Steve Leialoha (born January 27, 1952) is an American

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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...

whose work first came to prominence in the 1970s. He has worked primarily as an

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...

, though occasionally as a

penciller A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

, for several publishers, including

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

and later

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Early life

Steve Leialoha was born in San Francisco, California, the son of a

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

father. He began reading comics as a child, explaining, "My dad would always give me comics. I mean, he would like to read all sorts of stuff, and he would pass everything along to me. Harvey comics and that kind of thing, when I was six or seven. As I got older, the Marvel Age, which I think of starting like in 1962, I was ten, which is certainly a good age for reading that stuff."

Career

Steve Leialoha's career began in 1975 with the early independent comic book '' Star*Reach'', drawing the five-page story "Wooden Ships on the Water", adapted by writer

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an ar ...

from the

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...

, and

Paul Kantner Paul Lorin Kantner (March 17, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American rock musician. He is best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, and a secondary vocalist of Jefferson Airplane, a leading psychedelic rock band of the counterculture of ...

, in issue #3 (Sept. 1975). He continued to contribute to ''Star*Reach'' and the same publisher's ''Quack'' for four years. Leialoha freelanced as a regular contributor to Marvel from 1976 to 1988, working on such series as ''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver". The term came to apply special ...

'', ''

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

'', ''

Spider-Woman Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by Veranke), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third m ...

'', the

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

title '' Marvel Team-Up'', the '' Firestar'' limited series, ''

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, sub ...

'' and ''

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck firs ...

''. He and writer J. M. DeMatteis co-created "Greenberg the Vampire" in ''

Bizarre Adventures ''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group. Public ...

'' #29 (Dec. 1981). Leialoha was one of the artists on ''

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

'' #400 (Oct. 1986) and in the 1990s, he began working at DC Comics on

and other characters; at Harris Comics on

Vampirella Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...

; and at Claypool Comics on ''Soulsearchers and Company''. He inked part of the '' World's End'' story arc in

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

's '' The Sandman'' series. The following decade, he became the regular inker on most of the issues of the DC/

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

series ''

Fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...

'', penciled by Mark Buckingham, for which they won the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

for "Best Penciller/Inker Team" in 2007.

Personal life and tributes

Graduated in 1969, Oceana High School, Pacifica, CA. Leialoha lives in San Francisco. He was partnered with comics artist

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins ( Perlson; August 17, 1938 – April 10, 2024) was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comic '' I ...

until her death in 2024. Writer

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...

named the

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...

character Edward Leialoha (code name

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

) after Steve Leialoha.

Bibliography

Claypool Comics

*'' Elvira, Mistress of the Dark'' #100 (2001) *''Soulsearchers and Company'' #4–5, 7–8, 10–13, 15–22, 25–26, 28–46, 48–50 (1993–2001)

Comico

*'' Fish Police'' #10 (1988) *'' Jonny Quest'' #4 (1986)

Dark Horse Comics

*''

Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by Dark Horse Comics from 1986 in comics, 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 in comics, 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was publishe ...

'' #113–118 (1996–1997) *''GoGirl!'' #1 (2002) *''Jonny Demon'' #1–3 (1994)

DC Comics

*'' 9-11 – The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember'' Volume 2 (2002) *''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #694 (1993) *'' Armageddon: The Alien Agenda'' #1 (1991) *''

'' #400, ''Annual'' #15 (1986–1991) *''

Chronos Chronos (; ; , Modern Greek: ), also spelled Chronus, is a personification of time in Greek mythology, who is also discussed in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified ...

'' #1–4, 6–7, 9–11 (1998–1999) *''DCU Heroes Secret Files'' #1 (1999) *''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #629 (1991) *'' Fly Annual'' #1 (1992) *'' Heroes Against Hunger'' #1 (1986) *'' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' #1–3 (1993) *''

Justice League International Justice League International (JLI) is a fictional DC comics superhero team that succeeded the original Justice League from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. The team enjoyed several comic books runs, the first being written by Keith Giffen and ...

'' #13–15 (1988) *'' 'Mazing Man Special'' #2 (1988) *''Restaurant At The End Of The Universe '' #1–3 (1994) *'' Shadow Strikes'' #28 (1992) *'' Tom Strong's Terrific Tales'' #9 (2004) *'' Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #4, 11, 19 (1985–1986) *''Who's Who Update '88'' #2 (1988)

Paradox Press

*'' Big Book of Death'' (1995) *''Big Book of Grimm'' (1999) *''Big Book of Little Criminals'' (1996) *''Big Book of Losers'' (1997) *''Big Book of the Unexplained'' (1997) *''Big Book of Weirdos'' (1995)

Vertigo

*''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by hi ...

