Science of Consciousness – In Radio Series and Comic Book

(Madison, WI)  The mystery of consciousness -- what it is, where it comes from, how it works -- is like a big ball of string.  Pull one end and as it unravels, one question leads to another. This fall To the Best of Our Knowledge, Wisconsin Public Radio’s (WPR) nationally-syndicated program of ideas, plans to publish a comic book on consciousness.

Written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by Natalie Nourigat, the book will be a companion to a special six-part radio series exploring the frontiers of science and philosophy.  Both the comic book and the radio series are titled “Meet Your Mind: A User’s Guide to the Science of Consciousness.” 

The questions of consciousness are so big – and often so mind-boggling – that the To the Best of Our Knowledge decided a comic book would be a great way to make the subject more accessible. Wisconsin Public radio is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to cover the costs of the book.

According to Steve Paulson, Executive Producer for To the Best of Our Knowledge, the production team wanted to try something entirely new.  “A comic book about consciousness?  The idea seemed so crazy... so intriguing... so perfect,” said Steve Paulson “Not just a comic book as a clever gimmick, but as an imaginative story using illustrations to explore some of the deepest questions in science.” A web version of the comic book will be featured on the show’s website and a limited number of copies will be printed.

Paulson and his team are interviewing some of the most respected names in neuroscience, including Oliver Sacks and UW-Madison’s Dr. Richard Davidson, for the radio series.  Although the Peabody Award-winning producers were used to creating compelling radio, they had no experience with comic books.  “We’re very exacting when we produce our radio program,” noted Paulson, “but for the comic book, we needed outside help.” 

Jim Ottaviani has developed a reputation for creative and educational works like “Two-Fisted Science:  Stories About Scientists,” agreed to pen the story with artist Natalie Nourigat (A Boy and a Girl) providing illustrations.  “We are really thrilled to be working with such gifted artists,” added Paulson.  “They bring their own perspective to our shared goal of making the science of consciousness both fun and compelling.”

As the group thought about ways to fund the project, crowd-funding website Kickstarter.com seemed like a natural fit.  The site helps start-ups and creative projects raise funds through online videos and promotion.  The catch is that the funds must be raised in 30 days or less. WPR, which has nearly a third of its $15,000 project budget, has until 7:00 AM on Saturday September 1 to meet its goal.

“This is an exciting experiment for us,” noted WPR Development Director Mary Kay Dadisman.  “We’ve had a great response so far and we’re learning a lot about both the benefits and challenges of using a service like Kickstarter.” Like most groups on the site, WPR produced a short pitch video about their project and is offering incentives for project investors. 

According to Paulson, the decision to support the comic book through Kickstarter just made sense.  “As public radio producers, we feel a real sense of connection and responsibility toward our listeners, members and donors,” he said.  “Turning to the internet to fund this comic book felt like a natural extension of that relationship – a chance to make the public a partner in this one-of-a-kind creative endeavor.”  

About Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin Public Radio is a service of the University of Wisconsin Extension, the Educational Communications Board and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  For more than 90 years, WPR has served the people of Wisconsin with quality news, classical music, and talk radio programming.  Listen, learn more and donate online at:  www.wpr.org.