Jaylen Christie navigates a diverse creative orbit that includes writing, illustrating, public relations and community engagement. “I’ve never liked being put in a box,” says Christie. “That’s always been my thing, even as a child. Do not box me in.”
Christie—currently a Ph.D. student in sociology at UCF—further expanded his creative bounds with an original comic book, Stink Bomb Man and the Brain Kids. The story, which he wrote, illustrated and self-published in 2023, follows an intergalactic peacekeeper as he teams up with ordinary kids who use their smarts and their STEM skills to fight crime.
“The Brain Kids protect the city with science, technology, engineering and mathematics—and their brains,” says Christie. “It shows that you don’t need superpowers. As long as you use your mind and keep your wits about you, you can save the day.”
The concept for Stink Bomb Man and the Brain Kids grew from a childhood frustration: Christie didn’t see many characters who looked like him, especially superheroes, populating cartoons from the 1990s.
So he created his own, earning a variety of awards and, even more meaningful for a self-proclaimed “comic-book nerd,” presenting at San Diego Comic-Con, the premier global celebration of pop culture, comics, movies, television and gaming.
Now, he’s expanding the Brain Kid universe. Thermosphere, a novella that features the same characters, launched during World Space Week in October. The new book sends the heroes into orbit to battle a supervillain who has taken over a fictional space station.
Christie authored the story and illustrated select scenes. In the meantime, the comic-book adjunct to Thermosphere is in the works for release in the summer of 2027.
For Christie, there’s a connection between his comic books and his academic research on social inequalities and representation. Each story explores a real-world issue and, best of all, young readers see themselves in his characters.
During a visit to a local elementary school, he recalls, a young girl latched on to Brittany McBrilliant, one of The Brain Kids, and exclaimed, “Oh, I could be her!”
Visit jaylenchristie.com for more information.
