[1][2] The phrase graphic medicine was coined by Dr. Ian Williams,[3][4] founder of GraphicMedicine.org, to denote "the intersection between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare".
[9] Comic books centered around public health originated in the 1940s; the earliest examples averaged around twelve pages and were aimed at preventive instruction for children.
[10] Other early notable works of graphic medicine include the Strip AIDS anthologies (1987-1988); Al Davison's The Spiral Cage (1990); Milligan & McCarthy's Skin (1992); Pekar, Brabner, and Stack's Our Cancer Year (1993); and Bryan Talbot's The Tale of One Bad Rat (1994–1995).
Since the turn of the 21st century, dozens of comics and graphic novels have been published that address such health topics as depression, drug abuse, and PTSD.
[13] Scholars from around the world who were interested in comics and healthcare began to get in touch, notably Professor Michael Green, who had recently set up a graphic narratives course at Hershey Medical School at Penn State University,[14] and MK Czerwiec, a.k.a.
In 2021, Menopause: A Comic Treatment, published as part of the Graphic Medicine/Penn State University Press series, and edited by MK Czerwiec,[26] won the Eisner Award for Best Anthology.
The GMIC Awards... are an initiative to spotlight work in the comics field published in the previous calendar year which shines a light on issues of mental and physical wellbeing.