--- title: "Manufacturers Assemble: Graphic Novel About Manufacturing!" description: Graphic novels have been gaining popularity and could be a helpful way of introducing people to manufacturing. Check out this real-life example. image: https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/miika-laaksonen-737086-unsplash-2.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/holy-tinkerers-batman-there-is-a-graphic-novel-about-manufacturing#main) - FAQs - [News](https://ontarioeast.ca/news) - [Events](https://ontarioeast.ca/events) - [Ontario East Municipal Conference](https://ontarioeast.ca/happenings/our-team-partners) - [About Us](https://ontarioeast.ca/about-us/) - Search [![site_main_logo](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/site_main_logo.svg) ![site_main_logo_scrolled](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/site_main_logo_scrolled.svg) ![Ontario East Economic Development logo](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/logo.png?width=245&height=150&name=logo.png) ![Ontario East Economic Development logo](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/logo.png?width=245&height=150&name=logo.png)](https://ontarioeast.ca/) - [Show submenu for Regional Profile Regional Profile](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/) - [Our Communities](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/our-communities/) - [Advantages](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/advantages/) - [Workforce](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/workforce/) - [Incentives and Funding](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/incentives-and-funding/) - [Success Stories](https://ontarioeast.ca/success-stories/) - [Available Properties](https://ontarioeast.ca/available-properties/) - [Show submenu for Key Employment Sectors Key Employment Sectors](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/) - [Advanced Manufacturing](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/advanced-manufacturing/) - [Food and Beverage](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/food-and-beverage/) - [Logistics and Transportation](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/logistics-and-transportation/) - [Other](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/other/) - [Show submenu for Members Members](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/) - [Member Directory](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/) - [Become a Member](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/become-a-member/) - [Membership Application Form](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/membership-application-form/) - [Regional Marketing Committee](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/regional-marketing-committee/) - [Jobs & RFPs](https://ontarioeast.ca/jobs-rfps/) Open main navigation Menu Close main navigation Menu - Search - Show submenu for Regional Profile Regional Profile - Regional Profile - [Regional Profile](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/) - [Our Communities](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/our-communities/) - [Advantages](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/advantages/) - [Workforce](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/workforce/) - [Incentives and Funding](https://ontarioeast.ca/regional-profile/incentives-and-funding/) - [Success Stories](https://ontarioeast.ca/success-stories/) - [Available Properties](https://ontarioeast.ca/available-properties/) - Show submenu for Key Employment Sectors Key Employment Sectors - Key Employment Sectors - [Key Employment Sectors](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/) - [Advanced Manufacturing](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/advanced-manufacturing/) - [Food and Beverage](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/food-and-beverage/) - [Logistics and Transportation](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/logistics-and-transportation/) - [Other](https://ontarioeast.ca/key-employment-sectors/other/) - [FAQs](https://ontarioeast.ca/faqs/) - [News](https://ontarioeast.ca/news/) - [Events](https://ontarioeast.ca/events/) - Show submenu for Members Members - Members - [Members](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/) - [Member Directory](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/) - [Become a Member](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/become-a-member/) - [Membership Application Form](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/membership-application-form/) - [Regional Marketing Committee](https://ontarioeast.ca/members/regional-marketing-committee/) - [Jobs & RFPs](https://ontarioeast.ca/jobs-rfps/) - [Ontario East Municipal Conference](https://oemc.ca/) - [Contact Us](https://ontarioeast.ca/contact-us/) - [Contact Us](https://ontarioeast.ca/contact-us/) [Contact Us](https://ontarioeast.ca/contact-us/) Search ![Canada, Employment Ontario, Government of Ontario logos](https://ontarioeast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ontario-employment-logos.svg) This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. # Manufacturers Assemble: Graphic Novel About Manufacturing! For Ontario East June 07, 2019 ![](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/miika-laaksonen-737086-unsplash-2.jpg?width=565&name=miika-laaksonen-737086-unsplash-2.jpg) One of our goals with this blog is to help manufacturing employers in eastern Ontario connect with the next generation of workers, a generation that some employers may feel completely out of touch with. That’s why we’re always **on the lookout for big cultural hits** that can be used to help young people see that [manufacturing is an exciting industry](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/manufacturing-in-popular-culture-is-everywhere) full of opportunity. This time we’ve come across a particular item you might be interested in: a graphic novel all about manufacturing. Graphic novels are becoming an extremely popular form of entertainment. [Sales of graphic novels](https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2017/comics-and-graphic-novels-one-of-highest-growth-categories-in-publishing-reports-npd/) grew by 15% in 2015–2017, while sales of traditional comics went down. From manga to *Watchmen*, the world of graphic novels is exploding. For those who don’t know, a graphic novel is a cross between a comic book and a novel. Graphic novels are novels with illustrations, and they are comics with literature. They are popular with youth and adults because they can be more accessible and attractive to youth than classic literature (many popular movies and TV shows are based on graphic novels), and they can be time saving but still cerebral enough for adults. ![null](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/IfOMns790_2SoIBYeszeqV1WZuzwO-jnc0qO-AUhTL-kf7SA6jVwSouWym3_2b4Sk2n5ezHO8WCCyqgcJ8gQtQZ6LB1iAYtAh4htPbn-b7VAGNqDusei-3BFTB8MToAhRg-2Yp0-)Given some of the negative misinformation about manufacturing and its reputation as an unglamorous industry, you wouldn’t expect an art form built around flashy visuals and heavy storylines to weave a narrative all about [manufacturing trends](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/manufacturing-trends-that-you-need-to-know). But this news just proves **what we’ve known all along**. [Manufacturing can be cool](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/3-reasons-not-to-write-off-a-manufacturing-career): you just have to find the right way to express it.  ## This Graphic Novel Explores Manufacturing Trends and Potential Results [*Tinkerers* by David Brin and Jason Land](http://www.davidbrin.com/tinkerers.html), with art by Jan Feindt, explores a near future where manufacturing is disregarded completely (a pretty dystopian future if you ask us and our readers), and follows the path of a young graduate who goes on a quest to discover why Americans no longer like to make “things” for themselves. The story is part existential angst at the prospect of a world that is full of glitz and glam but feels no reverence to the act of crafting well-made objects, buildings, and tools. Where objects are cheap and poorly made, bridges collapse from poor design and materials. At the same time the book celebrates many traditions of manufacturing. The world of *Tinkerers* is a much more bleak place than the actual [realities of manufacturing](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/will-automation-and-technology-adoption-in-manufacturing-hurt-jobs), but its imagined dystopia could do a lot to open a young mind to the prospect of taking part in **a long, epic tradition** of making things - of tinkering. If you like the idea of manufacturing as a subject for fiction, the authors included a helpful list of science fiction [manufacturing stories](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/discover-some-ontario-manufacturing-success-stories) at the end of *Tinkerers*. Here it is: - *Player Piano* by Kurt Vonnegut - *The Midas Plague* by Fred Pohle - *Waldo* by Robert Heinlein - *Nano Comes to Clifford Falls* by Nancy Cress - *Makers* by Cory Doctorow - *Accelerando* by Charles Stross Hopefully one day soon there will be many more **manufacturing-themed graphic novels** to put on this list, just like *Tinkerers*! ## Looking for Other Ways to Connect with Youth Tinkerers? Download this free e-book for more ideas.  [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4499088/e0cf10f3-987d-480d-a7e5-3285730bbb40.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/4499088/e0cf10f3-987d-480d-a7e5-3285730bbb40) *External links are provided as informational resources only and are not necessarily endorsed by Ontario East.* **References:** [https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2017/comics-and-graphic-novels-one-of-highest-growth-categories-in-publishing-reports-npd/](https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2017/comics-and-graphic-novels-one-of-highest-growth-categories-in-publishing-reports-npd/) ![Ontario East](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/Ontario%20Website%202021/Mask%20Group%20(11).png) ## Ontario East [For employers](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/tag/for-employers) - [![linkedin-1](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/linkedin-1.svg) Post](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ontarioeast/) - [![square-x-twitter](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/square-x-twitter.svg) Post](https://x.com/OntarioEast) - [![facebook](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/facebook.svg) Share](https://www.facebook.com/Ontario.East/) - [![envelope-solid](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hubfs/envelope-solid.svg) Email](mailto:info@ontarioeast.ca) ## You Might Also Be Interested In ### [![](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/image8.jpg?height=485&name=image8.jpg) October 25, 2019 It's True! A Manufacturing Video Game Exists Read Now For job seekers](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/its-true-a-manufacturing-video-game-exists) ### [![](https://blog.ontarioeast.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/blog%20post%209.jpeg?height=485&name=blog%20post%209.jpeg) September 25, 2019 Manufacturing Trends: What is Lean Manufacturing? 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