NASA Graphic Novel Honored With Two Webby Awards
NASA’s first digital, interactive graphic novel, “First Woman: NASA’s Promise for Humanity,” has won two 26th Annual Webby Awards. The National Institute of Aerospace leads the project for NASA, collaborating with bully! entertainment to inspire the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation.
“We crafted this graphic novel and digital ecosystem to share NASA’s work in a different and exciting way,” said Derek Wang, director of communications for the Space Technology Mission Directorate in a NASA release at the project’s début. “We set out to make the content both engaging and accessible. From space fans of all ages to hardworking educators looking for new ways to get students excited about STEM, we hope that there is something for everyone to enjoy.”
Two winners are selected in each category. “First Woman” won both prestigious awards in the Apps and Software – Integrated Mobile Experience category: the Webby Award, which is selected by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS), and the fan-voted Webby People’s Voice Award. This year’s Webby Awards is the largest in history, with more than 14,000 entries from all 50 U.S. states and 70 countries and nearly 2 million votes cast for the Webby People’s Voice.
“Emerging technology gives us a new way to engage readers in the stories we tell,” added Carlson Bull, executive creative director and founder of bully! entertainment. By integrating augmented reality into ‘First Woman’s’ narrative, we’re adding a new dimension to the ‘traditional story,’ allowing readers to more fully immerse themselves into a fictional world. We hope that this interactive experience will inspire tomorrow’s leaders to push the boundaries of technology and explore new worlds—both real and imagined.”
The 40-page “First Woman” comic book imagines the story of Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon, while highlighting NASA space technologies along the way. Readers engage and interact through augmented reality elements using the First Woman website or a free app on their mobile devices. While Callie’s story is fictional, the first woman and the first person of color will soon walk on the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis missions.
NIA, Bully and NASA are no strangers to the accolades. A previous collaboration between the co-creators won a 2010 Webby Award for an interactive website, “NASA Home & City 2.0,” and the collaborators were also nominated in 2020.
“Winning a Webby Award from the Academy is truly the highest honor an internet app can receive,” remarked Doug Stanley, president and executive director of NIA. “We are proud to bring together a diverse team for such an inspirational activity. We sincerely hope that this incredible creation will inspire women and underrepresented populations to strive for careers in aerospace so that they may one day find themselves on the Moon like Callie.”
To learn more about the graphic novel and interactive experiences, visit:
www.nasa.gov/specials/
For more about the National Institute of Aerospace, visit: www.nianet.org.
