Representations of (Nano)technology in Comics from the ‘NanoKOMIK’ Project

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h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s11569-023-00452-3
ORIGINAL PAPER
Rep esen a ions o (Nano) echnology inComics
om he‘NanoKOMIK’ P ojec
Se gioU ueña
Recei ed: 16 Ma ch 2021 / Accep ed: 18 Decembe 2023
© The Au ho (s) 2024
con eying an eminen ly posi i e iew o nano echnol-
ogy, also communica e ce ain ‘my h-concep ions’ o
scien i ic ac i i y and i s p oduc s. Fo example, hey
con ey an indi idualis ic and linea ision o esea ch
and inno a ion and an ins umen alis and neu al (o
‘ alue- ee’) iew o echnology. These indings high-
ligh he impo ance o c i ically analysing he ‘cul-
u es o pa icipa ion’ ha cha ac e ise and ep oduce
‘pa icipa o y’ o ‘collabo a i e’ p ojec s and he ep-
esen a ions o (nano)science and (nano) echnology
ha hey pe pe ua e.
Keywo ds Rep esen a ions o science· Technology
assessmen · Nano echnology· Nanoscience·
Quali a i e con en analysis
In oduc ion
The eme gence o nano echnologies has been accom-
panied om he ou se by a s ong call o in ensi e
communica ion and engagemen wi h ‘ he public’. A
p inciple common o all ini ia i es has been he ec-
ogni ion ha socie y’s pe cep ion and unde s and-
ing o nano echnology is c ucial [1, 2] and he e o e
needs o be aken in o accoun om he e y ea ly
s ages o esea ch and de elopmen [3, 4].
The dynamics o ea ly public communica ion and
engagemen ha e aken di e en o ms and ha e
been mo i a ed by di e en easons [5]. Fo exam-
ple, communica ion has been d i en by demands o
Abs ac Rep esen a ions o science and echnol-
ogy, embodied as imagina ies, isions, and expec-
a ions, ha e become a g owing ocus o analysis.
These ep esen a ions a e o in e es o no ma i e
app oaches o science and echnology, such as He me-
neu ic Technology Assessmen and Responsible Inno-
a ion, because o hei abili y o modula e unde -
s andings o science and echnology and o in luence
scien i ic and echnological de elopmen . This a icle
analyses he cul u e o pa icipa ion unde lying he
NanoKOMIK p ojec and he ep esen a ions and
meanings o (nano)science and (nano) echnology
communica ed in he wo nano- ic ion comic books
c ea ed as pa o he p ojec : Dayanne and Mu illo.
The powe o nanoscience (2016) and NanoKOMIK
#2 (2017). The a icle a gues ha despi e NanoKO-
MIK’s e o s o engage he public wi h (nano)sci-
ence and (nano) echnology, i ep oduces non-binding
modes o public pa icipa ion and ansmi s socio-
echnical meanings ha a e ins umen al in he social
legi imisa ion o (nano) echnology. Mo e speci i-
cally, he analysis shows ha NanoKOMIK’s comic
books, in addi ion o no p oblema ising he isks and
S.U ueña(*)
Depa men o Philosophy, Uni e si y o  heBasque
Coun y UPV/EHU, Donos ia-SanSebas ián, Spain
e-mail: [email p o ec ed]
S.U ueña
Sec ion o Philosophy (BMS), Uni e si y o Twen e,
Enschede, TheNe he lands
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e lexi i y and capaci y building [6], awa eness and
p omo ion o he discipline [7, 8], enhancemen o
he democ a ic legi imacy o esea ch p ocesses, pu -
poses, o ou comes [9], and p e en ion o po en ial
ba ie s o echnology accep ance [3, 4, 10]. Di e -
en models o nanoscience and nano echnology com-
munica ion cu en ly coexis , con igu ing a he e oge-
neous se o communica i e dynamics wi h di e en
objec i es and ope a ing a di e en le els.
Those seeking o publicise o p omo e he wide
ange o disciplines and p ac ices ha encompass
nanoscience and nano echnology ace a se ies o
challenges. Fo example, many nano echnologies a e
s ill in he ea ly s ages o de elopmen and, as such,
a e non-exis en (especially in e ms o he ascina -
ing applica ions h ough which hey a e commonly
en isioned and p omo ed). In addi ion o hei emi-
nen ly non-p esen is cha ac e [11], nano echnolo-
gies de y unde s anding because o hei echnical
complexi y and he ‘inc edible ininess o nano’ [12].
These and many o he easons ha e led o he pe -
cep ion ha he e may be a communica ion gap wi h
‘ he public(s)’, which is exace ba ed when emphasis
is placed on communica ion and engagemen wi h
younge gene a ions (e.g. [8, 13]).
A g owing body o li e a u e has highligh ed he
a ious bene i s o comics in s imula ing imagina ion
and lea ning, especially among young people inside
and ou side he class oom. Comics a e expec ed
o help b oaden hema ic knowledge and p omo e
g ea e engagemen wi h science (e.g. [14–21]).
Al hough i is ecognised ha implemen ing com-
ics as an educa ional and engagemen ool equi es
app op ia e media ion, his c ea i e and communica-
i e medium is seen as a ui ul esou ce o imp o -
ing he meaning-making p ocesses in science and
echnology (e.g. [22]). Despi e he limi ed explo a-
ion o comics as a communica ion ool in he speci ic
ield o nano echnology, he e is suppo o he idea
ha comics can bene i speci ic a ge g oups in se -
e al espec s (e.g. [23, 24]).
Inspi ed by he c ea i e po en ial o comics, se -
e al p ojec s ha e been launched o de elop and dis-
semina e comic s ips ocusing on nano echnology
‘supe powe s’, pa icula ly a ge ing middle- and
high-school s uden s. Examples include (i) Nano
Blas e Man (2005), p oduced by he Taiwanese
Minis y o Educa ion; (ii) Dayanne and Mu illo.
The powe o nanoscience (2016) and NanoKOMIK
#2 (2017), p oduced as pa o he ‘NanoKOMIK’
p ojec (2016–2017) and co- unded by he Spanish
Founda ion o Science and Technology and he Min-
is y o Economy, Indus y and Compe i i eness (see
h ps:// www. nanok omik. com); and (iii) he comic
compe i ion ‘Gene a ion Nano! Supe he oes Inspi ed
by Science!’ (2017), unded by he Na ional Science
Founda ion and he Na ional Nano echnology Ini-
ia i e o he Uni ed S a es (see h p:// ns . go / GenNa
no).
These p ojec s a e impo an no only o p omo -
ing scien i ic li e acy bu also o os e ing ‘cul u es
o pa icipa ion’ and dissemina ing ep esen a ions
ha ca y meanings abou science and echnol-
ogy. Howe e , no analysis has ye ocused on hese
aspec s. Exis ing s udies on nano-comics and hei
associa ed p ojec s ha e mainly conside ed he e ec-
i eness o comics in p omo ing scien i ic li e acy and
social engagemen wi h nano echnologies.
This pape aims o diagnose he ‘cul u e o pa -
icipa ion’ unde lying he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec
(2016–2017) and he ep esen a ions o (nano)sci-
ence and (nano) echnology con eyed in i s wo esul -
ing comic books: Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) [25]
and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) [26].1 The cen al a gu-
men is ha bo h he p ojec ’s ‘cul u e o pa icipa-
ion’ and he meanings ci cula ed in i s comic books
a e unc ional in he social legi imisa ion o (nano)
science and (nano) echnology. On he one hand, he
‘cul u e o pa icipa ion’ ha in o ms he p ojec is
shown o be unc ional in he social legi imisa ion
o (nano)science and (nano) echnology by p omo -
ing non-binding and no e y meaning ul modes o
public engagemen . Ra he han os e ing genuine
collabo a ion, i ends o s ee he public owa ds he
1 Rep esen a ions a e unde s ood as a se o images ha
encode meanings abou (i) he socio- echnical o de s and unc-
ional p ocesses ha (nano)science migh enable and (ii) he
ela ionships be ween (nano)science ou comes and socie y.
Rep esen a ions o (nano) echnoscience include (gene ally col-
lec i ely held) images o how (nano) echnoscience wo ks, i s
goals, i s po en ial impac s (including, bu no limi ed o, ben-
e i s o ha ms) and/o he ole o socie y in he co-p oduc ion
o i s p ocesses and ou comes. Apa om he explici con-
en s ha hese ep esen a ions communica e, hey also encode
implici amings and no ma i e conside a ions abou which
de elopmen s should (no ) be pu sued (and h ough which p o-
cesses) and which ones a e u gen and need o be de eloped
([27], p. 102).
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adop ion o expe -led knowledge and na a i es. On
he o he hand, he meanings ci cula ed in he comics
a e shown o be unc ional in he social legi imisa ion
o (nano)science and (nano) echnology because hey
p edominan ly emphasise he p ac ical bene i s and
p ac ical i ues o (nano)science and (nano) echnol-
ogy and e ain om p o iding a signi ican p oblem-
a isa ion o hei de elopmen and isks. Fo example,
he pape shows how he comics o he ‘NanoKO-
MIK’ p ojec con ey an indi idualis ic and linea
ision o esea ch and inno a ion and an ins umen-
alis and neu al (o ‘ alue- ee’) iew o echnology.
S udies on he ep esen a ions o (nano)science and
(nano) echnology ha e ended o ocus on he pe cep-
ions and meanings ansmi ed by ac o s ou side he
scien i ic communi y (e.g. jou nalis s, ilm-make s)
o , mo e excep ionally, on he sel -pe cep ions o
nanoscien is s. He e, howe e , he ocus is on he ep-
esen a ions ha bo h communica ion specialis s and
nanoscien is s co-cons uc and dissemina e abou
(nano) echnoscience. Al hough his pape p esen s a
conc e e case s udy and i s indings a e limi ed o he
p ojec a hand, i has a b oade ele ance because i
e eals how ‘pa icipa o y’ o ‘collabo a i e’ p ojec s
can exp ess and pe pe ua e ways o aming science-
socie y ela ions and he co-p oduc ion o science and
echnology. By analysing he cul u es o pa icipa-
ion and he meanings ci cula ed h ough such p o-
jec s, he pape aligns wi h app oaches such as Vision
Assessmen [28] and o he ela ed he meneu ic o ms
o Technology Assessmen [29].
