TidalWave Comics,applauded for illustrated biographies featuring the famous and infamous who influence our politics, entertainment, and social justice, is proud to present its newest comic book release this week. Telling the life story of a world-renownedphysicist, cosmologist, and authorStephen Hawking, “Tribute: Stephen Hawking,”is written by Michael Lent and Brian McCarthy with art by Zach Bassett. The comic book features a cover by Robert Aragon.
“Tribute: Stephen Hawking” updates the sold-out “Stephen Hawking: Riddles of Time & Space” and features an illustrated version of his life story.
Stephen Hawking is one of the most brilliant minds of this century. The comic explores his brilliance while revealing some surprises.
“The most surprising thing about Stephen Hawking is his razor wire wit that is sometimes withering and other times matched with a puckish sense of humor. He maintains a child’s delight in discovery and credits his disability for allowing him to focus his mind,” said writers Lent and McCarthy.
Hawking’s life has been the subject of several movies, including the 2014 hit, “The Theory of Everything” starring Eddy Redmayne, who received an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance as the scientist dealing with an early-onset slow-progressing form of Lou Gehrig’s disease. The comic seeks to add to Hawking’s story.
“I learned a lot from reading the script and doing the research for the issue. The very concept of making an engaging comic book where the protagonist is essentially immobile is a pretty tall order, but I think the key to us keeping it exciting was being able to get inside his mind (one of the greatest of our time) and show some of his most abstract concepts in a visual and dynamic way,” said artist Bassett.
Darren Davis, publisher and creative force behind TidalWave, believes as Bassett does that the visual storytelling model is a good way to tell thestories of real people. “I was a reluctant reader when I was a kid. The colorful pages and interesting narrative I found in comic books drew me in and made me want to read.” In a market crowded with superheroes, the publisher’s work is embraced by major media outlets, libraries, and schools.
Exploring the lives of real people is one of the ways TidalWave Comics seeks to both entertain and educate readers. The publisher is also famous for fiction titles “10thMuse,” “The Fantasy World of Bettie Page,” and the upcoming “Ares.”
Michael Frizell, one of TidalWave’s writers and the author of the Bettie Page comic, enjoys writing for TidalWave’s biography lines Political Power, Orbit, Female Force, Tribute, and Fame because of the publisher’s approach to the books. “Darren asks us to focus on the positive and to dig deep to explore the things that make the subject tick – the things that drive them,” Frizell said.
That’s exactly what writers Lent and McCarthy attempted with the book. “Our favorite quote from Hawking: ‘I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road,’” they added.
Digital copies will also be available for $5.99. Download the comic to your e-reader from iTunes, Amazon, Nook, Kobo, ComiXology, Google Play, DriveThru Comics, Wowio, iVerse, and more.
TidalWave’s biography comic book series has been embraced by the media and featured on television news outlets including The Today Show and on CNN. The series has also been featured in many publications such as The Los Angeles Times, MTV, Time Magazine, and People Magazine.