'' #24, 47, 56 (1998–2001) *''

'' #1–3, 5–10, 14–17, 19–21, 23–27, 30–33, 36–38, 40–45, 48–50, 52–56, 60–61, 63, 65–69, 71–75, 88–91, 94–98, 100, 102–106, 108–112, 114–121, 125–129, 131–135, 139–150 (2002–2015) *'' Jack of Fables'' #6, 11, 20, 22, 25, 38 (2007–2009) *''

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

'' #1–6 (1998) *'' Sandman Presents: Deadboy Detectives'' #1–4 (2001) *'' Sandman Presents: Petrefax'' #1–4 (2000) *'' The Unwritten'' #50 (2013) *''Vertigo Secret Files & Origins: Swamp Thing'' #1 (2000) *''Vertigo: First Offenses'' #1 (2005) *''Vertigo: Winter's Edge'' #1 (1998)

Marvel Comics

*'' Alpha Flight'' #48 (1987) *'' Amazing High Adventure'' #1 (1984) *''

'' #29 (1981) *''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

'' #221, 290 (1978–1984) *'' Captain Justice'' #1–2 (1988) *'' Captain Marvel'' #49 (1977) *''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

'' #155 (1984) *''

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

'' #1–2, 7–8 (1983–1984) *'' Daredevil'' #154, 238 (1978–1987) *''

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

'' vol. 2 #62, 67 (1983–1984) *''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' #296 (1986) *''Fantastic Four Roast'' #1 (1982) *'' Firestar'' #1–4 (1986) *'' Further Adventures of Indiana Jones'' #21 (1984) *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' #21, 26 (1984) *'' Ghost Rider'' #35, 56 (1979–1981) *'' Heroes for Hope'' #1 (1985) *''

'' #1–13 (1976–1977) *''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...

'' #82 (1991) *''

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 setting ...

'' #45 (1989) *'' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #7 (1991) *'' Marvel Team-Up'' #81–85 (1979) *'' Marvel Treasury Edition'' #28 ( Superman and Spider-Man) (1981, background inker) *'' Ms. Marvel'' #14 (1978) *''

'' #32–34 (1985) *'' Night Thrasher'' #17 (1994) *''

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

'' #22–23 (1978–1979) *''

Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic Guide book, guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed b ...

'' #2, 5, 10 (1983) *''Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #6, 12 (1986) *'' Power Man and Iron Fist'' #60 (1979) *''

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

'' #66 (1985) *''

Secret Wars II ''Secret Wars II'' is a nine-issue comic book limited series and crossover published from 1985 to 1986 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Marvel's then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and primarily pencilled by Al Milgrom. The series wa ...

'' #1–9 (1985–1986) *'' Sensational She-Hulk'' #12 (1990) *''

Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born 6 September 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain) is a Spanish-Mexican-American cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo t ...

Massacres Marvel'' #1 (1996) *'' The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #44 (1980) *''

'' #7, 25–26, 28, 30–46 (1978–1982) *''

'' #2–5, 95, 105, ''Annual'' #1 (1977–1986) *''Steeltown Rockers'' #3, 5 (1990) *''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

'' #189, 192, 194, 217, 250, 253–255, ''Annual'' #7–8 (1983–1989) *'' Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounters'' #1 (1998) *''

'' #9–14 (1975–1976) *''

Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...

'' #33 (1987) *''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' #200 (2010)

Awards

*1986: Won

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

*2003: Won

for "Best New Series" and "Best Serialized Story" for ''Fables'' #1–5: "Legends in Exile" with

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series '' Elementals'' and ''Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During his father's military career the fam ...

and Lan Medina. *2005: Won Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story", for ''Fables'' #19–27: "March of the Wooden Soldiers" with Willingham and Mark Buckingham. *2006: Won Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story", for ''Fables'' #36–38, 40–41: "Return to the Homelands" with Willingham and Buckingham. *2007: Won Eisner Award for "Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team", for ''Fables'' with Buckingham.

References

External links

*
Steve Leialoha
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Leialoha, Steve 1952 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area Comics inkers DC Comics people Eisner Award winners for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Fables (comics) Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people Native Hawaiian people People from Pacifica, California