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Short abstract

Analyzing Mitra, Ne rien laisser passer (2025) on glyphosate, we show how sequential art renders molecular agency, controversy, and non-human entanglements visible. We propose comics as a heuristic space to imagine resilient, toxic-vital futures.

Long abstract

Contribution Type: Experimental/Methodological Contribution

STS has long recognized that linear narratives fail to capture the heterogeneity of sociotechnical worlds. Aligning with the conference theme More than now, this proposal asks: What if STS inquiry itself was conducted through comics? We argue that comics constitute a genuine methodological operation, not just a popularization medium.

Focusing on a controversial substance, the glyphosate, we analyze the graphic novel Mitra, Ne rien laisser passer (2025), which investigates the controversies in which it is engaged. We demonstrate how the medium’s specific properties—sequentiality, graphic density, and narrative juxtaposition—make molecular substances legible as both toxic and vital actors. Unlike traditional text, comics visualize the relational geometry of collectives, the materiality of practices, and the emotional intensities surrounding chemical safety and its regulation.

By tracing the co-production of writing, drawing, and staging, this paper shows how comics reveal divergent viewpoints and heterogeneous assemblages often marginalized in academic writing. This approach fosters abductive reasoning and reflexivity regarding positionality, crucial for navigating crises and imagining resilient futures. We contend that comics expand the boundaries of scholarly evidence, offering a unique space where knowledge about molecular life is produced, taught, and legitimized. Ultimately, we propose comics as an essential tool for STS to engage with non-humans and co-create futures where the entanglement of toxicity and vitality is critically understood and responsibly managed.