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Led by Vinald Francis, a medical illustrator at Geisel with expertise in medical comics, says, \u201cA lot of people are intimidated by the artistic aspect of this medium. But this is about becoming comfortable with artistic expression, to really understand the mechanisms behind comics: how to tell a story that is read in sequential boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before creating comics, Francis leads students through simple drawing exercises designed to get the creative juices flowing\u2014leading to an understanding of their potential. \u201cThese exercises focus on thinking about what you are doing rather than how. When finished, you\u2019ve created something you didn\u2019t think was possible,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Students also workshop their ideas, participate in group progress discussions, and produce storyboards.<\/p>\n
Francis has co-taught medical comics workshops and presented at national and international conferences\u2014most recently in Ireland. When he arrived at Geisel, he sensed the environment was conducive to introducing medical comics\u2014especially with the proximity of The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River, VT.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical comics are different from other comics because of the subject matter\u2014it\u2019s heavy and deals with points of poignancy,\u201d he points out. \u201cThe subject matter requires careful handling.\u201d<\/p>\n Chiamaka Agali MPH\u201926, who neither draws nor has an art background, was attracted to the course because of her innate creativity and interest in medical anthropology where she first saw and was captivated by comics and other art forms depicting mental illness within the arts. \u201cIn a presentation I made on one of the Dark Knight comics where Batman kills the Joker, I argued that he exhibited signs of psychosis throughout the comic,\u201d she says.The drawing exercises were fun, she says, because rather than focusing on perfect depictions, they began with simple lines\u2014straight, wavy, jagged\u2014that Francis says are expressive. \u201cVinald asked us to think about our day and represent our thoughts with lines\u2014I was surprised by the varied interpretations,\u201d Agali says.<\/p>\n The urge to try a new way to express ideas led Bilqis Omoyeni Ayeni MED\u201929, to the course. Brimming with thoughts and ideas, Ayeni says she struggled with expressing them. \u201cVinald was encouraging, even though I\u2019m not artistic and was worried about that lack of experience,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut he reminded us that the artwork doesn\u2019t need to be fancy as long as it represents our thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayeni learned creating a comic that represented her thoughts was more difficult than she initially thought. \u201cWhen writing about something, you use words to build a world that captures the reader,\u201d she says. \u201cWith comics, you build the world through artwork as well as words, which means the words need to be concise, even when the topic carries depth. Learning this new language of art to represent my thoughts was a good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Agali and Ayeni will submit their comics to the Annals of Internal Medicine that publishes medical comics on a wide, nationally recognized scale. \u201cAn entire section of the journal dedicated to graphic medicine and I think they both have potential to be published,\u201d Francis says.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn't think that as a student in Geisel\u2019s MPH program, I\u2019d submit a medical comic for publication,\u201d Agali says. \u201cIf you have any creativity inside of you or if you have a story you want to tell that you think might get lost in how medicine traditionally tells stories about patients, take this course.\u201d<\/p>\n Medical comics are an interesting way to express your thoughts, Ayeni notes. \u201cI think if the course had more people, there would be more feedback and engagement with each other\u2019s work. It was a fun class, and I cannot recommend it enough.\u201d<\/p>\n As with all of Geisel\u2019s enrichment courses, this one promotes interdisciplinary learning and provides an outlet for students to explore topics beyond the curriculum.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Chiamaka-Agali.png\")
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