Electric Life: The Hidden Radiance of Everything

Science journalist Funneman (Electric Context) partners with Dutch children’s book artist Brouwers for an appealing and informative comics primer on the omnipresence of electricity. They approach the phenomenon not simply through lightning and magnetism, but from the unexpected charge between bees, trees, and within the human body (and up to the cosmos). At the outset, Funneman’s friendly avatar roams across fields as he discusses the communication patterns of insects, including bees’ ability to detect and influence electric fields. He goes on to delve into how electricity is “like currency for bacteria” and can be used to cure infections, and explores the “neurobiology” of the slow electrical connection running between tree roots. Additionally, dogs can sniff out buried bar magnets, seals have a kind of “radar mustache” in their whiskers to “unerringly” navigate sharp turns in the water, and chickens can see magnetic fields. As for humans, “we have more than 37 trillion cells in our body [and since] 1933, the electric activity of cells has been well-documented.” While the account is dense with information, the concepts are clearly explained through the combination of Funneman’s snappy voice and the cartoony but still artful comics, diagrams, and visual metaphors by Brouwers. This will appeal to fans of such pop science comics as The Hidden Life of Trees and Insectopolis. (Nov.)