Steve Lightle (November 19, 1959 – January 8, 2021)
was an American
comics artist who worked primarily as a
penciller. He was best known as the artist of
DC Comics' ''
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
'' and ''
Doom Patrol'' titles.
Biography
Steve Lightle attended the
Johnson County Community College
Johnson County Community College (JCCC) is a public community college in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in Johnson County.
History
In 1963, Johnson County Commissioners, recognizing the emerging community college movement and seeking to acco ...
in the
Kansas City metropolitan area
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
. His first professional comic book work was a five-page story in ''Black Diamond'' #4 (Feb. 1984) published by
AC Comics
AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black. . He followed this with his debut at
DC Comics, drawing a 10-page story in ''
New Talent Showcase'' #4 (April 1984),
a series intended to provide work for up-and-coming artists who did not have a regular assignment.
In 1984, Lightle followed
Keith Giffen as the penciller of ''
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
''. Lightle described it as being a "dream assignment" to work on the title. One of Lightle's issues featured the death of the longtime Legion member the
Karate Kid
''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the '' Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shu ...
. Although Lightle's tenure as interior artist was brief, he continued as the cover artist until 1988.
Lightle co-created two Legionnaires,
Tellus
Tellus is a Latin word meaning "Earth" and may refer to:
* An alternative name for the planet Earth
* Tellus of Athens, a citizen of ancient Athens who was thought to be the happiest of men
* Tellus Mater or Terra Mater, the ancient Roman earth mo ...
and
Quislet, whose unusual appearances contrasted with the
humanoid
A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...
appearances of the other Legionnaires.
In 1986, Lightle was one of the contributors to the ''
DC Challenge
''DC Challenge'' was a 12-issue comic book limited series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative. The series' tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?"
Publication history
The ''DC Ch ...
'' limited series and drew part of ''
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). The following year, he was the original penciller of the revival of ''
Doom Patrol'', but he left after the first five-issue story arc due to creative differences. Much of Lightle's work after that was as cover artist, typically inking his own penciled artwork. In 1989 and 1990, Lightle was the regular cover artist for ''
Classic X-Men''
(later retitled ''X-Men Classic''). He produced new covers and
frontispieces to accompany the reprinted stories.
On January 8, 2021, Lightle's wife Marianne and son Matthew announced through social media that he had suddenly died from a cardiac arrest brought on by
COVID-19 during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri. He was 61 years old.
DCPlanet
/ref>
Bibliography
AC Comics
* ''Black Diamond'' #4 (1984)
DC Comics
* ''Adventure Comics
''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...
80-Page Giant'' #1 (Superboy) (1998)
* ''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 (1986)
* ''Batman and the Outsiders
The Outsiders are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As their name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who do not fit the norms of the "mainstream" superhero community, i.e. the Justice League.
The ...
'' #10 (1984)
* '' Booster Gold: Futures End'' #1 (2014)
* ''DC Challenge
''DC Challenge'' was a 12-issue comic book limited series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative. The series' tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?"
Publication history
The ''DC Ch ...
'' #12 (1986)
* '' Doom Patrol'' vol. 2 #1–5 (1987–1988)
* ''The Flash'' vol. 2 #226 (2005)
* ''The Flash 80-Page Giant'' #2 (1999)
* ''The Flash Annual'' #10 (1997)
* '' History of the DC Universe'' hardcover (three pages) (1988)
* ''JLA-Z'' #1 (one page) (2003)
* ''The Legion'' #24, 34 (2003–2004)
* ''Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...
'' vol. 3 #3–5, 7–10, 12–14, 16, 23 (1984–1986)
* '' New Talent Showcase'' #4–6 (1984)
* ''The Outsiders'' #2–3 (backup stories) (1985–1986)
* '' Who's Who in the DC Universe'' #2–3, 6–7, 13–14 (1990–1991)
* ''Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #1–2 (1988)
* ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #3, 5, 8, 12–13, 16, 18, 20, 23 (1985–1987)
* ''Who's Who: Update '87'' #3–4 (1987)
* '' Wonder Woman Gallery'' #1 (1996)
* ''Wonder Woman Secret Files and Origins'' #1 (1998)
* '' World's Finest Comics'' #304, 306 (1984)
Marvel Comics
* '' The Amazing Spider-Man '96'' #1 (1996)
* '' Excalibur: XX Crossing'' (1992)
* '' Generation X '95'' #1 (1995)
* ''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 ...
'' #109–116 ( Wolverine and Typhoid Mary
Mary Mallon (September 23, 1869 – November 11, 1938), commonly known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish Americans, Irish-born American cook believed to have infected between 51 and 122 people with typhoid fever. The infections caused three co ...
); #123–130 ( Ghost Rider and Typhoid Mary); #132–136 (Wolverine); #150 (Vengeance
Vengeance may refer to:
*Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance
Film
* ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo
* ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...
, Wolverine, Daredevil
Daredevil may refer to:
* A stunt performer
Arts and media Comics
* Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro
* Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
, Typhoid Mary); #175 (Steel Raven, New Genix) (1992–1995)
* ''Marvel Holiday Special'' (Spider-Man) (1992)
* ''Quasar
A quasar is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a m ...
'' #39–40 (1992)
* '' Web of Spider-Man Super Special'' #1 (1995)
* '' X-Factor'' #32 (1988)
References
External links
*
Steve Lightle
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightle, Steve
1959 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American artists
21st-century American artists
American comics artists
DC Comics people
Johnson County Community College people
Marvel Comics people
People from the Kansas City metropolitan area
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri