![The First VIRS by Dr Danbee Kim [Graphic novel]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4b5cc8_8b2c8f529b6e4a4b81c90f677a3d4a67~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_980,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/4b5cc8_8b2c8f529b6e4a4b81c90f677a3d4a67~mv2.png)
"Hi everyone! My name is Danbee Kim, and I’m a teacher and neuroscientist collaborating with 17 amazing artists to create The First VIRS (Vigilante Intergalactic Roustabout Scholar), a graphic novel that combines cutting-edge topics in science and technology into a near-future hard science fiction story about two teens on a post-climate-apocalypse Earth who wield the ancient craft of neuroscience against an oppressive World Government.
I created this graphic novel because I want to tell stories that make science and technology topics more accessible to EVERYONE, from young people (and any other science-curious, comic-loving human!) to experts in other specialities. I hope stories like mine can start conversations about what we define as “scientific activity”, and how to build humane support structures to nurture such activity."
Please note this is an independent publication and is not stocked at present in the bookshop. This graphic novel can be purchased via the author's own website here.
The First VIRS by Dr Danbee Kim [Graphic novel]
"My name is Danbee (단비), which in Korean means (literally) “sweet rain” and (idiomatically) “rain that comes at just the right moment”. I’m a queer Korean-American neuroscientist, writer, and performance artist who spends a lot of time thinking about neuroanatomy, movement, empowerment, community building, decolonisation/re-indigenisation, diasporas, and the ocean. I love being in the wilderness, especially in the mountains and by the sea.I love helping experts across specialities collaborate and share insights. I especially enjoy crafting stories that can become multi-sensory interactive learning experiences.I got hooked on the neuroscience of storytelling while co-writing and choreographing an original musical called Hack, Punt, Tool (you can watch the 2017 production on YouTube). Since then I’ve written and performed a set of original “science songs”, created an interactive aquarium exhibit that collected neuroscience data from over 24,000 visitors, and self-published a YA sci-fi graphic novel called The First VIRS.My dream futures are full of communities of creative and cooperative people passionate about life-long learning and mutual benefit. I believe that empowering everyone to study nervous systems in their daily lives and making neuroscience research as accessible as possible is an important part of achieving this future.I am currently based in London, UK. I organize and teach for the Appalachian Institute for Creative Learning, a summer enrichment camp for rising 3rd through 12th graders in the US, and Neuronautas, a summer intensive field neuroscience program for teenagers in Portugal and wider age groups the UK.If you would like to get in touch, please email me at danbee[at]danbeekim[dot]org."