The s uc u e o he a icle is as ollows. The
nex sec ion p esen s he con ex , he main objec-
i e, and he ‘cul u e o pa icipa ion’ p omo ed by
he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec . This sec ion also high-
ligh s he ole o Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and
NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) comics no only as ins u-
men s o he dissemina ion and p omo ion o (nano)
sciences bu also as communica ion ehicles ich in
socio- echnical imagina ies, isions, and expec a-
ions ega ding science and echnology in gene al
and nanosciences and nano echnologies in pa icula
(‘The “NanoKOMIK” P ojec : Cul u es o Pa icipa-
ion and he Ci cula ion o Images Abou Nanosci-
ence’). Nex , he me hodological app oach used o
he analysis o he ep esen a ions p esen in he wo
comic books is p esen ed: a quali a i e a ian o he
con en he meneu ic analysis (‘Me hods’). The nex
sec ion p esen s he esul s o he analysis and a b ie
discussion o he main indings. Mo e speci ically,
his sec ion p esen s he images ega ding bo h (i) he
p ocesses o (nano)scien i ic and (nano) echnological
co-p oduc ion and (ii) he p oduc s o hese p ocesses,
and i en a i ely explo es some meanings ha hese
ep esen a ions migh be communica ing (‘Resul and
Discussion’). The a icle closes wi h a se ies o con-
clusions unde lining he need o make ep esen a ions
o (nano)science and (nano) echnology ha pe mea e
he a ious communica ion a e ac s as an objec o
esponsibili y h ough c i ical-he meneu ic e lec ion
(‘Conclusion’).
The ‘NanoKOMIK’ P ojec : Cul u es
o Pa icipa ion and heCi cula ion o Images
Abou Nanoscience
The ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec is an in e disciplina y ini-
ia i e de eloped in he yea s 2016 and 2017 by wo
scien i ic esea ch cen es: he nanoGUNE Coope a-
i e Resea ch Cen e (CIC nanoGUNE) and he Don-
os ia In e na ional Physics Cen e (DIPC). These cen-
es p io i ise nanosciences and nano echnologies in
hei a eas o esea ch.
The ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec is based on he ision-
a y idea ha he possibili ies opened up by nano-
science and nano echnology ‘a e endless and will
ha e g ea epe cussions in a ious sec o s anging
om medicine o cons uc ion, gene a ing impo an
changes in ou li es yle’ ([30], p. 3). The aim o he
p ojec is o ‘make socie y awa e o he ad ances ha
a e being made in he ield o nanoscience and nano-
echnology, in his way awakening he c ea i i y o
he younge gene a ion’ ([30], p. 3). Desc ibed as a
scien i ic ou each p ojec , he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec
was co- unded by he Spanish Founda ion o Sci-
ence and Technology (Spanish Minis y o Economy,
Indus y and Compe i i eness, Spanish Go e nmen )
and in ol ed a wide ange o academic ins i u ions,
companies, and collabo a ing agen s such as he
Basque Go e nmen , he Uni e si y o he Basque
Coun y UPV/EHU, he Uni e si y o Bo deaux, and
he Uni e si y o Ba celona, among o he s.
In ea ly 2016, he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec eam,
coo dina ed by I zia O egui ( esponsible o com-
munica ion and dissemina ion o he nanoGUNE)
and Amaia A egi (communica ion and dissemina ion
specialis s a he DIPC, and PhD in Ma e ial Sciences
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and Indus ial Enginee ing), pu sued i s main objec-
i e h ough an inno a i e s a egy in ol ing he pa -
icipa o y p oduc ion o a nano- ic ion comic book.
To a ac pa icipan s, he eam launched he ‘2016
Challenge’, which ecei ed a ema kable esponse.
Mo e han 190 people be ween he ages o 12 and 18
pa icipa ed in his ‘ ee c ea i e p ocess’ [31], esul -
ing in a collec ion o 102 comic s o ies. The comics
submi ed a ied in leng h om one o ou pages and
we e submi ed in Basque, Spanish, and F ench lan-
guages. To u he encou age pa icipa ion, he eam
awa ded p izes o he mos c ea i e comic s ips and
o ganised wo kshops o young s uden s and hei
eache s a he beginning and end o he compe i ion
[31].
One o he main esul s o his ‘2016 Challenge’
is he i s p in ed comic book en i led Dayanne and
Mu illo. The powe o nanoscience (2016). This
comic book, consis ing o se en episodes and nine-
een pages in o al, is claimed o be ‘[b]ased on he
bes ideas om he comics p esen ed in esponse o
he [2016] challenge’ ([25], p. 3). Dayanne and Mu i-
llo (2016) ecoun s he ad en u es o wo nanoscien-
is s, Dayanne and Mu illo, who a e he cen al cha -
ac e s o he comic. Thei wo k in he esea ch and
de elopmen o nano-based a e ac s is c ucial o he
comic’s plo . Each episode in he i s olume can be
ead independen ly, al hough hey a e all connec ed in
a linea na a i e.
The success o he i s expe imen , he ‘2016
Challenge’, led o he launch o a second challenge in
mid-2017: he ‘2017 Challenge’, which also ocused
on he c ea ion o nano- ic ion comics. Unlike he
‘2016 Challenge’, he ‘2017 Challenge’ was open o
a wide and mo e di e se g oup o socie al ac o s:
Anyone o e he age o 14 could pa icipa e. This
change in eligibili y c i e ia was aimed a a ac ing a
b oade audience and inc easing he pool o po en ial
pa icipan s. The call o pa icipa ion was di ided
in o wo ca ego ies: one o young people aged 14–18
and ano he o adul s o e he age o 18. Pa icipan s
could submi a maximum o wo g aphic s o ies each,
ei he indi idually o as co-au ho s. The call was open
o pa icipan s o all na ionali ies, al hough he lan-
guage o p esen a ion was limi ed o Basque, Span-
ish, F ench, o English. The ‘2017 Challenge’ o e ed
a o al o six p izes, i e o which we e awa ded by a
ju y and one by he public [32]. A o al o 240 pa ici-
pan s submi ed 70 comics o he ‘2017 Challenge’,
comp ising 57 submissions in he you h ca ego y and
13 in he adul ca ego y.
As wi h he success ul ou come o he ‘2016 Chal-
lenge’, which esul ed in he c ea ion o Dayanne and
Mu illo (2016), he ‘2017 Challenge’ also yielded
a second olume o comics en i led NanoKOMIK
#2 (2017). This new olume was also claimed o be
‘based on he bes ideas om he compe i ion en ies’
([26], p. 3). Mo e speci ically, i was p esen ed as
being he esul o collabo a ion be ween he p ojec
coo dina o s and h ee pa icipan s who we e he
‘winne s o he adul ca ego y o he nanoKOMIK
2017 challenge’ ([26], p. 3). In con as o Dayanne
and Mu illo (2016), NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) p esen s
h ee dis inc g aphic s o ies, each wi h wel e pages
and unique cha ac e s and plo s (Table1).
Al hough he ep esen a ions o (nano)science
and (nano) echnology con eyed and ep oduced by
bo h Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and NanoKOMIK
#2 (2017) a e a ocal poin o his a icle, i is wo h
b ie ly examining he cul u e o pa icipa ion and col-
labo a ion ha pe mea es and is ep oduced by he
‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec . The cul u e o pa icipa ion
and engagemen ha cha ac e ises he NanoKOMIK
p ojec can be unde s ood by examining how he
Table 1 The 2016 and 2017 Challenges associa ed wi h he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec . Sou ces: 2016 Challenge [31] and ([25], p. 3);
2017 Challenge [33] and ([26], p. 3). Elabo a ed by he au ho
Call o pa icipa ion Po en ial pa icipan s Numbe o
pa icipan s
Comics submi ed P in ed comics Episodes
2016 Challenge Young people (ages
12–18)
> 190 102 Dayanne and Mu illo.
The powe o nanoscience
(2016)
7 (in e ela ed)
2017 Challenge You h ca ego y (ages
14–18) Adul ca ego y
(o e 18)
> 240 70 (57 you h; 13 adul ) NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) 3 (independen )
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collabo a ions ha pu po edly led o he c ea ion o
bo h comic books we e ca ied ou . As no ed abo e,
bo h comic books a e said o be based on he bes ideas
om he 2016 and 2017 Challenges. Bu o wha ex en
is his inspi a ion mani es in he wo ks p oduced?
Nei he he NanoKOMIK websi e no he comics
p o ide explici and de ailed in o ma ion abou he
le el o inspi a ion. The e o e, in o de o disce n i ,
one should compa e he sc ip s and images o Day-
anne and Mu illo (2016) [25] and NanoKOMIK #2
(2017) [26] wi h he sc ip s and images o he comics
submi ed by he pa icipan s in esponse o he 2016
(see [31]) and 2017 (see [33]) Challenges. In doing
so, i is ha d o iden i y any ideas om he pa icipan s
ha may ha e di ec ly inspi ed Dayanne and Mu illo
(2016) and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017). While nano ech-
nology is a cen al heme in Dayanne and Mu illo
(2016), less han a hi d o he comics submi ed in
esponse o he ‘2016 Challenge’ make any e e ence
o nano. This is unde s andable gi en ha he pa -
icipan s we e youngs e s be ween he ages o 12 and
18 who may no be amilia wi h his eme ging ield.
The e o e, he ideas p esen ed in Dayanne and Mu i-
llo’s s o y and illus a ions seem o ha e come mainly
om he p ojec ’s eamwo k and coo dina o s. Indeed,
in he c edi s o Dayanne and Mu illo (2016), he
au ho ship o he comic sc ip is a ibu ed o Amaia
A egi (DIPC, p ojec coo dina o ), Hodei Ipa agui e
( eelance illus a o ), and I zia O egui (CIC nano-
GUNE, p ojec coo dina o ), while he illus a ions a e
a ibu ed only o Hodei Ipa agui e (see [25], p. 2).
The comics submi ed by pa icipan s in he ‘2017
Challenge’ show many mo e connec ions o nano ech-
nology compa ed o he p e ious Challenge, espe-
cially in he adul ca ego y (o e 18 yea s) (see [33]).2
This could be an indica ion o he g ea e amilia -
i y and awa eness o (nano)science and (nano) ech-
nology among adul s as well as hei highe le el o
scien i ic and echnological li e acy and unde s and-
ing. Fu he mo e, he le el o pa icipa ion be ween
he p ojec coo dina o s and he selec ed adul pa -
icipan s in he c ea ion o NanoKOMIK #2 (2017)
seems o be highe , al hough his collabo a ion has
ce ain limi a ions. As al eady men ioned, NanoKO-
MIK #2 (2017) consis s o h ee episodes (Table1).
The i s s o y in NanoKOMIK #2 (2017), en i led
‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’, was w i en and d awn by
Aśka, he i s -p ize winne o he ‘2017 Challenge’
(see [26], p. 4). Howe e , he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p o-
jec coo dina o s, Amaia A egi and I zia O egui,
had an in luence on he de elopmen o he sc ip s
o he emaining wo s o ies. The illus a ion o
he second episode, en i led ‘Mis e lames’, was
c ea ed by Jöse Sénde , while he sc ip was de el-
oped by he p ojec coo dina o s, Amaia A egi and
I zia O egui (see [26], p. 8). The hi d and inal epi-
sode, en i led ‘Among plan s’, was d awn by Rubén
Molina, while he sc ip was de eloped by him,
Amaia A egi, and I zia O egui (see [26], p. 12). In
his sense, he pa icipa ion o he coo dina o s con-
inues o be essen ial in he p epa a ion and di ec-
ion o mos o he comic book sc ip s and hemes
ha make up his second olume.
All his highligh s he ollowing scena io: (i) only
one o he en episodes ha make up he wo comic
books appea s o ha e been c ea ed en i ely by a
pa icipan ; (ii) he coo dina o s a e in ol ed in he
c ea ion o sc ip s o nine episodes; (iii) he coo di-
na o s a e he sole au ho s o he sc ip s o eigh o
he en episodes; and (i ) he e is no e idence o sug-
ges ha any o hese eigh sc ip s c ea ed solely by
he coo dina o s we e inspi ed by he comics submi -
ed by pa icipan s in esponse o he 2016 and 2017
Challenges. The signi ican ole played by he p o-
jec coo dina o s in he c ea ion o he sc ip s shows
ha he p ojec is based on a cul u e o pa icipa ion
in which science communica ion specialis s and sci-
en i ic expe s ake a e y ac i e, op-down ole in
di ec ing he pa icipa ion and collabo a ion. The
expe s dic a e he con en while he social collabo a-
o s a e mainly elega ed o he ole o adap ing hei
illus a ions. In ac , his dominan mode o pa icipa-
ion in he p ojec could be placed on he so-called
2 While he majo i y o he comics submi ed in he adul ca -
ego y p esen a posi i e na a i e abou nano echnologies (e.g.
‘Nanoc is al’, ‘Sob eaguas’, ‘Spli ing Miss Young’, ‘Tekna ia’,
‘Tximis a U dina’), o he s p esen nano echnologies as a
po en ial h ea (e.g. ‘HackGi l’, ‘Kameleon ’). Despi e his
pola isa ion in pe spec i es, i is impo an o no e ha all
hese na a i es adhe e o he o e a ching heme es ablished
by he ‘2017 Challenge’: Nano echnologies endow indi iduals
wi h supe powe s o capabili ies, and he use o hese powe s
can be pu o ei he good o e il ends, wi h a ying deg ees
o ele ance o e e yday li e. The po en ial isks and nega-
i e e ec s/issues a e less s ongly emphasised in he comic
igne es included in NanoKOMIK #2 (see Sec .4.2.e).

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‘ladde o pa icipa ion’ be ween okenism (limi ed
o in o ming pa icipan s which sc ip s o d aw) and
non-pa icipa ion (see [34]).
This way o concei ing o ‘con ibu ion’ and ‘col-
labo a ion’, especially wi h non-scien i ic ac o s,
con as s wi h ecen de elopmen s in ci izen sci-
ence [35] and Responsible Resea ch and Inno a ion
[9] ini ia i es. The discou ses and p ac ices associ-
a ed wi h hese app oaches call o g ea e openness
in science and echnology. In o he wo ds, his one-
way app oach o pa icipa ion is weak compa ed o
p oposals ha aim o signi ican social engagemen ,
collabo a ion, and empowe men o di e en ways
o knowing [36]. This sugges s ha he analy ical
and c i ical ocus should no be limi ed o whe he
a p ojec claims o be pa icipa o y o collabo a i e
bu also and especially o how collabo a ion is imple-
men ed and made e ec i e (i.e. he di ision o labou
p omo ed) [37]. This equi es ca e ul conside a ion
o whe he he oices o social ac o s a e genuinely
aken in o accoun o me ely ins umen alised (i.e.
whe he he labels o collabo a ion and pa icipa ion
a e me ely ools o p omo ing he social legi imacy
o science).
While i is impo an o acknowledge he limi a-
ions o he collabo a i e cul u e o he NanoKOMIK
p ojec , we should no ’place he blame’ on he p o-
jec o ganise s and coo dina o s. The e o s made by
he coo dina o s o b ing nanoscience close o young
people a e commendable, and he limi a ions in e ms
o collabo a ion men ioned abo e mus be unde s ood
as o e lapping wi h a numbe o highly con ex ual
and con ingen ac o s and commi men s. Imple-
men ing a p ojec o his scale is no easy and he e
is o en conside able p essu e o deli e and accoun
o esul s. In addi ion, he ac ha he a ge audi-
ence was qui e young (especially in he ini ial chal-
lenge) may ha e con ibu ed o a one-way app oach
o pa icipa ion, as i equi es conside able e o
and knowledge o imagine he po en ial impac s o
nano echnology.
The high deg ee o in ol emen o he ‘NanoKO-
MIK’ p ojec coo dina o s in he de elopmen o
he na a i es o Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and
NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) is no only ele an in e ms
o making isible he cul u e o pa icipa ion ha pe -
mea es he p ojec . I is also ele an o unde s and-
ing a leas ou cha ac e is ics o he images and
meanings con ained in he wo olumes ha will be
analysed in he ollowing sec ions:
1) Al hough he episodes ha e a ic ional cha ac e ,
each o hem is imagina i ely inspi ed by a scien-
i ic esea ch a icle published in a pee - e iewed
jou nal ( his inspi a ion akes on a di e en
deg ee o specula ion in each o he s o ies);
2) The pic o ial de ails o he labo a o ies and
ins umen s used by he nanoscien is s o esea ch
and p oduce he nano-based a e ac s (see he
‘The In as uc u e/Ma e ials and Places Whe e
Resea ch is Conduc ed’ sec ion);
3) Each episode includes igne es wi h echnical
explana ions o how he di e en nano-based
a e ac s wo k. I should be no ed ha his ype
o echnical explana ion was absen om he
comic s ips submi ed in esponse o he ‘2016
Challenge’ and was ma ginally p esen in he
comic s ips submi ed in esponse o he ‘2017
Challenge’— he excep ions o he ‘2017 Chal-
lenge’ a e he comics ‘Chi in!’, ‘Nanoc is al’,
and ‘Planckman’ (all submi ed in he adul ca -
ego y)3;
4) The clea ly posi i e iew o nano echnology
ha exis s in he episodes. The published comic
s o ies a e gea ed owa ds he p omo ion o an
eme ging echnoscience a he han encou aging
a c i ical and e lec i e engagemen wi h i (see
he ‘Resul s and Discussion’ sec ion).
The ex ensi e in ol emen o he coo dina o s
in he de elopmen o he comic sc ip s ende s he
analysis o he images p esen in he comics pa -
icula ly in e es ing. This analysis does no consis
o a case s udy o he ep esen a ions and meanings
ha non-scien i ic ac o s con ey o he public (e.g.
[38–41]) no does i ocus on he images and unde -
s andings ha publics associa e wi h nano echnology
(e.g. [42–44]). Fu he mo e, he analysis does no
3 The inclusion o g aphic igne es wi h scien i ic and echni-
cal desc ip ions in some o he adul ca ego y comics submi -
ed in esponse o he ‘2017 Challenge’ mus be in e p e ed in
a con ex whe e Dayanne and Mu illo. The powe o nanosci-
ence (2016) al eady exis ed and could se e as a e e ence and
a sou ce o inspi a ion o he pa icipan s. Dayanne and Mu i-
llo (2016) al eady included ex ual and g aphic explana ions
abou how he nano-a e ac s p esen in each episode unc ion.
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ixa e solely on he ep esen a ions ha nanoscien-
is s ha e o hei own wo k (e.g. [45, 46]). Ins ead,
i ocuses on how science communica ion special-
is s and nanoscien is s communica e meanings abou
(nano) echnoscience o he public h ough comic
s ips and how hese meanings can help o suppo
and legi imise his ield o esea ch and inno a ion.
In o he wo ds, he analysis aims o examine how sci-
ence communica ion specialis s and nanoscien is s
co-cons uc and dissemina e images and meanings o
nano o shape social ac o s’ pe cep ions and a i udes
owa ds (nano)scien i ic wo k and how hese images
and meanings p omo e hei esea ch.
Indeed, his pape p oposes o in e p e he
‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec and i s wo comic books as
communica i e a e ac s o a pe o ma i e na u e
in he se ice o modula ing he pe cep ions and
a i udes o he younges audiences owa ds (nano)
science and (nano) echnology, a guably o he ben-
e i o he social legi ima ion o hese ields. The
‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec and i s comics a e in e p e ed
as a e ac s ha e lec , con ain, ci cula e, and ep o-
duce images, isions, and expec a ions bo h abou
science-socie y ela ions (e.g. he ‘cul u e o pa ici-
pa ion’) and, in pa icula , abou (nano)science and
(nano) echnology. Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and
NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) a e in e p e ed as ins umen s
(albei modes ones) wi hin a b oad cons ella ion o
a e ac s ha compe e o shape he o ien a ion o he
dynamics o he go e nance o science, echnology,
and inno a ion h ough he alloca ion o meanings
[47]. In A min G unwald’s e ms, he ‘NanoKOMIK’
p ojec and i s comics a e unc ional a e ac s in he
gene a ion and main enance o he meneu ic ci cles
[48] a ound nano, enabling and ein o cing al eady
ongoing meaning-making p ocesses and/o hinde ing
he eme gence o al e na i e ones.
Despi e hei eminen ly ic i ious na u e, he socio-
echnical meanings embedded in ep esen a ions
can s ill in luence he eme gence o socio-ma e ial
assemblages [49]. Fo example, hey can spa k public
deba es, shape opinions, d aw a en ion o pa icula
a eas o esea ch, mobilise esou ces, and ein o ce
p e-exis ing na a i es abou science and echnol-
ogy [50]. The ex en o which hese ep esen a ions
a e success ul in modula ing social and ma e ial ou -
comes depends on a a ie y o ac o s, including hei
alignmen wi h o he socio- echnical dynamics, and
he deg ee o powe ha he c ea o s and p omo e s
o hese ep esen a ions wield wi hin he ne wo k o
ac o s in which hey a e si ua ed.
