Ken Steacy (born January 8, 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

and writer best known for his work on the

NOW Comics NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comic book ...

comic book series of ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' vo ...

'' and of the Comico comic series of ''

Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction-adventure media franchise that revolves around the titular boy named Jonny Quest, who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–1965 television serie ...

'', as well as his

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

collaborations with

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

(''Night and the Enemy'', 1987) and

Dean Motter Dean Motter is an illustrator, designer and writer who has worked for many years in Canada (Toronto) and the United States (New York City and Atlanta). He is best known for his album cover designs, two of which won Juno Awards. He is also the crea ...

(''The Sacred and the Profane'', 1987). Steacy was a member of the

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

386 Comox Squadron.

Career

Ken Steacy had work published in several issues of the '' Star Reach''

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication t ...

series from 1977 to 1979. He collaborated with writer

on "The Sacred and the Profane" in ''Star Reach'' and the feature was later redrawn and expanded in '' Epic Illustrated'' #20–26 (Oct. 1983–Oct. 1984). The entire story was collected into a trade paperback by

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

in 1987. Steacy's adaptations of

's short stories "Sleeping Dogs" in ''Epic Illustrated'' #4 (Winter 1980), "Life Hutch" in #6 (June 1981), and "Run for the Stars" in #11 (April 1982) were later collected in the ''Night and the Enemy'' graphic novel published by Comico. Steacy drew four issues of ''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...

'' – three featuring

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

and one starring

Alpha Flight Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wo ...

. At

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, Steacy was one of the artists on ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' #400 (Oct. 1986) and he wrote and drew the ''Tempus Fugitive'' limited series in 1990. Steacy has operated his own publishing company called Ken Steacy Publishing since 2004. In late 2011, Steacy and his wife, graphic novelist Joan Steacy, started teaching a visual storytelling course at

Camosun College Camosun College is a public college located in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The college has two campuses, Lansdowne and Interurban, with a total enrollment of around 14,000 students (including Professional Studies and Industry Training) ...

in Victoria, British Columbia. The Steacys have since developed a comics and graphic novels certificate program to be offered through Camosun College. In 2018, Steacy and writer

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

's graphic novel ''War Bears'' was published by

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

Charitable work

Steacy made several appearances in the Desert Bus for Hope charity webcasts (specifically in 2009–2012 and 2014–2019), run by the sketch comedy group

LoadingReadyRun LoadingReadyRun, often abbreviated to LRR, is a Canadian entertainment group that produces video and audio comedy. It often covers video games, internet trends, and popular culture. Founded in October 2003 by Graham Stark and Paul Saunders a ...

(of which his son Alex is a member). For a donation of $500 he drew a picture of

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...

, the main character of ''

Ōkami is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan and North America, and in 2007 in Europe and Australia. After the closure of Clover Studio a few months a ...

''. For $1100, he drew a picture of Link and Epona from the ''

Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

'' franchise. He also donated a large amount of items for auction. For his contributions he was given the nickname "Value Added". During the 2014 Desert Bus for Hope, Steacy made an appearance wearing an Astro Boy costume auctioning off pieces from his collection.

Awards

In 2009, Steacy was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

Andromeda Publications

* ''Andromeda'' #2 (three pages) (1978)

Blackthorne Publishing

* ''

Alien Worlds ''Alien Worlds'' is an American science fiction anthology comic that was published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. It was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell.Johnston, Rich"When Diamond Comic Distributor ...

'' vol. 2 #1 (1986)

Comico

* ''

'' #8 (1987) * ''Night and the Enemy'' GN (1987) * '' Robotech the Graphic Novel'' (1986) * ''

Space Ghost Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Jace, ...

'' #1 (colourist) (1987)

DC Comics

* ''

'' #400 (1986) * ''

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...

'' #272 (1984) * ''Doom Force Special'' #1 (1992) * ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

'' vol. 2 #53 (1992) * ''

's 7 Against Chaos'' HC (colourist) (2013) * ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

'' #35 (1988) * ''Tempus Fugitive'' #1–4 (1990–1991) * ''

Who's Who in the DC Universe ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' (1985–87), usually referred to simply as ''Who's Who'', is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional cha ...

'' #15 (1992) * ''Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #6 (1988) * ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #11, 19 (1986)

Eclipse Comics

* ''

'' #8 (1984) * ''The Sacred and the Profane'' GN (1987)

Marvel Comics

* ''Amazing High Adventure'' #5 (1986) * '' Epic Illustrated'' #4, 6, 11, 20–26 (1980–1984) * ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume ...

'' #78 (1991) * ''

'' #22–23, 28, 44 (1985–1989) * ''

Savage Tales ''Savage Tales'' is the title of three American comic book, American comics series. Two were black-and-white comics-magazine anthologies published by Marvel Comics, and the other a color comic book anthology published by Dynamite Entertainment. P ...

'' vol. 2 #5 (1986) * ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' #105–106 (1986) * ''

Strip Strip or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...

'' #11 (1990)

Now Comics

* ''

The Original Astro Boy ''The Original Astro Boy'' is a twenty-issue 1980s comic book series (with one ''Astro Boy'' short story in Speed Racer #17) by NOW Comics, based on the original Japanese '' Mighty Atom'' series by Osamu Tezuka. The series was based mostly on th ...

'' #1-16

Orb Publications

* ''Orb Magazine'' #3–4 (1974–1975)

Pacific Comics

* ''

'' #2–5 (1983) * ''Silverheels'' #1–3 (1983–1984) * '' Twisted Tales'' #2 (1983)

Star Reach

* '' Star Reach'' #8–14, 16 (1977–1979)

Vortex Comics

* ''Vortex'' #3–5 (1983)

Welsh Publishing Group

* ''The Adventures of Jell-O Man and Wobbly'' #1 (1991)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steacy, Ken 1955 births 20th-century Canadian painters 21st-century Canadian painters Canadian art educators Canadian comics artists Canadian comics writers Canadian male painters Comics colorists Joe Shuster Award winners Living people 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists