C’RONA Pandemic Comics

Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Rapid Response Research project, the C’RONA Pandemic Comics initiative engages educators and comic book artists in a collaborative endeavor that yields an insightful webcomic narrative concerning the pandemic. This comic book, available online from 2020 to 2021, embarks on a multifaceted journey. It unfurls the virus’s origins, dispels misconceptions, and intricately delineates its profound ramifications within indigenous communities. Through the lens of anthropomorphized animals, readers are educated about the baselessness of harboring fears towards bats, as the comics contextualize their role in disease transmission, attributing the emergence of novel viruses to the annihilation of natural habitats. This vantage point interlaces indigenous ways of knowing with the disciplines of epidemiology and environmental studies, accentuating the intricate interplay within disease networks and the concomitant responsibility borne. Within the visually and linguistically textured comic narrative, the absence of a solitary antagonist or a panacea to arrest the virus becomes evident, while a diverse array of characters underscores the collective endeavor imperative to shield their mutual abode and foster a safeguarded communal haven.