This unc ion o ep esen a ions o (nano) ech-
noscience as pe o ma i e de ices unde lines he
impo ance o subjec ing hem o c i ical and e lec-
i e assessmen [28] and making hem a a ge o
in e en i e go e nance [51]. Recen de elopmen s
in Science and Technology S udies and Technology
Assessmen ha e emphasised he need o ongoing,
eal- ime analysis o he p oduc ion and de elop-
men o hese images and isions in o de o p omo e
mo e e lec i e and esponsible esea ch and inno-
a ion ([9], pp. 1570–1571, [52], [53]). While he
analysis in his a icle ocuses on he con en o he
wo published olumes Dayanne and Mu illo (2016)
and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017), i is impo an o ecog-
nise ha a comp ehensi e analysis o he ole played
by hese communica ion a e ac s would equi e an
examina ion o hei ongoing co-e olu iona y p o-
cesses. Among o he domains, a en ion needs o be
paid o he changing condi ions and con ex s in which
hey eme ge and unc ion and he ways in which hey
con inually ans o m he socio-epis emic and poli i-
cal p ac ices in which hey ope a e [54]. Fu he mo e,
while he meanings con eyed in he comics a e sig-
ni ican , hei ecep ion, adop ion, in e p e a ion, and
dissemina ion a e con ingen upon a a ie y o ac-
o s, and eade s play an ac i e a he han passi e
ole in hese p ocesses. The e o e, while analysing
he meaning o ex s (o ep esen a ions) in books,
diag ams, o al p esen a ions, and images is an impo -
an and ins uc i e ask, i is only a small pa o
he la ge equa ion when i comes o iden i ying and
in e ening in ongoing he meneu ic ci cles and p o-
iding e lec i e and o ien a ion knowledge [52, 55].
Me hods
The analysis o he ep esen a ions o science and
echnology con ained in Dayanne and Mu illo (2016)
and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) was conduc ed ollowing
a he meneu ic app oach o he ex s. He meneu ics
in ol es in e p e ing he meaning and signi icance
o ex s as well as unde s anding he si ua edness o
he au ho s wi hin hei socio-spa ial and his o ical
con ex s.
He meneu ic exe cises a e pa o no ma-
i e app oaches such as Vision Assessmen and
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He meneu ic Technology Assessmen , which aim o
iden i y and e lec ‘ he socie al meaning a ached
o new echnology’ ([48], p. 2). This meaning is no
con ined o he knowledge cu en ly a ailable on he
impac s o new echnologies bu also includes a se ies
o o he ep esen a ions and a i udes which mo e o
less explici ly in luence he ange o ac i i ies and
dynamics go e ning he un uly, complex, and messy
co-p oduc ion o science and echnology. Imagina -
ies, expec a ions, and isions abou new echnolo-
gies a e a clea example o such ep esen a ions ha
shape, and a e shaped by, p ocesses o meaning
asc ip ion. These ep esen a ions con ain alues and
desc ip i e elemen s abou how a new echnology
could o should be and he social o de s wi hin which
hey a e (o should be) unc ional.
These meanings a e exp essed in di e en ways
and in di e en o ma s. They can be w i en ex s
(e.g. no els, company posi ion pape s, poli ical p o-
g ammes, and agendas), isual ex s (e.g. illus a ions
o p o o ypes, scien i ic igu es, o diag ams), o o al
ex s (e.g. p esen a ions, pe o mances) ([48], pp.
11–12).
In o de o unde s and which hemes and mean-
ings a e communica ed h ough he comics wi hin
he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec , he he meneu ic con en
analysis (HCA) me hod was applied [56]. The HCA
me hod can be conside ed an ex ended o m o Con-
en Analysis (CA), as i combines he lexible, sys-
ema ic, and highly analy ical and desc ip i e p in-
ciples and echniques o CA (coding, ca ego ising,
sys ema ising, and in e p e ing a ex ) [57–59] wi h
unde s anding and e lec ion [60].
CA me hods ha e adi ionally been used in heol-
ogy, philosophy, and social sciences, among o he s, o
empi ically analyse p oduc s and p ocesses o social
communica ion (whe he eco ded o ‘li e’) in o de
o ‘in e p e meaning om he con en o ex ’ ([57],
p. 1277). CA and he meneu ic me hods a e ypically
applied o communica ion ou comes ma e ialised in
o iginal o ansc ibed ex s such as newspape a i-
cles, in e iews, p o ocols, laws, books, pic o ial
a wo ks. Howe e , hey can also be applied o in e -
ac ion p ocesses ([61], p. 2), [62]. Among he main
assump ions o CA me hodologies and hei a ious
app oaches is ha he analysis o ex s and meaning-
ul p ocesses can iden i y (a leas pa o ) he condi-
ions o assump ions on which hei p oduc ion was
based, as well as he p ocesses in which hey (aim,
can, could o will) a ec .
Pe o ming any ype o CA in ol es, in one way o
ano he , he use o he meneu ic ools and skills. CA
equi es in e p e a ion and a se ies o in e en ial p o-
cedu es, such as de ining uni s o meaning and anal-
ysis, coding, and ( e)cons uc ing he con ex om
which he ex is in e p e ed. Howe e , di e en in e -
p e a ions can be made om a ying angles and wi h
di e en deg ees o e lexi i y. HCA aims o ex end
CA by explici ly acknowledging wo key poin s: (i)
ha CA p ocesses a e in luenced by he knowledge,
alues, and socio-his o ical con ex o he people con-
duc ing hem, which allows o di e en analyses and
meanings o be iden i ied, and (ii) ha he meanings
o each code need o be unde s ood in ela ion o he
whole ex and he p oduc ion con ex om which he
ex o igina ed [56].
HCA o e s a ange o app oaches, including quan-
i a i e, quali a i e, and mixed me hods and can be
applied o di e se a eas such as causal analysis and
social ne wo k analysis. Fo his s udy, a quali a i e
and hema ic app oach o HCA has been chosen. The
ask is o iden i y he hemes and associa ed mean-
ings p esen in he wo comic books p oduced by
he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec , namely Dayanne and
Mu illo. The powe o nanoscience (2016) [25] and
NanoKOMIK #2 (2017) [26]. The iden i ica ion o
hese meanings can se e bo h as a ma ke o he spe-
ci ic con ex in which he books we e p oduced and
as a esou ce o en a i e assessmen . I is impo an
o no e, howe e , ha he ype o analysis p o ided
he e is only one necessa y bu no su icien s ep in
he p ocess o elucida ing he he meneu ic ci cles
o dynamics ha hese comics may eed, ep oduce,
ein o ce o enable. Fu he esea ch is needed o
ully unde s and he impac o hese ep esen a ions
and how hey a e adop ed, in e p e ed, and dissemi-
na ed by eade s in di e en con ex s.
This a icle ocuses on he a ionale o he
‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec and he meanings con eyed
in he associa ed comic books. The e o e, he claims
made in his s udy a e limi ed o hese aspec s o he
p ojec , and he au ho e ains om making induc-
i e in e ences om he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec o
o he po en ially simila p ojec s o comics. The a i-
cle diagnoses ha he cul u e o pa icipa ion a icu-
la ed in he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec and he meanings
abou nano ha he comics con ey a e unc ional in
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he social legi imisa ion o (nano)science and (nano)
echnology. This is because he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p o-
jec ep oduces limi ed modes o pa icipa ion and
collabo a ion, and i s comics ein o ce p edominan ly
a ou able meanings o he nano echnology p ojec .
A i e-s ep analysis p ocess was adop ed:
S ep I. Ini ial con ac . Fi s , a gene al o e iew
o he selec ed ma e ial o be analysed—i.e. he wo
olumes ha esul ed om he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p o-
jec : Dayanne and Mu illo. The powe o nanoscience
(2016) and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017)—was conduc ed.
The aim was o become amilia wi h he con en s and
o map gene al hemes o he comic s ips.
S ep II. T ial coding. This second s age consis ed
in conduc ing an ini ial ial coding o he hemes,
messages, o con en p esen in he ex s o he pub-
lished comics (whe he w i en, iconic, o mixed).
The codi ica ion o hemes and da a managemen
we e execu ed using he analysis so wa e NVi o
Release 1.0. Mo e speci ically, NVi o was used (i) o
manually code and hie a chically s uc u e he hemes
and e e ences o in e es iden i ied in he comic s ips
in hei co esponding coding ca ego ies and (ii) o
enable hei isualisa ion and subsequen analysis in
an o de ly manne . Each o he episodes comp ising
he comics has been aken as a uni o analysis.
The coding p ocess was conduc ed using a pu ely
induc i e (o bo om-up) app oach. This implies
ha he coding ca ego ies ha designa e he hemes
o he ex eme ged de no o and in eal ime du -
ing he i e a i e p ocess o eading and analysis—
i.e. ollowing wha K ippendo desc ibes as a
he meneu ic-in e ac i e explo a ion p ocess ([63],
pp. 303–307).
S ep III. Segmen a ion and ancho ing o coding
ca ego ies. A his s age, all he ial codes o analy-
sis ca ego ies gene a ed du ing s ep II we e assessed,
syn hesised, and es uc u ed in a hie a chical man-
ne . This s ep is necessa y o he s anda disa ion o
he uni s o analysis and o a oid o e lap o duplica-
ion be ween he codes used and gene a ed.
The i e a i e p ocess o analysis, gene a ion, de i-
ni ion, es uc u ing, and e alua ion o he coding ca -
ego ies esul ed in he ollowing hie a chical coding
map s uc u e:
A. The echno-scien i ic esea ch p ocesses. The ex
includes ep esen a ions abou esea che s and/o
esea ch li e:
a. Images o he scien is s
i. The lone scien is
ii. Sel -pe cep ion/p esen a ion o he scien is
as a genius
iii. The scien is ’s ou i
b. The indi idual/g oup cha ac e is ics o he
scien i ic ac i i y
i. Collabo a i e
ii. In e pe sonal compe i ion
iii. Seeking ecogni ion om he communi y
c. The in as uc u e/ma e ials and places whe e
esea ch is conduc ed
i. Places and ypes o labo a o ies
ii. Resea ch ins umen s
B. The echno-scien i ic esea ch esul s. The ex
includes ep esen a ions abou (nano)inno a ions:
a. Re olu iona y nanoscience. Nanoscience
is p esen ed as a e olu iona y echnosci-
en i ic ield
b. Nano-based a e ac s. The ex men ions an
a e ac wi h some o i s unc ions enabled
by nanos uc u es
c. The nano-based a e ac is ‘in es iga ed’
and ‘p oduced’ in he labo a o y. The ex
depic s ha he a e ac s a e bo h in es i-
ga ed and p oduced in he lab
d. Explana ions o he echnical basis o nano-
based a e ac s. The ex s con ain explana-
ions o how nano-based a e ac s wo k
i. Na u e as inspi a ion. Na u ally o med
nanos uc u es a e unde s ood as an objec
o inspi a ion and o be mimicked h ough
nanomanu ac u ing
e. Risks. The po en ial isks o nano-based
a e ac s a e depic ed in he ex
. A nano-based a e ac is used o sol e a
p oblem. A e ac s a e p esen ed as means
o sol ing a p oblem
S ep IV. Main coding. The p e ious and de ini-
i e code hie a chy was uni o mly applied o he wo
p in ed collec ions o he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec . The
coding was ca ied ou manually and media ed by he
so wa e NVi o R1.
S ep V. Resul s analysis. The abo e coding led o
he se ies o indings ha a e p esen ed and discussed
in he ollowing sec ion.
