(SPOT.ph) Even before humans knew what germs were, they knew diseases could be used as weapons of war. It's why Scythian archers dipped their arrows in a mixture of blood and horse dung before shooting them, or why Mongol warriors captapulted plague-infested corpses over the walls of their enemies in 1346. Biological warfare has a long, brutal, yet interesting history—and you can read all about it through the graphic novel Germ Warfare: A Very Graphic History.Â
Written by Max Brooks, best-selling author of World War Z (adapted into film in 2013), Germ Warfare was launched April 27. As part of the Free Comic Book Day celebration, it was made available online, and you can read it for free!
"Germs have always been our greatest enemy, and now they're more dangerous than ever," Brooks says. "At the moment, some people are questioning vaccines, others are looking for ways to cook up the next pandemic in their basements. Preventing the next plague begins with education."
Commissioned by the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, Germ Warfare aims to shed light on the importance of biodefense and public health. The short comic traces how biological warfare was discovered, fostered, and used throughout the years.
For more information, visit the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense's website.
