As diabetes specialists, personal experience has taught us how difficult it can be to break the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes to someone. That said, it is nothing compared to being the person receiving the diagnosis. Historically, children and young people who were diagnosed would watch their parents receive some clinical leaflets from clinical staff and not feel overly involved in what was happening to them initially. Being given this diagnosis can and has left people upset and bewildered often for quite some time. In most cases, with a few key adaptations to life, such as recognizing the essential need to administer insulin every day, it is possible to live a full, active life.
As self-confessed comic and superhero fans, it seemed to us that there were some parallels between the times when a type 1 diabetes diagnosis is made and when a superhero discovers their powers for the first time. There is often shock and surprise experienced in both situations, followed by acceptance and adaptation. Most heroes choose to keep their new life-changing situation a secret. Though it is a personal choice, there is no need for someone diagnosed and living with type 1 diabetes to ever feel that they need to hide this. Openness is encouraged to help promote wider understanding and dispel myths about type 1 diabetes. Though graphic medicine has told health related stories since the 1950s, it has rarely been done using a fantasy element, or in an educational capacity. With all this in mind, we collaborated with individuals living with type 1 diabetes and Revolve Comics, to create the Type 1 Diabetes comic series.
Across 6 free to download (Revolvecomics.com) volumes to date, aimed at the wider public, patients and healthcare professionals, the comics have sought to inform, entertain, support and demystify type 1 diabetes. They have always been inspired by popular culture visuals and themes, such as from Marvel, to create stories and use analogies within which key clinical and educational information is also translated. A key message is that no one should feel alone with type 1 diabetes, support is always available.
The comics have been well received, endorsed by all leading UK Diabetes Charities and globally downloaded over 30000 times. They have also inspired a culturally tailored version (Bluelight volumes 1 and 2), created by the Diabesties Foundation in India.
By means of an overview of each volume to date (all freely accessible from revolvecomics.com) : the directly link for each volume is found by each volume explanation below
Volume 1, ‘Type 1: Origins’ follows a young man, Gary, as he develops type 1 diabetes
This was awarded a Diabetes Quality in Care award (2017) in the category of ‘Diabetes Collaboration Initiative of the Year’ and was a Finalist in the Royal College of Physicians Excellence in Patient Care Awards (2018) for ‘Medical Education and Training’ award.
Volume 2, ‘Type 1: Attack of the Ketones’ gives Diabetic Ketoacidosis (an emergency state that can develop when someone with type 1 diabetes is unwell), the sci-fi comic treatment, complete with ‘sick day advice’ guidance notes
Volume 3, ‘Type 1: S.T.I.G.M.A’ follows secret agent Nathan Hart conduct a mission whilst navigating hypoglycaemia (a low blood glucose situation) and exploring the stigma that those living with type 1 diabetes experience all too often
Volume 4. ‘Type 1: Generations’ was launched 100 years to the day (14th January 2022), that the first human received insulin. It follows Kieran’s journey through history, visiting key moments of this critical medicines discovery and how it has evolved over the years
Volume 5 was ‘Diabetes: Secret Wards’. This time, the focus was on diabetes care in hospital, weaving in type 2 and type 3c diabetes alongside type 1 diabetes. This was done to help the readers understand some of the potential impacts that being admitted to hospital and having diabetes could have
Coming soon, launching on World Diabetes Day, Friday 14th November 2025….
Volume 6, ‘Type 1’ volume 6: ‘Awake and Pumped’. Here we follow the story of Aiko, a young girl diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after being screened, who has her own imaginary perspective on how wearable diabetes technology could help her, as she defends ‘Mega City T-One’ from hostile forces - metaphors for autoimmune induced pancreatic islet destruction, insulin deficiency and high blood glucose…
Thanks to :
Dr Mayank Patel, Consultant in Diabetes, University Hospital Southampton, UK and Dr Partha Kar, Consultant in Diabetes, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK for sharing these resources with us.