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Table 2 (con inued)
Comic book Episode Summa y o he s o y’s
a gumen
Scien i ic places [P]
and ools [T]
Main hemes Nano-based a e ac s
([N] = no el in he
episode na a i e)
‘Nano-powe ’ Inspi ed by
Mis e lames Jon is a nanoscien is
who has always
d eamed o becom-
ing an as onau . His
idol, as onau Ch is
Roge s, is abou o
boa d a space ocke .
Jon obse es he
e en as a spec a o .
As he coun down
o launch begins,
some hing is w ong.
The ocke begins o
bu n. Jon, who has
been wo king on a
nano-based i ep oo
sui , manages o sa e
his idol and he es o
he c ew
[P]: A labo a o y. [T]:
Nanopa icle Depo-
si ion Sys em
The nano-based a e-
ac is ‘in es iga ed’
and ‘p oduced’ in
he lab; A nano-
based a e ac is
used o sol e a
p oblem
N] Flame- e a dan
sui
O e s esis ance o
i e
[72]
[N] Nano-silica oam
p ojec o s
P e en /delay he
sp ead o i e

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Table 2 (con inued)
Comic book Episode Summa y o he s o y’s
a gumen
Scien i ic places [P]
and ools [T]
Main hemes Nano-based a e ac s
([N] = no el in he
episode na a i e)
‘Nano-powe ’ Inspi ed by
Among plan s A nanoscien is spends
yea s in he dep hs o
he jungle ying o
c ea e a nano-hyb id
machine capable o
a i icially ep oduc-
ing pho osyn he-
sis. Exhaus ed by
his wo k, he alls
asleep. In a d eam,
huge plan s in ade
his house. Ou o
nowhe e, c ea u es
appea , pu he gian
plan s ou o ac ion,
and send him a mes-
sage: his expe imen
has wo ked. The
scien is wakes up and
ealises ha i ac ually
did happen
[P]: An isola ed house
in he middle o he
jungle. [T]: Mic o-
scope
The lone scien is ; A
nano-based a e ac
is used o sol e a
p oblem (gun); The
nano-based a e ac
is ‘in es iga ed’
and ‘p oduced’ in
he lab
[N] Nano-hyb id
machines ha can
pe o m pho o-
syn hesis (design
inspi ed by ‘na u e’:
pho osyn hesis)
Enables he c ea ion
o a i icial pho o-
syn he ic sys ems
[73]
[N] Gun ha shoo s
nanopa icles capa-
ble o pene a ing
plan issue
Pe mi s he immo-
bilisa ion o plan
issue
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ins ance, he esea che in ‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’
li es in isola ion in a ype o cas le on a moun ain and
he scien is in ‘Among plan s’ wo ks alone deep in
he jungle.
This image o he indi idualis ic and soli a y sci-
en is , ocused on his o he wo k, is pa icula ly e i-
den in he a ibu ion o au ho ship o he esea ch
p ocess and i s esul s. O he hi een nano-based
a e ac s ha appea in he wo comic books, he e
a e wo whe e he in en o is no e ealed ( he guns
ha shoo nanopa icles p esen ed in ‘Le hal punch’
and ‘Among plan s’). O he emaining ele en, en
we e c ea ed by indi idual scien is s wo king alone in
hei labo a o ies (see he ‘The Nano-based A e ac
is ‘In es iga ed’ and ‘P oduced’ in he Labo a o y’
sec ion). Only he high-quali y g aphene sui (‘Dia-
mond in he ough’) seems o be he esul o a col-
labo a i e e o . Howe e , his collabo a ion is no
simul aneous bu sequen ial: Mu illo i s de elops a
cape, hen Dayanne pe ec s i and ans o ms i in o
a sui . Real- ime collabo a ion is only p esen in he
es ing p ocess o his p oduc . Al hough some social
in e ac ion wi h o he scien is s occu s h oughou he
s o ies, scien i ic and echnological p oduc ion i sel
is e ealed o be a pa icula ly indi idualis ic and sol-
i a y ac i i y.
These images which emphasise he au onomy o
scien i ic esea che s a e combined wi h o he images
in which scien is s p esen hemsel es as geniuses o
as ha ing supe powe s (see [25], pp. 4 and 13). Mo e
speci ically, he image o he scien is as a genius and
a lone is explici ly ound in h ee o he en chap e s
o Dayanne and Mu illo (2016): ‘S uck’, ‘Small bu
deadly’, and ‘Diamond in he ough’.
The his o y o science is gene ally communica ed
and unde s ood unde he in luences o a p edomi-
nan ly mode n o illus a ed image o science [76]:
scien i ic and echnological ad ances p oduced by
g ea scien is s, ‘ he geniuses o science’. Ne e he-
less, and al hough he e a e conc e e examples in
his o y which pa ially suppo he idea o he sci-
en is as a genius and a lone , se e al s udies show
how science (especially con empo a y science) is an
ac i i y which in ol es o is co-p oduced by a la ge
numbe o ac o s who a e no necessa ily ecognised
o conside ed as geniuses—while no denying he
ole ha some indi iduals may ha e played [77–80].
E ic Sce i, o example, highligh s how he b eak-
h oughs made by g ea pe sonali ies and lau ea es in
he ield o science we e possible hanks o a numbe
o achie emen s by di e en esea ch g oups and sci-
en is s. These scien is s, who ha e been less o una e
when i comes o econs uc ing he his o y o sci-
ence, a e wha Sce i calls ‘ he li le people’ [81].
The comic books p esen he esea ch li e o hese
‘li le people’, some o whom ne e heless conside
hemsel es o be geniuses o science: a genius cha -
ac e ised in e ms o echnological p oduc ion, i.e. in
e ms o indi idual esea ch and de elopmen o an
a e ac hanks o hei c ea i i y and hei knowledge
o nanoscience. I is he knowledge o nanoscience and
i s p ac ical applicabili y ha seem o empowe he
ingenui y o he indi idual scien is . In Dayanne and
Mu illo (2016), he e is no one g ea ‘genius’ bu se -
e al, and hey all owe i o he ‘powe o nanoscience’ o
p oduce ce ain a e ac s.
In his way, comics may ac as a ehicle h ough
which some o he deep- oo ed s e eo ypes abou sci-
en is s in ou popula cul u e a e ep oduced [74, 82,
83]. No only do hese pic u es con ey an e oneous
o illuso y image and unde s anding o scien i ic and
inno a i e en e p ises (which a e de ac o a highly
social and mul i-ac o ac i i y) and scien is s (no all o
hem a e geniuses o pe cei e hemsel es as such) [84];
such images can also be coun e p oduc i e in gi ing
meaning and alue o scien i ic ac i i y—i espec i e
o whe he he in ended e ec o he comic books is o
p omo e and legi imise nanosciences and nano echnol-
ogies (see [85, 86]).
A hi d heme p esen in he comic s o ies, alluding
o he images and pe cep ions abou scien is s, ela es o
hei clo hing. Scien is s a e mos o en depic ed wea -
ing whi e coa s. While he use o whi e coa s o igina ed
in ope a ing hea es, labo a o ies, and mode n hos-
pi als, hey ha e been wo n by doc o s o mo e han
a cen u y and a e gene ally ega ded as a symbol o
au ho i y, espec , and pu i y [87]. On he one hand,
whi eness o en seems o be associa ed wi h a sense o
pu i y. Whi e coa s ep esen physicians’ commi men
o help people and o do no ha m. On he o he hand,
he po en ially a ibu able sense o espec and au ho -
i y may be associa ed wi h he possession o knowl-
edge and he abili y o change he s a e o a ai s (e.g.
expe imen a ion in he case o physics, he p o ec ion
and healing o pa ien s in he case o medicine) (see
[88, 89]).
The image o he whi e-coa ed scien is is a com-
mon heme in nine o he en chap e s o s o ies ha
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cons i u e he wo comic books ( he excep ion is ‘Le hal
punch’). Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) also display a
numbe o o he ypes o uni o ms, such as pe sonal
p o ec i e equipmen (PPE) and sa e y glasses, pa icu-
la ly in he chap e ‘Gymkhana’.
The Indi idual o G oup Na u e o  heScien i ic
Ac i i y
Rep esen a ions o he scien is as a soli a y wo ke a e
pa o a my h-concep ion [90] o scien i ic ac i i y and
echnological p og ess ha emphasises he wo k and
genius o he indi idual. Indeed, in many igne es,
he a e ac s p oduced by indi iduals ( hanks o hei
knowledge o nanosciences) a e p esen ed as wo ks
o unique au ho ship: hey a e concei ed as indi idual
c ea ions (e.g. see [25], pp. 4 and 13).
As men ioned abo e, he comics ea u e i e
male and wo emale nanoscien is p o agonis s.
Howe e , when examining he ep esen a ion o
indi idual echnological c ea ion p ocesses, i
becomes clea ha he wo comic books delibe a ely
and posi i ely balance he gende s. Bo h books ea-
u e an almos equal numbe o a e ac s c ea ed by
emale and male nanoscien is s (see Table2). I is
impo an o ecognise ha his equal dis ibu ion
does no ully e lec he pe sis en inequali ies and
biases ha o en exis in science and inno a ion sys-
ems (see [91–93]). Ne e heless, gende balance
in ep esen a ion can ha e a posi i e pe o ma i e
unc ion, especially when conside ing i s po en ial
impac on a ac ing young emale audiences o sci-
ence ca ee s. The balanced gende ep esen a ion in
he wo comic books can be a ibu ed o he consci-
en ious di ision o labou du ing he coo dina ion
o he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec and he de elopmen
o he s o y sc ip s, which we e a guably hough -
ully and mainly shaped by he c ea i e isions
o Amaia A egi and I zia O egui, as explained
in ‘The “NanoKOMIK” P ojec : Cul u es o Pa -
icipa ion and he Ci cula ion o Images Abou
Nanoscience’.
Al hough he p ocesses o esea ch and inno a-
ion a e po ayed as eminen ly indi idualis ic in mos
o he s o ies, hese ac i i ies a e p esen ed wi hin a
p edominan ly social con ex in all chap e s and na -
a i es (wi h he excep ion o ‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’
and ‘Among plan s’ in NanoKOMIK #2). The analysis
o he wo comic books shows h ee ypes o social
ela ions ha scien is s cul i a e in social con ex s:
hose cha ac e ised by in e pe sonal compe i ion,
hose ma ked by coope a ion be ween scien is s, and
hose ocused on he sea ch o ecogni ion wi hin he
scien i ic communi y.
The heme o compe i ion be ween indi idual scien-
is s is cen al o Dayanne and Mu illo (2016). In ac ,
six ou o se en chap e s (all excep ‘Le hal punch’)
include a leas one igne e in which he exis ence o
compe i ion be ween he p o agonis s can be obse ed.
The na a ion o he i s six chap e s e ol es hanks o
a deg ee o heal hy compe i ion be ween Dayanne and
Mu illo. By challenging each o he , hey cons an ly
y o su p ise and su pass hei colleague wi h esh
nano echnology-based a e ac s. This image o heal hy
indi idual compe i ion be ween scien is s is, howe e ,
absen in NanoKOMIK #2 (2017).
In e pe sonal compe i ion exis s de ac o in sci-
en i ic ac i i y and is gene ally ega ded as a d i -
ing o ce o science. Howe e , i is also acknowl-
edged ha his compe ence has i s shadowy sides
(e.g. hoa ding esea ch da a, sabo aging he wo k
o o he s, being disloyal, e c.) [94]. The comics o
he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec con ain depic ions o
bo h i s posi i e and nega i e ace s. On he posi-
i e side, Dayanne and Mu illo’s con inuous a emp s
o su pass each o he push hem o ad ance in hei
esea ch and o c ea e hei a e ac s. On he mo e
nega i e side, he i s chap e (‘S uck’) shows how
Dayanne, en ious o Mu illo’s gecko glo e, h ows
i a he ceiling causing i o ge s uck (ou o his
each). Simila ly, in he chap e ‘Small bu deadly’,
D . Rami ez e uses o gi e Mu illo a sample o his
nanoan ido e on he g ounds ha i is his own c ea-
ion (see [25], pp. 4 and 13).
Al hough compe i i e ela ionships pe mea e much
o he na a i e in he chap e s (and much o i wi h
a posi i e ou look), he e a e also ep esen a ions o
o he ypes o ela ionships, such as he exis ence o
collabo a ion and co diali y among scien is s. Beyond
he ep esen a ions o scien is s mee ing each o he
in he co ido s and enjoying co ee b eaks, he e a e
also ep esen a ions o collabo a ion in ela ion o he
achie emen o speci ic objec i es (e.g. esea ch and
p oblem sol ing, imp o ing and/o es ing he e ec-
i eness o echnological a e ac s).
O he en chap e s ha compose he wo books,
ou o hem (and all in Dayanne and Mu illo)
include images o collabo a ion in some o hei
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igne es: ‘Gymkhana’, ‘Small bu deadly’, ‘Diamond
in he ough’, and ‘Le hal punch’ (Table2). Howe e ,
each o hese chap e s o s o ies alludes o he idea o
coope a ion om di e en pe spec i es. Whe eas in
‘Gymkhana’ he collabo a ion is be ween wo scien-
is s no in ol ed in he s o yline who wo k oge he
o s udy samples o nanopa icles, in he emaining
h ee chap e s, he collabo a ion is be ween Dayanne
and Mu illo in o de o sa e he liza d ha se es as a
s udy sample o he p oduc ion o he ‘gecko glo es’
(‘Small bu deadly’), o help de elop and es he
high-quali y g aphene sui (‘Diamond in he ough’),
and o p e en he dea h o he pa icipan s in a nano-
echnology con e ence (‘Le hal punch’). The collabo-
a ion is hus c edi ed wi h p edominan ly posi i e
mo i a ions and esul s.
Finally, h oughou he di e en chap e s o s o ies,
e e ence is made o nanoscien is s who a e seeking
ecogni ion om he scien i ic communi y. Recog-
ni ion by he scien i ic communi y is a c ucial ela-
ionship be ween he communi y and he indi idual,
and i is c i ical o he ad ancemen o a esea che ’s
ca ee . The ques o ecogni ion pe mea es a ious
ac i i ies in he scien i ic en e p ise, om he ou ines
wi hin a esea ch g oup o depa men o he commu-
nica ion o esul s a con e ences o he publica ion o
esul s in specialised jou nals.
The heme o he scien is s’ ques o ecogni ion
in he ‘NanoKOMIK’ comics can be ound in he
igne es o h ee episodes: in ‘Diamond in he ough’
and ‘Le hal punch’ in Dayanne and Mu illo (2016),
and in ‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’ in NanoKOMIK
#2 (2017). In ‘Diamond in he ough’, o example,
Mu illo shows his sa is ac ion wi h he success o he
high-quali y g aphene sui he p oduced in collabo a-
ion wi h Dayanne and decla es: ‘Jus in ime o he
con e ence… We’ e su e o blow hem away!’ ([25],
p. 15; emphasis added). This igne e shows how
scien is s seek ecogni ion and admi a ion om hei
pee s. In addi ion, i should be no ed ha his igne e
sugges s ha he con e ence p esen a ion will be cen-
ed on he a e ac (and no so much he heo e i-
cal ad ances pe se), which deno es he b oad p ag-
ma ic and echnology-o ien ed meaning a ibu ed
o nanoscience (see [95]; he ‘Nano-based A e ac s’
sec ion).
By con as , in ‘Le hal punch’, a us a ed e o
o be ecognised by he scien i ic communi y leads
o an a emp a e enge. P o esso Jules on La e n,
who suddenly appea s a a con e ence on nano ech-
nology, s a es: ‘E e since he scien i ic communi y
labelled all my esea ch as lies, I’ e only been sea ch-
ing o one hing… REVENGE!’ ([25], p. 19). His
e enge consis s o poisoning he assis an s, s ealing
hei inno a ions and publishing hem as his own.
This igne e no only sugges s ha he scien i ic
communi y main ains ce ain e hical and epis emic
c i e ia when accep ing i s membe s4 o ha signi i-
cance is placed on he nano-based a e ac s (and no
he knowledge ha enabled hei p oduc ion); i also
con ains meanings abou he us a ion ha scien-
is s eel when hei wo k is no ecognised by hei
communi y.
Finally, ‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’ begins i s na -
a i e wi h a igne e showing how some scien is s,
despi e being acknowledged by he scien i ic commu-
ni y, a e excluded om he p oduc i e o ce o ea-
sons such as unding cu s. In his way, he image con-
eys ha ecogni ion is a necessa y bu no su icien
condi ion o he de elopmen o a scien i ic ca ee .
O he elemen s, such as unding, a e also impo -
an . The plo o his episode (see Table 2) shows
how unding cu s can make i di icul o scien is s
o de elop hei oca ion, leading hem o ‘sell hei
knowledge/inno a ions’ o he w ong ype o people
(in his case, o co up poli icians). This na a i e
could sub ly shi he indi idual echnological (i )
esponsibili y o scien is s by ocusing on ac o s and
decisions ou side hei a ea o in luence, such as lim-
i ed unding o echno-scien i ic esea ch and de el-
opmen . The key message is ha i he nanoscien is
decided o sell he nano-de ice o a co up male ac-
o , i was because she somehow had o make a li ing
due o he lack o unding o science (see [25], p. 4).
The In as uc u e/Ma e ials andPlaces Whe e
Resea ch isConduc ed
The ac i i ies conduc ed by scien is s ake place no
only in social spaces, bu also wi hin an a e ac ual
and ma e ial ne wo k. The concep o ‘socio- echnical
4 An impo an conno a ion in his con ex is ha une hical
beha iou is a ibu ed o a scien is who has no been ecog-
nised by he communi y (i.e. an ou side ). The o e all image
o inside s, in con as , seems o be clea ly e hical. P o agonis
scien is s always con ibu e o doing jus ice and sa ing li es
wi h hei nano echnological a e ac s.
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ne wo k’ is ypically used in Science and Technology
S udies and aims o cap u e he ma e iali y o in a-
s uc u es and echnical objec s in he cons i u ion o
(scien i ic) eali y [96].
Nanoscien i ic and nano echnological ac i i y, due
o he echnical cha ac e is ics o i s objec o s udy
and manipula ion, is de eloped in socio- echnical ne -
wo ks composed o sophis ica ed ins umen s. The
wo comic books p oduced wi hin he ‘NanoKOMIK’
p ojec , in pa icula Dayanne and Mu illo (2016),
comp ehensi ely e lec his eali y by showing di e -
en places as well as he ins umen s and in as uc-
u es in which nanoscien is s de elop hei ac i i y.
The s o ies de eloped in Dayanne and Mu illo
(2016) mainly ake place in one loca ion: ‘Nano ech’,
a nano echnology esea ch cen e. Howe e , wi hin
his cen e, di e en a eas a e ep esen ed: he clean-
oom, he supe compu e cen e, and he deposi ion
and nanop ics labo a o ies ( o a b eakdown o hese
places by episode, see Table2). In addi ion, ‘Le hal
punch’ p esen s one o he places whe e scien is s
exchange knowledge, build ne wo ks o collabo a e
and con ibu e o he shaping o hei discipline: con-
e ence si es (see [97]).
Less ich in his desc ip i e sense a e he s o ies
de eloped in NanoKOMIK #2 (2017). He e, wo o
he s o ies ake place in wha appea s o be he iso-
la ed house o he scien is s (‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’
and ‘Among plan s’) and a labo a o y es ablished in a
esea ch cen e (‘Mis e lames’).
The emphasis on places such as he labo a o y, as
well as he app oach o he scien is as an indi idual,
howe e , misses o he impo an places whe e nano-
scien i ic and echnological esea ch and inno a ion
a e s ongly p esen , such as he business and indus-
ial sec o .
The ins umen s depic ed in he wo comic books
also acqui e a ce ain a ie y, mos o which a e
concen a ed in Dayanne and Mu illo (2016). Bo h
Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and NanoKOMIK #2
(2017) show how nanoscien is s use ins umen s
such as scanning elec on mic oscopes (SEM), ul a-
high acuum (UHV) sys ems (e.g. UHV-deposi ion
sys em—elec on beam e apo a o ), mic oscopes,
mic opipe es, es ubes, es ube acks, scanning
unnelling mic oscopies (STM), (supe -)compu e s,
and high-powe lase beamlines ( o a b eakdown by
episode, see Table2).
Images Abou he P oduc s o (Nano) echnoscience
In addi ion o depic ing (nano)scien i ic ac i i ies,
he comics also con ey in e es ing images and mean-
ings abou p oduc s made possible by nanoscience.
The six main sub- hemes ela ing o he p oduc s o
(nano) echnoscience ound in he wo comic books
a e desc ibed and discussed below: (a) e olu iona y
nanoscience, (b) nano-based a e ac s, (c) he nano-
based a e ac is ‘ esea ched’ and ‘p oduced’ in he
labo a o y, (d) explana ions o he echnical basis o
nano echnology-based a e ac s, (e) isks, and ( ) he
nano-based a e ac is used o sol e a p oblem.
Re olu iona y Nanoscience
One o he much deba ed and widely a ibu ed mean-
ings o nano echnology e e s o nano echnology as
‘ e olu iona y’ because o he mul iple u ili ies ha
nano echnological p oduc s can p o ide [98–100].
