Jay Hosler is one of those rare comic creators who blends science and comics together. (Another creator who you should search out, if this idea interests you, is Jim Ottaviani, whose stuff is also great. But I’m getting ahead of myself.)

I first encountered his work through Clan Apis, the story of the lifecycle of a bee. You might be thinking, “Really?” but honest, it’s utterly riveting as he brings us through the life story of Nyuki the bee. Since then he’s had several other great books including The Sandwalk Adventures, Optical Allusions, and (coming any day now) Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth. If that’s not enough, though, Jay’s one of those uber-awesome guys who is just a real pleasure to be around. He teaches at Juniata College and I must admit I’m a little envious of his students for having someone like him as a professor.

This drawing is from what was then his new book, The Sandwalk Adventure, telling the story of Darwin and his conversations he would have with a mite that lived in his eyebrow. I know, it sounds odd, but it was charming and funny and touching. And of course, poor Darwin’s general bewilderment over this talking mite was half the fun… as you’ll see below.