Hawking

Following their New York Times-bestselling graphic novel Feynman, Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick deliver a gripping biography of Stephen Hawking, one of the most important scientists of our time.

From his early days at the St Albans School and Oxford, Stephen Hawking’s brilliance and good humor were obvious to everyone he met. A lively and popular young man, it’s no surprise that he would later rise to celebrity status.

At twenty-one he was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative neuromuscular disease. Though the disease weakened his muscles and limited his ability to move and speak, it did nothing to limit his mind. He went on to do groundbreaking work in cosmology and theoretical physics for decades after being told he had only a few years to live. He brought his intimate understanding of the universe to the public in his 1988 bestseller, A Brief History of Time. Soon after, he added pop-culture icon to his accomplishments by playing himself on shows like Star Trek, The Simpsons, and The Big Bang Theory, and becoming an outspoken advocate for disability rights.

In Hawking, writer Jim Ottaviani and artist Leland Myrick have crafted an intricate portrait of the great thinker, the public figure, and the man behind both identities.

Press

“[T]he science is sharp and to the point. And there are moments of good humor and beauty alike… Every world-changing scientist deserves such an entertaining but factually rich treatment.” Kirkus

“This smart and wondrously exploratory scientific biography reveals as much about black holes as the man who explored them.” Publishers Weekly

“A well-rounded study of physics and one of its brightest stars.” Booklist

“Packed with scientific theory, this graphic biography of a scientific luminary will appeal to budding physics and cosmology enthusiasts.” School Library Journal

“[A] detailed, nuanced look at a complex figure that’s also fun to read.” Book Riot

“Having tackled towering intellects such as Dian Fossey, Alan Turing and Richard Feynman, the great Jim Ottaviani turns to the late Stephen Hawking. The intellectually thrilling result does not disappoint.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune

“[A] nice balance between the personal and the theoretical, making this a diverting account despite the familiarity of Hawking’s biography.” NPR

(2) Seth H. caught a typo as well, on page 55: In panel three, the footnotes should read “*He never came to terms with quantum theory, though!” Seth notes that this set him on a path to see if there was new information about Einstein and the quanta, so…since it led to more learning, a small victory here anyway? Perhaps? (I promise we don’t ignore our mistakes in as a way to trick readers into finding out the truth!)