Corpse Talk: Groundbreaking Scientists

Corpse Talk

by Adam Murphy, Lisa Murphy

Hear the stories of incredible scientists - from their corpses! - in this hilarious children's graphic novel.

Discover the incredible stories of scientists throughout history in this hilarious graphic novel for kids aged 9 to 12 that brings the dead famous to life.

Welcome to Corpse Talk, the chat show with a difference - all of the guests are dead! Meet your host, comic book artist Adam Murphy, as he interviews eighteen ground-breaking scientists throughout history. Discover what happened to Galileo when he suggested that the Earth goes around the Sun, and why Archimedes jumped out of his bath and ran naked through the streets shouting Eureka! This graphic novel answers all your questions about the lives of famous scientists from history and introduces you to some you may not have heard of, such as brilliant dinosaur expert Mary Anning.

Bold and expressive illustrations by Adam and Lisa Murphy bring historical events to life, literally, while humorous text makes learning about history and science fun. Full page illustrations give more detail on the science behind the individual stories, with special features including a map of the Solar System, an illustration of a butterfly's life cycle, and a diagram showing how your body fights infection. There's even a fun science experiment that you can try yourself!

Whether you're a budding scientist or just love a good story, this graphic novel will not fail to inspire and make you laugh.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Juvenile, Middle Grade, Comics

128 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2020

About the author

Adam Murphy is an award-winning comics artist, writer and illustrator.

He brings history and folklore to life for readers of all ages through humour, extensive research and an ongoing curiosity about what makes people tick.

He is the co-creator (with wife and creative partner Lisa Murphy) of the comics series CorpseTalk, which originally appeared in The Phoenix, a weekly kids' comics magazine in the UK. CorpseTalk has since been collected and published as an ongoing series of books which have twice been nominated for the Blue Peter Book Awards (the first comic book ever to do so).

His other co-created comics series Lost Tales (also with Lisa) has also been nominated for a Blue Peter Book Award, and was the winner of the British Comics Awards Young People's category in 2016.

He holds a graduate degree in Computer Graphics from DePaul University, and a bachelors in Human Sciences from Oxford.

He lives and works in Glasgow, UK with his wife Lisa and their son.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just cannot resist history graphic novels. This one zips through the lives of 19 remarkable scientists. The format is fun, with the author playing talk show host interviewing a string of reanimated corpses. Why corpses? Because everyone loves zombies, I guess.

Humorous and informative.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Aristotle, Philosopher 384-322 BCE
• Archimedes, Mathematician 287-212 BCE
• Al-Haytham, Natural Philosopher 965-1040
• Galileo Galilei, Astronomer 1564-1642
• Maria Sibylla Merian, Entomologist 1647-1717
• Isaac Newton, Natural Philosopher 1642-1727
• Edward Jenner, Physician 1749-1823
• Mary Anning, Paleontologist 1799-1847
• Lovelace & Babbage, Mathematicians 1815-1852 & 1791-1871
• Von Humboldt, Explorer, Naturalist, Geographer, Etc. . . . 1769-1859
• James Barry, Doctor 1790s-1865
• Charles Darwin, Naturalist 1809-1882
• Dmitri Mendeleev, 1834-1907
• Marie Curie, Chemist & Physicist 1867-1934
• George Washington Carver, Botanist & Inventor 1860s-1943
• Nikola Tesla, Inventor 1856-1943
• Alan Turing, Computer Scientist 1912-1954
• Albert Einstein, Physicist 1879-1955

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure some writer and editor though that interviewing dead scientists sounds like the greatest thing. I thought it was rather strange, but I get that zombies are great fun for others, just not for me.

I kept thinking there was more to this book than that, but no, dig up old scientists and interview them about their history and what they thought about it.

As I said, not something I would want to read, but probably good for kids that enjoy zombie stuff. If so, good way to get them interesting in the lives of scientists.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made for a really fun read! It was definitely educational and the idea of "zombie scientists" telling us about their discoveries was fun and unique. It's something me and my 5-year-old both enjoyed. Also, the illustrations were great!

[Mousellina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining read that taught me a great deal of things I didn’t know. I loved that author includes lesser know scientists such as women and black people neither of which were allowed to study in those times and their amazing perseverance and freedom of the spirit.

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

In addition to interviewing each scientist, a comic is included illustrating one of their scientific contributions. (DNF - pg 52)