Grady (Gray) Lyda (born July 17, 1954) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
comic book artist and writer best known for his
time travel series, ''Tempus Fugit'', in ''
Star*Reach'' magazine.
Biography
Born in
Dayton, Ohio, Grady Lyda's family moved to
San Diego while he was still an infant. They later moved to
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...
, where Grady attended
Newport Harbor High School. His first professional illustration was published in the April 1975 issue of
''Galaxy'' Magazine, and his first comic book story, ''Out of Space - Out of Time'', appeared in ''Star*Reach'' issue # 6 (October 1976). This was followed by his ''Tempus Fugit'' series in ''Star*Reach'' issues 11, 13, 14, and 15.
During and after the publication of these stories, Lyda continued as a
freelance artist for various companies. From 1978 to 1981, he worked for ''Hi-Point Enterprises/Spirit Accessories'', a fashion accessory wholesaler in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, producing advertising, illustrations, catalogs and logos. The president of this company, Jerry Hasson, went on to create the ''Magic Pizza Family Entertainment Center'' on Sepulveda Boulevard in
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...
, a novelty restaurant with a fantasy/magic-themed environment. From 1982 to 1984, Lyda served as principal artist for ''Magic Pizza'' during the development and construction of the restaurant, designing its business identity as well as advertisements, brochures, business cards, logos, interior signage and posters.
Lyda also became a technical illustrator and graphic designer in the Defense/Aerospace industry. In 1978, he joined ''Mercury Consolidated, Inc.'', a busy
job shop
Job shops are typically small manufacturing systems that handle job production, that is, custom/bespoke or semi-custom/bespoke manufacturing processes such as small to medium-size customer orders or batch jobs. Job shops typically move on to diffe ...
in
Tustin, California, where he became an Art Department Supervisor and was granted a Secret Clearance in 1979. There, he made pick-ups and bids for out-sourced graphic-design jobs from prime contractors such as
McDonnell Douglas,
Lockheed,
Hughes Aircraft,
Rockwell International, and the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
In 1993, Lyda was hired by the ''
Rockwell International Autonetics Electronic Systems Division'' in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
where he worked in the Central Graphics Department generating manuals, proposals, ads, posters, schematics, vugraphs, slides, and government proposals. He was laid-off prior to the company's acquisition by
Boeing in 1996.
He went on to work in the Creative Services Department of
semiconductor manufacturer ''
Conexant Systems Inc.'', formerly ''Rockwell Semiconductor Systems''. Later, he was employed by ''Conexant's'' spin-off, ''
Jazz Semiconductor'' (now ''TowerJazz''), a wafer foundry in Newport Beach. Beginning in July 2009, he also worked as a Cast Member at the
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.
Bibliography
Comics work includes:
* ''Out of Space - Out of Time'' (8 pages) Star*Reach # 6 (October 1976)
* ''Out One Era & In the Other'' (8 pages) Star*Reach # 11 (December 1977)
* ''Second Venture'' (8 pages) Star*Reach # 13 (August 1978)
* ''Genesis Revisited - Part One'' (8 pages) Star*Reach # 13 (August 1978)
* ''Genesis Revisited - Part Two'' (16 pages) Star*Reach # 14 (August 1978)
* ''Tempus Fugitives'' (16 pages) Star*Reach # 15 (December 1978)
Tempus Fugit - Chapter 4
Grand Comics Database
Notes
References
*
*
External links
The Complete ''Tempus Fugitives'' Screenplay
Art by Grady Lyda
online gallery
A Life Digitized
Personal Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyda, Gray
1954 births
Living people
Science fiction artists
American speculative fiction artists
American graphic designers
Newport Harbor High School alumni