Department of Mind-Blowing Theories

By Tom Gauld. Published by Drawn & Quarterly. 

Hardcover, 160 pages, Colour, 2020.

A side-splitting skewering of the sober world of STEM

No one is safe when humorist and cartoonist Tom Gauld directs his hilarious gaze to your profession. Just as he did with writers, poets, and literary classics for the Guardianbooks page, Gauld now does with hapless scientists, nanobots, and puzzling theorems for his weekly New Scientist strip, the international magazine that covers all aspects of science and technology.

Gauld's Department of Mind-Blowing Theories presents one hundred and fifty comic strips topical and funny enough to engage any layperson with a rudimentary recall of their old science classes as well as those who consider themselves boffins of the contemporary physical and natural world. A dog philosopher questions what it means to be a ‘good boy’ while playing fetch! A virtual assistant and a robot-cleaner elope! The undiscovered species and the theoretical particle face existential despair! Facebook commenters debunk Darwin’s posting of On the Origin of Species! Why are there poodles pouring out of this wormhole?!

One could hypothesize how Gauld is able to command such quick-witted knowledge of the scientific world however, as these strips prove, Gauld would retaliate with the sharpest of punchlines to that hastily cobbled postulate. Gauld won an Eisner for Best Humor for Baking With Kafka and Department of Mind-Blowing Theories is sure to cement his reputation as the foremost authority on joke generating technology.

"Gauld is my favorite hyper-minimalist brainiac cartoonist, and Department Of Mind-Blowing Theories is my favorite of his collections so far."—William Gibson

"Tom Gauld is always funny, but he’s funny in a way that makes you feel smarter. Which is especially useful when he’s being funny about science."—Neil Gaiman

"Over the past few years, Gauld’s style has become instantly recognizable. His figures… stand in for a kind of Everyman or woman, up against institutions and social mores that Gauld is intent on presenting as silly."
—The New York Times

"Literary pun purveyor Tom Gauld turns his pen to the foibles of science (and science fiction)." —NPR

"These comics about science will give you a much-needed laugh." —BuzzFeed

"In Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, the acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator trains his trademark wit on the wonderful world of science." —The Paris Review

"Can science be funny Looking at the pages of Eisner Award-winning humorist and cartoonist Tom Gauld's Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, the answer is a resounding yes." —Shelf Awareness

"Gauld’s comics frequently riff on literary history, to hilarious effect. With his latest book... Gauld has applied that same ethos to the world of science. It’s one that frequently leads to surreal juxtapositions, ironic reversals, and characters dealing with bizarre dilemmas. It’s also very, very funny." —Vol 1. Brooklyn