JKX Comics

JKX Comics is an American online comics publisher and science communication brand founded in 2015 by three graduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison: Jay Gardner, Khoa Tran, and Kelly Montgomery. The brand's mission is to use comics as a medium to improve scientific literacy, science accessibility, and exposure to various STEM disciplines. Its slogan, "Science creates narratives, we tell stories," reflects an approach that simplifies complex STEM concepts from multiple disciplines into engaging, cartoon-style narratives aimed at enhancing students' scientific literacy. The brand produces several comic series. "Tales" delves into fundamental scientific phenomena, from cell replication to the viral life cycle. "Highlights" focuses on simplifying the work of everyday scientists, showing how their research contributes to understanding the natural world. "In Brief" presents short comics highlighting historical facts, fun facts, and hidden figures in STEM. Through analogies and cartoons, JKX Comics aims to teach scientific concepts in easily digestible ways and to showcase the broad range of research conducted in institutions that the public is often unaware of. JKX Comics published its first comic, "EBV and the Replication Dance," in 2016. The comic humorously depicts the replication mechanism of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), telling the story of a virus going to a nightclub with friends, where the nightclub is a human cell. In 2018, the team won the 2018 Arts Business Competition, receiving a $2,000 prize, and collaborated with a local graphic designer to produce "Gain in Steam!," a comic showcasing STEM work underway at their university. The prize encouraged them to recruit seven additional scientists from the same university, covering diverse fields such as psychology, astronomy, and microbiology. By 2020, the three founders' career paths had diverged, but they continued to work in science communication within the organization. Jay Gardner, after studying viruses including HIV, pursued postdoctoral research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, studying pancreatic cancer. Khoa Tran also conducted postdoctoral research at the Berger Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Kelly Montgomery completed a biochemistry program at UC Berkeley, researching tau protein misfolding associated with Alzheimer's disease. The brand continues to operate as an online publisher, distributing educational comics through its official website.

JKX Comics was founded in 2015 by three American science PhD students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison: Jaye Gardiner, Khoa Tran, and Kelly Montgomery. They wanted to explain the content of their research, but found it difficult to communicate the details, so they opted for science popularization in the spirit of cartoons. After a few months of design, their first publication appeared in 2016 under the name "EBV and the Replication Dance." The comic strip humorously addresses the replication mechanisms of the Epstein-Barr virus: the plot is the story of a virus going to a nightclub with friends, the nightclub being a human cell. In 2018, the team won an American competition, the 2018 Arts Business Competition, by teaming up with local graphic designers to produce "Gain in Steam!," a comic presenting ongoing STEM work at their university. The $2,000 financial prize they won encouraged them to recruit seven other scientists from the same university, from fields as diverse as psychology, astronomy, and microbiology. The themes covered range from an introduction to biochemistry, with a researcher absorbed by a game imitating the design of Super Mario Bros to illustrate the role of amino acids in "Gilbert's Switch Glitch," to biology, with a comic illustrating how the gut microbiota of squirrels resists hibernation, and the lives of scientists, with numerous illustrated profiles. By 2020, the paths of the three founders diverged, but they continued their science communication work within the organization. Jaye Gardiner, after studying viruses including HIV, pursued a postdoctoral research career at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, where she works on pancreatic cancer. Khoa Tran also pursued a postdoctoral research career at the Berger laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. Kelly Montgomery completed a biochemistry program at the University of California, Berkeley, and works on tau protein misfolding related to Alzheimer's disease. The brand continues to operate as an online publisher.

• 2020

  Founders' career paths diverged, but they continued science communication work within the organization.

• 2018

  Won the 2018 Arts Business Competition and produced "Gain in Steam!" with local graphic designers; recruited seven additional scientists.

• 2016

  First comic published: "EBV and the Replication Dance."

• 2015

  Founded by Jaye Gardiner, Khoa Tran, and Kelly Montgomery, graduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Educational science communication through accessible, cartoon-style comics that simplify complex STEM concepts for students and the general public.

• Tales

  In-depth exploration of basic scientific phenomena, from cellular replication to viral life cycles.

• Highlights

  Simplifying the work of everyday scientists and learning how their work contributes to understanding the natural world.

• In Brief

  Short comics highlighting historical facts, fun facts, and hidden figures in STEM.

• EBV and the Replication Dance

  First comic, humorously depicting Epstein-Barr virus replication as a nightclub story.

• Gain in Steam!

  Comic presenting ongoing STEM work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, produced after winning the 2018 Arts Business Competition.

• Gilbert's Switch Glitch

  Comic illustrating the role of amino acids through a researcher absorbed by a game imitating Super Mario Bros.

1. 1JKX COMICSjkxcomics.com
2. 2About — JKX COMICSjkxcomics.com
3. 3JKX Comicswikidata.org
4. 4JKX Comicsfr.wikipedia.org