Jay Hosler
Encyclopedia
Jay Hosler is the author and illustrator of science-oriented comics
. He is best known for his graphic novels Clan Apis, The Sandwalk Adventures, and Optical Allusions. Clan Apis
follows the life of a honey bee
named Nyuki; the story conveys factual information about honey bees in a humorous fashion as Nyuki learns about each new stage of her life. The Sandwalk Adventures follows a conversation about evolution between Charles Darwin
and a follicle mite living in his left eyebrow. Optical Allusions explains the evolution of the eye and vision by following the story of Wrinkles the Wonderbrain. Hosler is also an entomologist
and associate professor of biology at Juniata College
.
. He received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame
in Indiana in 1995, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Ohio State University
's Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Laboratory.
Hosler was not formally trained in art, but grew up reading comics and says he "was always a doodler". He drew comic strips for the student newspaper when he was at DePauw, and was paid for a daily comic strip in the student paper when he was at Notre Dame. He first mixed his interests in science and cartooning with his 1997 publication Cow-Boy.
As an associate professor at Juniata College, Hosler has brought his interests in comics and teaching together in several ways. In addition to creating Clan Apis and The Sandwalk Adventures, Hosler was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation
to create a hybrid of comics and traditional text covering the evolution of sensory biology. Optical Allusions is the first graphic novel of this planned series and covers the evolution of the eye and vision in graphic novel format. "Student performance ratings in science in secondary education is dropping at an alarming rate, so clearly something isn't working well in the classroom," Hosler says. "We can't be afraid to try something radical to change how students learn." Hosler has also team-taught (with a historian) a course on "Comics and Culture".
He has a wife, Lisa, and two sons, Max and Jack.
, Stan Lee
and Jack Kirby
as early influences that drew him to comics. He also cites Gary Larson
, Bill Waterson, Jeff Smith
, Linda Medley
and Larry Marder
as later influences.
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
. He is best known for his graphic novels Clan Apis, The Sandwalk Adventures, and Optical Allusions. Clan Apis
Clan Apis
Clan Apis is a graphic novel created by neurobiologist Jay Hosler. It concerns the life of the honey bee Nyuki....
follows the life of a honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
named Nyuki; the story conveys factual information about honey bees in a humorous fashion as Nyuki learns about each new stage of her life. The Sandwalk Adventures follows a conversation about evolution between Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and a follicle mite living in his left eyebrow. Optical Allusions explains the evolution of the eye and vision by following the story of Wrinkles the Wonderbrain. Hosler is also an entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
and associate professor of biology at Juniata College
Juniata College
Juniata College is a private liberal arts college located in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. It is named after the Juniata River — one of the principal tributaries of the Susquehanna River. In 1876 it became the first college founded by the Church of the Brethren and has been co-educational since...
.
Biography
Hosler grew up in Huntington, Indiana and is a 1989 graduate of DePauw UniversityDePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
. He received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in Indiana in 1995, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
's Rothenbuhler Honey Bee Research Laboratory.
Hosler was not formally trained in art, but grew up reading comics and says he "was always a doodler". He drew comic strips for the student newspaper when he was at DePauw, and was paid for a daily comic strip in the student paper when he was at Notre Dame. He first mixed his interests in science and cartooning with his 1997 publication Cow-Boy.
As an associate professor at Juniata College, Hosler has brought his interests in comics and teaching together in several ways. In addition to creating Clan Apis and The Sandwalk Adventures, Hosler was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
to create a hybrid of comics and traditional text covering the evolution of sensory biology. Optical Allusions is the first graphic novel of this planned series and covers the evolution of the eye and vision in graphic novel format. "Student performance ratings in science in secondary education is dropping at an alarming rate, so clearly something isn't working well in the classroom," Hosler says. "We can't be afraid to try something radical to change how students learn." Hosler has also team-taught (with a historian) a course on "Comics and Culture".
He has a wife, Lisa, and two sons, Max and Jack.
Influences
Hosler cites Steve DitkoSteve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
, Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
as early influences that drew him to comics. He also cites Gary Larson
Gary Larson
Gary Larson is the creator of The Far Side, a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to newspapers for 15 years. The series ended with Larson's retirement on January 1, 1995. His 23 books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than 45 million...
, Bill Waterson, Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith (cartoonist)
Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the self-published comic book series Bone. His current series, RASL, focuses on an art thief who hops through dimensional barriers, hiding out on various parallel worlds.-Early life and education:Jeff Smith was born in McKees...
, Linda Medley
Linda Medley
Linda Medley is an American comic book author and illustrator, known for her Castle Waiting series of comic books and graphic novels.-Biography and early career:...
and Larry Marder
Larry Marder
Larry Marder is an American cartoonist and writer, best known as the creator of comic book Tales of the Beanworld, which began as an "essentially self-published title" in 1984.-Early life:...
as later influences.
Graphic Novels
- Clan Apis, Active Synapse, ISBN 978-0-9677255-0-5, 2000
- The Sandwalk Adventures. Active Synapse, ISBN 978-0-9677255-1-2, 2003
- Optical Allusions. Active Synapse, ISBN 978-0-9677255-2-9, 2008
Comics
- Cow-Boy #1, Active Synapse, 1997
- "The Conundrum of the Killer Coronavirus" in the Emerging Diseases issues of Your World: Biotechnology and You (14.1), 2004
- "The Diabolical Dr. Nonono" in AWIS Magazine, 2004
- illustrated 6 pages in Suspended in Language by Jim OttavianiJim OttavianiJim Ottaviani is the author of several comic books about the history of science. His best-known work, Two-Fisted Science: Stories About Scientists, features biographical stories about Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Niels Bohr, and several stories about physicist Richard Feynman...
and Leland PurvisLeland PurvisLeland Purvis is a comic book writer and artist, best known for his black and white series Vóx and Pubo.-Awards:Purvis was nominated for the 2004 Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent for his work on Suspended in Language...
, G. T. Labs, ISBN 978-0-9660106-5-7, 2004
Scientific Publications
- Hosler, Jay S., Buxton, Kristi L. and Smith, Brian H. (2000). Impairment of Olfactory Discrimination by Blockade of GABA and Nitric Oxide Activity in the Honey Bee Antennal Lobe. Behavioral Neuroscience 114 No. 3 pg. 514–525
- Hosler, Jay S. and Smith, Brian H. (2000). Blocking and the detection of odor components in blends. Journal of Experimental Biology 203, 2797-2806
- Chandra, S., Hosler, J. S. and Smith, B. H. (2000). Heritable variation for latent inhibition and its correlation to reversal learning in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Journal of Comparative Psychology 114, No.1, 86-97.
- Hosler, J. S., Burns J. E., and Esch H. E. (2000). Flight Muscle Resting Potential and Species-Specific Differences in Insect Chill-Coma. Journal of Insect Physiology 45 No.5 pg. 621-627