Imagine you’re an important movie and television executive, and your next appointment is about to walk through the door. A confident, sharply dressed man enters the room and begins to describe the following story:
Brittany and Jesse McBrilliant, two African American siblings, are fighting crime while attending James Baldwin High School in the fictional city of Princeton Bay. Their father disappears under mysterious circumstances, and the siblings team up with their grandfather to develop a device called a “Brainerator.” The invention gives them the ability to “shift” into The Brain Kids, superheroes without traditional superpowers.
Keeping Princeton Bay safe is no easy feat, though. Luckily, The Brain Kids have Stink Bomb Man to lend them a helping hand. This super-powered intergalactic peacekeeper from the planet Stinkapolis crash-landed on Earth. Now, he uses stink bombs to subdue super-villains.
If your pretend movie executive is anything like mine, you’d hand over that blank check and anxiously anticipate seeing it in 3D. The good news is that the story is already available for us comic book nerds. All you need is a copy of “Stink Bomb Man and The Brain Kids” and a healthy imagination.
“I first developed the main characters for my comic book Stink Bomb Man and The Brain Kids when I was an elementary school student,” said Jaylen Christie.
If all this catches your imagination, catch Christie on his visit to the capital city as a keynote speaker for the Creators Summit on June 26 and 27.
Christie is the mastermind behind the comic book series.
“I created the characters due to a lack of representation I was seeing in superhero cartoons. The three leads are all Black. When I was a kid, I had Power Rangers and the X-Men. While those teams feature ethnic diversity to a certain extent, many of the superheroes I was exposed to were White. Superman is from the planet Krypton, but he’s still White. I couldn’t quite identify with that. So I developed Stink Bomb Man and The Brain Kids,” he said.
Tallahassee’s superhero inspiration
Although Christie and I both attended Apalachee Elementary School, his accomplishments there were a bit more significant than mine. I focused most of my research on break-time Oreos and lemonade; Christie began creating an entire universe.
“Growing up in Tallahassee, I was really into superheroes and creating my own homemade comic books. My parents regularly supplied me with paper and coloring pencils. I was most definitely a comic book nerd. I could recite every main character of the X-Men and watched Batman: The Animated Series faithfully,” said Christie.
He fondly remembers how inspiring it was to have teachers who nurtured and encouraged his imagination and early artistic efforts. Later in life, the encouragement of one of his Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers turned out to be the final push he needed.
With a Journalism degree from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and a master’s in Communications from the University of Central Florida, Christie was moving forward in life. He always had the story in the back of his mind, but in 2020, he and his fraternity brother decided it was time for the characters to come to life.
Award winning comics and novels, too
“Representation matters, and not just with ethnic diversity,” said Christie. “I’ve incorporated characters across several dimensions of diversity, including LGBTQ, those that are disabled, and people of different ages and body types. I published the comic book in 2023, and it’s been going strong ever since. My hope is that younger readers will see themselves reflected in the pages and will feel inspired.”
Although Christie currently lives in Orlando, he will be returning to the capital city as a keynote speaker for the Creators Summit, held in Tallahassee on June 26 and 27. Christie will be sharing his public relations strategies for independent creative projects, with a focus on getting the most amount of success on a modest budget.
His comic book won four major industry awards and sold out within its first year of release. The Summit is a golden opportunity to get a look at his winning playbook.
In addition to helping inspire and guide future creatives, Christie is working on the second volume of “Stink Bomb Man and The Brain Kids.” He has already finished writing the story and is currently working on the illustrations. He is also the author of five novels that he wrote while a student at FAMU.
He plans to turn his attention to more adult-themed books after completing his six-issue comic book miniseries. “The first novel has lots of drama, lots of scandal, lots of adult themes, and a little murder, too,” he said. “Think ‘Desperate Housewives’ meets ‘The Best Man.’ I think readers will get a kick out of it.”
How this creator creates: ‘Never quit on yourself’
Christie’s talents are not limited to writing and illustrating, as he also does work as an actor. I asked him to share his thoughts on Hollywood and the future with artificial intelligence.
“I believe we have come leaps and bounds in terms of representation on television from when I was a child, but there’s still room for improvement. I think Hollywood executives need to be mindful of what is depicted regarding stereotypes,” he said.
“As for AI, it’s a blessing and a curse. As a public relations professional, I see its value in helping with small tasks. However, I am concerned about some people’s over-reliance on it.”
When asked what advice he would give to future creatives, Christie offered this. “I’d say that trusting in God and also being tenacious are very important. People will quit on you. You’ve got to get up every single day and make sure you never quit on yourself. I encountered lots of tribulations and obstacles, but I never lost my tenacity. My advice to others would be to never give up.”
If you go
What: Creator Summit 2025
When: Day 1: Thursday, June 26, 4-7 p.m. | Day 2: Friday, June 27, 6-9 p.m.
Where: Day 1: Pedro’s, 750 Apalachee Pkwy | Day 2: Domi Station, 914 Railroad Ave.
Cost: $20-$50 all access pass; youth 8 – 17 are free; tickets: zeffy.com
Contact: RJ Singleton at rj@creatorstlh.org
Learn more: To learn more about “Stink Bomb Man and The Brain Kids,” follow Jaylen Christie on Instagram at @thesuperflynerd and @stinkbombmanbrainkids. Copies can be purchased atjaylenchristie.com
Tracy Horenbein is a guest writer for The Council on Culture & Arts. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, COCA is the capital area’s umbrella agency for arts and culture (tallahasseearts.org)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Great power comes with great creating ability for comic book artist Jaylen Christie
Reporting by Tracy Horenbein / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
