Papercutz senior editor Adam Wallenta spoke to PW about the imprint's new series, how his own background as a teacher informs his work on the titles, and why it was important to hire writers who are experts in their respective fields.

What is Secret S.T.E.A.M. Society?

The Secret S.T.E.A.M. Society is a series of self-contained graphic novels, each with a specific topic, that the story’s characters are focused on learning about. Everything starts off at the world-famous London Academy of Ideas and Ingenuity in New London, Connecticut. There, we are introduced to the rotating cast that makes up the diverse student body, who come from all over the world, to share their love for learning. Each book has a different group of students experiencing an all-new, exciting adventure where they will learn, teach, grow and help their secret, extraterrestrial exchange student, navigate life on earth.

How did Secret S.T.E.A.M. Society come about?

On top of being an author/illustrator and editor, I am also a former professional k-12 educator and have always been passionate about combining my love for comics with my passion to share knowledge and educate young people. When I was hired as an editor at Papercutz, I was given the task of creating original S.T.E.A.M. related graphic novels that kids will love, teachers will be able to use and adults will appreciate. I wanted to create something that would truly edutain readers of all ages.

I was really influenced by my own kids and my experience as a former teacher to create the London Academy of Ideas and Ingenuity along with the diverse cast of characters from all over the world, that would go on all these amazing, educational adventures. My children attend a school very similar to the one in our story and I love the idea of older students being mentors for the younger students and having this shared cooperative learning experience. Throw in an extraterrestrial and a talking bat and there is no end to the fun.

Each book follows a different theme. What is your process in determining the topics?

S.T.E.A.M. is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, so I try to make sure we cover all of that in each book in some way within each specific topic. So, for example with our book on Horses, we discuss the biology of the horse but also different technologies that relate to hem, as well as their historical and cultural importance and how they contribute to the natural world around us.

Our publishing plan is designed to release at least four Secret S.T.E.A.M. Society books a year and I created a list of topics that will rotate between animals and living things; (Horses, Bears…), technology; (Spaceflight, Communication…), the natural world: (Water, Fungi…) and the “Arts”; (Music, Visual Arts…)

Every Secret S.T.E.A.M. Society is overseen by an expert in the field represented. How do you choose the experts that you work with?

Several factors go into this. First, I research who the best people are in the field and then I try and find people who appreciate our mission at Papercutz, to create high-quality, educational graphic novels for readers of all ages. We want our books to entertain and educate. Not every expert may be familiar or passionate about comics, graphic novels or sequential art but I try to find ones that connect with what we are doing and see great value in it. We want everyone we collaborate with to see the potential these books have to inspire future scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and artists from all walks of life.

If you could work with any expert from history on a Secret S.T.E.A.M. Society book, who would it be?

There are so many, but I think I would like to work with Daniel Hale Williams. He performed the first open-heart surgery on a human in 1893. He also founded Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses in Chicago, IL in 1891. Provident was the first hospital owned and operated by African Americans. I couldn’t imagine being the first to perform such a surgery or the obstacles he must have faced.