By Zack Quaintance — Department of Mind-Blowing Theories is the new book from cartoonist Tom Gauld, a poignant and often hilarious storyteller who in this work has turned his ample talents toward the bite-sized and satirical. The book is a compendium of single-page cartoons done for New Scientist, and, as such, they entirely skew that profession. It’s not a linear story of any sort, but, then again, that’s probably not want anyone is expecting when they pick this book up.

They do a wonderful job of skewing science, too. The 100-plus cartoons in Gauld’s new book come from all different directions, offering jokes and concepts that will most often be most familiar to those who actually practice science. There is, however, plenty of content that will also illicit a sly chuckle from folks who don’t understand science, or only know vaguely of the cliches and standard practices associated with scientific research. In fact, my overall feeling while reading this book was that I was on a clever and funny trip through the state of science in the year 2020, getting a taste of the near-future projects they were working on, the far-off aspirations that are still unlikely to come to be, the general public’s attitude toward science, and the attitudes of those who do science toward their work.

If someone totally unfamiliar with Gauld and his work/sensibilities asked me what this book was about, I’d tell them it’s one part modern science, one part wry Gary Larsen-esque observations, and one part coffee table book that pretty much any guest could pickup and enjoy for a few minutes. I know I certainly enjoyed reading it, and I haven’t scienced much (or really at all) in my entire life. Individual results will of course vary, and there are some cartoons that will cause you to linger on the page and others that will have you moving right now. Perhaps the strongest endorsement I can give this book is that while reading I felt moved to show anyone else in the house at least a dozen of these bad boys so they could laugh along, too.

Department of Mind-Blowing Theories
Writer/Artist: Tom Gauld
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
No one is safe when humorist and cartoonist Tom Gauld directs his hilarious gaze to your profession. Just as he did with writers, poets, and literary classics for the Guardian books page, Gauld now does with hapless scientists, nanobots, and puzzling theorems for his weekly New Scientist strip, the international magazine that covers all aspects of science and technology. Gauld’s Department of Mind-Blowing Theories presents one hundred and fifty comic strips topical and funny enough to engage any layperson with a rudimentary recall of their old science classes as well as those who consider themselves boffins of the contemporary physical and natural world.
Available Now: Via Drawn&Quarterly!
Release Date: April 14, 2020

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.