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 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'' ...

'' and of the Comico comic series of '' Jonny Quest'', 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 (''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 ''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich. Publication history One of the first American mainstream independent comic books, ''Star*R ...

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 to co ...

series from 1977 to 1979. He collaborated with writer Dean Motter on "The Sacred and the Profane" in ''Star Reach'' and the feature was later redrawn and expanded in ''

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional A ...

'' #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 cha ...

and one starring Alpha Flight. 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 the ...

, 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 the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' #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 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, ...

'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 '' K ...

, 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 ...

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

Epona In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures ...

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-release ...

'' 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'' vol. 2 #1 (1986)

Comico

* '' Jonny Quest'' #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 Ja ...

'' #1 (colourist) (1987)

DC Comics

* ''

'' #400 (1986) * '' Blackhawk'' #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 story, origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a One-shot ( ...

'' #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

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

Marvel Comics

* ''Amazing High Adventure'' #5 (1986) * ''

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

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' #105–106 (1986) * '' Strip'' #11 (1990)

Now Comics

* '' The Original Astro Boy'' #1-16

Orb Publications

* ''Orb Magazine'' #3–4 (1974–1975)

Pacific Comics

* '' Alien Worlds'' #2–5 (1983) * ''Silverheels'' #1–3 (1983–1984) * ''

Twisted Tales ''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell. Publication history ''Twisted Tales'' was published on a bi-mon ...

'' #2 (1983)

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