The idea o nano echnology as a e olu ion is only
made explici in w i en o m in a comic panel ( he
one depic ed in [25], pp. 4 and 13). Howe e , all he
s o ies a e di ec ly o indi ec ly aligned wi h he iew
ha nanoscience enables he con ol o he s uc u e
o ma e and ha his capaci y o con ol enables a
new se o ‘supe - unc ionali ies’ o supe powe s. The
e olu iona y cha ac e o nano echnology is e iden
in he nanoscien i ic a e ac s and hei espec i e
unc ionali ies.
In his way, he NanoKOMIK olumes ie in wi h
wha has been called he ‘p og amma ic ision’
[101] o nano echnology. This ‘p og amma ic ision’
can be ound in ea ly documen s on nano echnol-
ogy such as Nano echnology: Shaping he Wo ld
A om by A om (1999) and Na ional Nano echnology
Ini ia i e: Leading o he Nex Indus ial Re olu-
ion (2000) in he USA as well as Eu opean Union
Resea ch D i es Nano echnology Re olu ion (2002)
and Towa ds a Eu opean S a egy o Nano echnol-
ogy (2004) in Eu ope. These discou ses ha p esen
nanoscience and i s p oduc s as po en ially e olu-
iona y can also be ound in o he egions, such as
India and China (see [102]). The ision o ‘nano- e -
olu ion’ has been an impo an he o ical esou ce o
p o ide momen um o nano echnology by a ac ing
a en ion and alloca ing in es men oppo uni ies. In
pa icula , he idea o ‘nano- e olu ion’ was aken

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up and dissemina ed bo h in he na u al sciences and
enginee ing (wi h a special ocus on he scien i ic and
echnical de elopmen o ‘nano’) and in he social
sciences and humani ies (wi h a special ocus on e hi-
cal and socio-poli ical issues and a mo e e lexi e and
inclusi e de elopmen o nano echnologies).
Nano-based A e ac s
As no ed in he p e ious sub-sec ion, he concep
o a ‘nano- e olu ion’ in he NanoKOMIK comics
is cen ed on he ‘supe - unc ionali y’ o he nano-
based a e ac s. Nanoscience and nano echnology
a e po ayed as enabling no el modes o con ol-
ling and in e ac ing wi h ma e , hus allowing new
o enhanced unc ions o be insc ibed in o exis ing o
new a e ac s. The ‘supe - unc ionali y’ o he a e-
ac s p esen ed embodies and ein o ces he p omises
and po en ials o nanoscience and nano echnology,
d awing a en ion o hei ins umen al i ues. While
he nanoscien is s play a c i ical ole in he s o ies, i
is ul ima ely he a e ac s hey c ea e ha ha ness he
powe o nano and lead o a happy ending o each
episode o s o y.
This a e ac -cen ed, subs an i e app oach o ech-
nologies p esen s hem as undamen ally ins umen-
al, sub ly educing hem o me e ools wi h p ac i-
cal a o dances. Technological p og ess is amed
p ima ily in e ms o he p oduc ion o a e ac s ha
o e new and imp o ed unc ionali ies, wi h nano-
echnology being seen as a signi ican miles one o
i s capaci y o enable ‘supe - unc ionali ies’. This
ins umen al and ma e ial app oach o echnologies
has been c i icised o i s limi ed pe spec i e, o e -
looking ques ions ela ed o he meanings and ela-
ional aspec s o scien i ic and echnological co-p o-
duc ion [103].
The wo NanoKOMIK comic books ea u e a
o al o hi een nano-based a e ac s ha pe o m a
a ie y o unc ions in di e en con ex s. The nano-
ma e ials ha comp ise he a ious a e ac s a e
depic ed as enabling a ange o supe - unc ions, om
inc easing adhesion, educing ic ion, and imp o -
ing he esis ance o objec s, o inc easing he e ec-
i eness o disease- igh ing measu es, pe o ming
syn he ic pho osyn hesis, and ampli ying ou sense
o smell. In a mo e specula i e app oach, and in line
wi h anshumanis discou se, nano echnology is p e-
sen ed e en as ha ing he po en ial o o e come he
limi a ions o he human condi ion by enabling omni-
p esence (see Table2). The di e si y o unc ions and
domains in which nano echnology is p esen ed adds
ano he laye o meaning o he concep o ‘supe -
unc ionali y’: pe asi eness. Nano echnology is po -
ayed as a c oss-cu ing enable and a ‘ echnology
pla o m’ [104], encou aging eade s o imagine he
my iad possibili ies ha nano-based a e ac s could
unlock. The unde lying ision in he comics analysed
is ha nanoscience and nano echnology will lead o
subs an ial and di e se imp o emen s in ou li es
and will ha e a signi ican impac on a ious sec o s
such as ma e ials p oduc ion, medicine, ene gy, and
sus ainabili y.
Howe e , his ‘ e olu iona y’ cha ac e o he
p ope ies made possible by nano echnology con as s
wi h he ela i e o dina iness and accessibili y o
mos o he objec s in which hese ‘no el’ and ‘supe -
unc ional’ p ope ies a e ealised o embedded. Wi h
he excep ion o ‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’ in NanoKO-
MIK #2 (2017), whe e he a e ac s a e nanode ices
ancho ed o neu al synapses, he objec s in which he
‘supe - unc ionali ies’ mani es a e e y mundane.
Fa om showing g andiose isions and p ope ies
in specula i e objec s such as sel - eplica ing nano o-
bo s, hal o he nanoscale a e ac s in he comics a e
p esen ed in he o m o clo hing (glo es, cos umes
o masks). The p esen a ion o he a ious quali ies
o nanoma e ials in highly ecognisable and amilia
objec s can be ead in he ligh o he a ge audience
o hese wo ks: he gene al public and in pa icula
younge people.
The Nano-based A e ac is‘In es iga ed’
and‘P oduced’ in heLabo a o y
Among he hi een nano-based a e ac s depic ed in
he plo s o he wo comic books, six can be explici ly
isualised as being esea ched and de eloped in he
labo a o y (six o he en chap e s depic his heme).
The la gely indi idualis ic iew o scien i ic p ac ice
is hus coupled wi h an image o scien is s esea ch-
ing and hen p oducing hei own a e ac s in he
labo a o y.
In addi ion o educing he complexi y o scien-
i ic and echnological esea ch and p oduc ion (bo h
in e ms o he p ocesses and ac o s in ol ed), mo e
han hal o he episodes explici ly ep oduce a linea
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image o echnological p oduc ion and inno a ion:
he scien is conduc s esea ch in he ield o nanosci-
ence, ins umen ally o ien ed owa ds he p oduc ion
o ce ain echnologies, and he same scien is de el-
ops and uses hem. The scien is as an indi idual is
hus posi ioned as he cen al and unique ac o and
he cen e o he esea ch and de elopmen p ocess.
This con en ional linea model o echnological
inno a ion con as s wi h he ac ual complexi y o
he p ocesses and ac o s in ol ed in he con ingen ,
messy, and un uly socio- echnical assemblages ha
co-p oduce and shape echnological de elopmen
(see [105, 106]). The assemblages o co-p oduc ion
include p i a e and public (g oups o ) ac o s, such as
poli ical ins i u ions, uni e si ies, businesses, indus-
y, insu ance companies, NGOs, use s, laws, and
egula ions. These en i ies es ablish e ol ing ela ion-
ships wi h each o he and con inuously in luence he
b oad inno a ion p ocess, om concep ion o use and
implemen a ion.
In addi ion o o e simpli ying he complexi y o
ac o s and p ocesses ha de ine and shape inno a ion,
he linea and esea che -cen ed image o nano ech-
nology de elopmen has implica ions o en ision-
ing al e na i e possibili ies o nano echnology go -
e nance. Fo example, i may hinde he ecogni ion
and consolida ion o mo e inclusi e meanings o
scien i ic p ac ice, in which a wide ange o ac o s,
whose oices ha e adi ionally gone unhea d wi hin
he ealm o scien i ic ac i i y, could in luence he
p ocesses and ou comes o scien i ic ac i i y and he
pu poses o which hey a e di ec ed. In o he wo ds,
hese ‘my h-concep ions’ may hinde he call o he
democ a isa ion o science and echnology.
Explana ions o  heTechnical Basis o Nano-based
A e ac s
In con as o adi ional science ou each ac i i ies,
which a e o en c i icised o being unidi ec ional
and based on he so-called ‘de ici model’, ‘NanoKO-
MIK’ has a di e en objec i e. Ins ead o ocusing on
in o ming o explaining he heo e ical basis o nano-
echnology, i s main aim is o demons a e he po en-
ial echnological applicabili y o his knowledge.
The emphasis is no so much on p omo ing he new
heo e ical miles ones in nanoscience bu a he on
highligh ing hei alue in impa ing po en ially use-
ul p ope ies o a wide ange o objec s. The model
o scien i ic dissemina ion used in he wo ‘NanoKO-
MIK’ books aligns wi h he modus ope andi ha
cha ac e ises he nanosciences: esea ch p ac ices in
he nanosciences o en aim a a speci ic applicabili y.
This p ac ical o ien a ion p o ides no only he poli i-
cal legi imacy o suppo nano esea ch p ac ices wi h
public unds, bu also he epis emic legi imacy (e.g.
i is no jus he p oduc ion o knowledge pe se ha
is alued bu also he p oduc ion o knowledge ha is
‘use ul’ o speci ic applica ion con ex s).
Each o he episodes includes illus a ions o
how he nano-based a e ac s—wi h he excep ion
o he i on oxide nanopa icles in ‘Le hal punch’—
acqui e he unc ionali ies asc ibed o hem. One o
he ema kable ea u es o hese illus a ions is ha
hey e eal ele an in o ma ion abou wha inspi ed
he design o he nanopa icle-based a e ac s. Spe-
ci ically, i e o he hi een a e ac s depic ed in
he comic books a e shown o be inspi ed by na u e.
The main idea is ha some o hese objec s a e con-
s uc ed by a p ocess o mimicking na u al nanos uc-
u es o nanosys ems ound in animals and plan s,
hus ep oducing he p ope ies (o e en p ocesses,
such as pho osyn hesis in ‘Among plan s’) o li ing
beings (see [107, 108]). The ision con eyed could be
ha he capaci y o nano echnologies is no simply o
con ol na u e, bu o imi a e i h ough his con ol
(e.g. see [25], pp. 7 and 11).
Risks
In he comics s udied, he e was only one igne e
in which he ques ion o he isks o nano echnology
a e ac s was ound. Mo e p ecisely, in he episode
‘Back o he o igins’ (in Dayanne and Mu illo), he e
is men ion o a ‘ha d impac ’ ha he ex ended me al
claw could ha e: i is no su icien ly con olled by
i s use and damages i s su oundings. Howe e , his
isk is p esen ed as pe ec ly con ollable and ypi-
cal o a p o o ype ha ‘s ill needs a li le adjus ing’
([25], p. 9).
Conce ns abou he sa e y o nano-based a e ac s
a e he e o e no a ecu ing heme in he ‘NanoKO-
MIK’ comics. Fo example, only wo episodes ela e
o p oduc es ing: ‘Diamond in he ough’ (Dayanne
and Mu illo) and ‘Wo ld domina(no) ion’ (NanoKO-
MIK #2). In ‘Diamond in he ough’, he es s a e ca -
ied ou wi h he aim o inc easing he e ec i eness
o he nano-based a e ac . In ‘Wo ld domina(no)
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ion’, he nanoscien is conside s s a ing he es
o assess he easibili y o he nano-based a e ac .
Howe e , his las es does no ake place because o
ex e nal p essu e o speed up he p oduc ion o he
a e ac . No sa e y- es issues a e aised.
The almos comple e absence o e e ences o isks
is a key aspec ha highligh s he comics’ s ong
p omo ional o ien a ion. The p eceding sub-sec ion,
which showed how some o he nano-based a e ac s
p oduced we e c ea ed by imi a ing nanos uc u es
al eady exis ing in na u e, could be ela ed o he
absence o ex s on he isks o hese a e ac s. The
idea ha many nano-based a e ac s imi a e exis ing
s uc u es in na u e could be in e p e ed as a he o i-
cal esou ce whose main unc ion is o ci cum en
he p oblem o he g ea unce ain y abou he isks
ha nanoma e ials cons i u i ely en ail. One could
w ongly conclude ha i hese s uc u es al eady exis
in na u e, he e is no need o wo y abou he possible
isks o hei ep oduc ion.
Nano-based A e ac s a e Used oSol e aP oblem
The las o he ele an hemes iden i ied in he
‘NanoKOMIK’ comics ela es o he way in which
nano-based a e ac s a e used. The esul s show a
ce ain ambi alence in his espec : while mos o he
a e ac s a e seen in a posi i e ligh as ins umen s
ha help o sol e a p oblem, some o he s o ies seem
o ep oduce a neu al image o he echnology.
On he one hand, a ecu ing image in he comics
is ha a e ac s a e a use ul sou ce o p oblem sol -
ing. O he hi een a e ac s p esen ed, eigh a e used
o sol e a p oblem p esen in he s o ies (all excep
he swimming cos ume wi h supe hyd ophobic
nanos uc u es, he in isibili y sui , he high-quali y
g aphene sui , and he pho osyn he ic nano-hyb id
de ices).
Fo example, in Dayanne and Mu illo (2016), he
bee enom nanopa icle is used as a d ug deli e y
ehicle o sa e he li e o a liza d (episode: ‘Small
bu deadly’), jus as he gecko glo es, he ex endible
me al claw, he nose-mask, and he i on oxide nano-
pa icles a e used o sa e he pa icipan s o a nano-
echnology con e ence om a al poisoning (episode:
‘Le hal punch’). Likewise, in NanoKOMIK #2 (2017),
he lame- e a dan sui and he nano-silica oam p o-
jec o s a e used o sa e he as onau s om a ocke
i e (episode: ‘Mis e lames’) and he nano-de ices
a ached o he synapses o neu ons ensu e ha a
co up poli ician ge s wha she dese es (episode:
‘Wo ld Domina ion(s)’).
Wha is in e es ing in his con ex is no only
whe he he a e ac s we e used o sol e a p oblem,
bu also whe he hey we e c ea ed o his pu pose
and by whom hey we e used. Wi h ega d o he i s
poin , o he eigh a e ac s used o sol e a p oblem,
only wo we e designed and c ea ed o sol e he ul i-
ma e p oblem o which hey we e used ( he lame-
e a dan sui and he nano-silica oam p ojec o s).
The emaining six we e no speci ically designed o
sol e he p oblem bu hei unc ionali y allowed o
a solu ion o be ound. Conce ning he second poin ,
i is he nanoscien is s who used he a e ac s and
sol ed he exis ing p oblem. This las aspec ein-
o ces he diagnosis o he p o agonism o indi idual
scien is s highligh ed in he ‘Images Abou P ocesses
o (Nano) echnoscience Resea ch and De elopmen ’
sec ion as well as he educ ionis image o scien i ic
p oduc ion e ealed in he ‘The Nano-based A e ac
is ‘In es iga ed’ and ‘P oduced’ in he Labo a o y’
sec ion. A e ac s a e ‘in es iga ed’, p oduced, es ed,
and used (mainly o use ul pu poses) by a (nano)sci-
en is ; scien is s a e he only ac o s in he whole p o-
cess o inno a ion and echnological de elopmen .
On he o he hand, and in he con ex o a p edomi-
nan ly ins umen al (posi i e) iew o nano-based
a e ac s, he e a e wo e e ences in he comic books
ha could sugges a neu al image o (nano) echnol-
ogy (i.e. i is an ins umen ha can be used o good
o e il, depending on how social ac o s use i ). These
wo e e ences can be ound in ‘Le hal punch’ om
Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and ‘Wo ld domina(no)
ion’ om NanoKOMIK #2 (2017). In he i s , Jules
on La e n h ea ens o u n he e y nano-based
a e ac s ha helped sa e he con e ence pa icipan s
in o ‘ins umen s o o u e’ (see [25], p. 19). In he
second, a nano-based a e ac ha migh ha e a di -
e en se o unc ions is p esen ed as being used o
co up ion a e alling in o he hands o a co up
poli ician.
This sub le image o echnology as alue-neu al
can be ead as a concep ual and discu si e esou ce
ha shi s esponsibili y om he de elope s (he e
he scien is s) o he use s. Nume ous s udies ha e
highligh ed and challenged his neu al image o sci-
ence and echnology, showing how he e a e (mo e o
less implici ) alues in he p ocesses o echnological
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design and de elopmen (and no only in he use o
he objec i sel ) and how echnologies play a mo al-
ising ole in he way we ela e o and ac in ou en i-
onmen (e.g. [109–112]).
The p e ious analysis and e lec ion on he hemes
o (nano)de elopmen p ocesses (see he ‘Images
Abou P ocesses o (Nano) echnoscience Resea ch
and De elopmen ’ sec ion) and hei p oduc s (see he
‘Images Abou he P oduc s o (Nano) echnoscience’
sec ion), as ound in Dayanne and Mu illo (2016)
and NanoKOMIK #2 (2017), aimed o d aw a en-
ion o hei unde lying meanings and o iden i y he
po en ial unc ions ha hese olumes could play in
he social legi imisa ion o (nano)science and (nano)
echnology.
The analysis e ealed ha he comics ep oduce
he p omises and isions ha ci cula ed a ound nano-
echnology du ing i s eme gence o legi imise i s
de elopmen . Nanoscience and nano echnology a e
depic ed as e olu iona y ields o esea ch, and he
concep o ‘supe - unc ionali y’ plays a signi ican
ole in his ega d.
Ano he impo an aspec in he legi imisa ion
o (nano)science and (nano) echnology is he ep e-
sen a ion o nano-based ins umen s as a e ac s ha
a e esea ched and p oduced in he labo a o y. This
e lec s a linea concep ion o echnology and inno-
a ion. This concep ion plays a key ole in secu -
ing esea ch unding: he idea is ha mo e esea ch
leads o mo e echnology, which in u n con ibu es
o imp o ing socio-economic wel a e and/o sol ing
a ious p oblems (see he ‘Nano-based A e ac s a e
Used o Sol e a P oblem’ sec ion), hus inc easing
social and inancial suppo o esea ch.
Fu he mo e, he comics p esen an a e ac -cen-
ed app oach and po ay a e ac s as neu al en i ies.
Discou ses ha p esen echnology as neu al shield
i om p oblema isa ion and shi esponsibili y
om esea che s and de elope s o use s. Indeed, he
lack o signi ican p oblema isa ion o isks (see he
‘Risks’ sec ion) and he cons an appeal o na u e as
an inspi a ion (see he ‘Explana ions o he Technical
Basis o Nano-based A e ac s’ sec ion) can be in e -
p e ed as na a i e esou ces ha con ibu e o he
social legi imisa ion o science and echnology.
In ligh o he abo e, i is necessa y o subjec
p ojec s such as ‘NanoKOMIK’ o c i ical analysis
and o examine he ames and meanings hey con-
ey. This sc u iny is essen ial o ques ion hei ole
in ein o cing p omises and shielding science and
echnology om necessa y c i ical sc u iny. The ci -
cula ion o hese meanings goes beyond issues o
scien i ic li e acy o misin o ma ion; i pe pe ua es
‘my h-concep ions’ and meanings abou science and
echnology ha p o ec he la e om b oade socio-
poli ical sc u iny and p e en open c i ique, while
blindly ad oca ing hei de elopmen . I is, o cou se,
i ial o accuse a comic book o o e simpli ica ion
and exagge a ion. Ne e heless, hese comics ca y
meanings o nanoscience and nano echnology ha
align wi h and ein o ce ce ain he meneu ical ci cles
ha a ou he social legi imisa ion o science and
echnology. Many o hese meanings a e no neces-
sa ily new and ha e been ex ensi ely discussed and
c i icised in he li e a u e, as some o he e e ences
ci ed in he analysis and discussion a es . Howe e ,
he pe o ma i e unc ion o ep esen a ions and hei
associa ed meanings canno be o e looked and he e-
o e need o be made isible in he ques o g ea e
e lexi i y and anspa ency.
Conclusions
This a icle analysed he ‘cul u e o pa icipa-
ion’ unde pinning he ‘NanoKOMIK’ p ojec
(2016–2017) and some ep esen a ions o (nano)sci-
ence and (nano) echnology con eyed by he p ojec ’s
esul ing comics: Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and
NanoKOMIK #2 (2017). The aim o he analysis was
o suppo he claim ha he ‘cul u e o pa icipa ion’
and he meanings p esen ed in he comics se e o
unde sco e he social legi ima ion o (nano)science
and (nano) echnology.
On he one hand, he ‘cul u e o pa icipa ion’ ha
unde pinned he p ojec was iden i ied by examin-
ing he p ocesses in ol ed in he c ea ion o he wo
olumes. This en ailed diagnosing he possible le els
o inspi a ion ha migh ha e come om he com-
ics submi ed o he ‘2016’ and ‘2017’ Challenges
by compa ing hem wi h he sc ip s and illus a ions
o Dayanne and Mu illo (2016) and NanoKOMIK
#2 (2017). The esul s showed ha he p ojec coo -
dina o s played a majo ole in he c ea ion o mos
o he comic sc ip s. The e we e no simila s o ies in
he comics submi ed by he pa icipan s ha could
con i m a binding collabo a ion o inspi a ion. Whe e
collabo a ion was e iden , i was hea ily in luenced