Steven S. Crompton is a Canadian-born artist, author and designer who has worked in the role-playing and comic genres since 1981. In the gaming industry he is best known as the artist for the ''

Grimtooth's Traps ''Grimtooth's Traps'' is a 1981 role-playing game supplement edited by Paul Ryan O'Connor, illustrated by Steve Crompton and published by Flying Buffalo. Contents ''Grimtooth's Traps'' is a collection of traps selected from contributors. Receptio ...

'' books as well as other ''

Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

'' role-playing game supplements, ''

Tunnels & Trolls ''Tunnels & Trolls'' (abbreviated ''T&T'') is a fantasy role-playing game designed by Ken St. Andre and first published in 1975 by Flying Buffalo. The second modern role-playing game published, it was written by Ken St. Andre to be a more access ...

'' and the ''

Nuclear War Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

'' card game.

Education

Steven Crompton went to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

art college for two years, the

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a Public college, public community college just outside of Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the city's eastern boundary, on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. ...

, and the Vo-Tech Commercial Art School.

Career

Starting in 1981, Steve Crompton worked as staff illustrator for Flying Buffalo Inc., and did the art and designed some of the traps in ''

''. He also did maps and Illustrations for numerous other RPG books and games published by the company from 1981-1985. During that period he did freelance work for

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

Game Designers Workshop Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers. History Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. The founding m ...

Fantasy Games Unlimited Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) is a publishing house for tabletop and role-playing games. The company has no in-house design teams and relies on submitted material from outside talent. History Founded in the summer of 1975 in Jericho, New York b ...

, and others. His first widely distributed comic was ''Elves of Lejentia #1 - 3'', in 1987. In 1991, he was hired by

Todd Loren Todd Loren (born Stuart Loren Shapiro, 1960–1992) was an American comic book publisher, owner of Revolutionary Comics and its title '' Rock 'N' Roll Comics''. Biography As a teenager, Loren promoted comic conventions and record collector s ...

to work on ''Psychoman'' and his own creation, Demi the Demoness. The Demi comics have been in continuous publication since 1992. Demi was adapted into a live-action movie and released on dvd in 2008 and new Demi comics continue to be published. He developed the art and marketing for the '' City of the Gods: Forgotten'' novel and related books, games and comics. Since 2005 he has managed entire projects, contributing to all aspects of a publishing endeavor including marketing, working directly with other creators, design, writing, art, maps, pre-press, printing liaison and final delivery to the end users. Recent examples include Deluxe ''

'' RPG, 50th Anniversary ''

'', '' Ace of Aces'' limited edition reprint, ''the Grimtooth's Ultimate Traps Collection'' an updated edition of the ''Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes'' RPG, and a 2nd edition of the ''

Monsters! Monsters! ''Monsters! Monsters!'' is a role-playing game first published by Metagaming Concepts in 1976. Description ''Monsters! Monsters!'' is a fantasy system in which the player characters are monsters who prey on adventurers and the civilized world. ...

'' RPG. In August 2019, after the death of Flying Buffalo publisher

Rick Loomis Rick Loomis (August 24, 1946 – August 23, 2019) was an American game designer, most notable as the founder of game publisher Flying Buffalo, which he managed until his death. Career Early years Richard F. Loomis was born and raised in Scott ...

, Steven was named the Managing Director of Flying Buffalo. He oversaw the continuation of Flying Buffalo's intellectual properties and ongoing publishing ventures. In August of 2021, Flying Buffalo's assets were sold, and a new company (WebbedSphere) took over the ownership of Flying Buffalo. Steve Crompton is currently the Art Director for Trollhalla Press Unlimited and is co-creating and working on RPG projects with Ken St. Andre.

Art for games

Besides ''Grimtooth's Traps'' and ''Nuclear War'', other notable games include ''

'', ''

Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes ''Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes'' (''MSPE'') is a tabletop role-playing game designed and written by Michael A. Stackpole and first published in April 1983 by Blade, a division of Flying Buffalo, Inc. A second edition was later published ...

'', '' Traveller'', ''DCC RPG'', ''Immortal'', ''

GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...

'', ''

Space Opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...

'', '' Space: 1889'', ''Lejentia Campaigns'', ''Grid Iron'', '' Lost Worlds'', the ''Powerz Card Game'', and many others. Several of the games he has worked on have won the HG Wells

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

, including ''Citybook'', ''

Stormhaven ''Stormhaven'' is a role-playing game supplement for ''Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes'' published by Flying Buffalo in 1983. Contents ''Stormhaven'' is a setting for ''Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes'' that draws heavily upon pulp magaz ...

'', ''

Nuclear Escalation Nuclear escalation is the concept of a conflict escalating from conventional warfare to nuclear warfare. Possible solutions NATO policies preventing nuclear escalation Background The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an in ...

'' and ''

Nuclear Proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonl ...

''. ''Nuclear War'' won the Hall of Fame Award as one of the best card games of all time.

Selected game bibliography

Along with art, he also contributed to the design and writing of some of these products. * ''

'' - 1981 (

Flying Buffalo Flying Buffalo Inc. (FBI) is a game company with a line of role playing games, card games, and other gaming materials. The company's founder, Rick Loomis, began game publishing with '' Nuclear Destruction'', a play-by-mail game which started th ...

) * ''

Catacombs of the Bear Cult ''Catacombs of the Bear Cult'' is a 1981 role-playing game adventure for ''Tunnels & Trolls'' published by Flying Buffalo. Plot summary ''Catacombs of the Bear Cult'' is an adventure in which the Death Empress puts a bounty on werebear cultists ...

'' - 1981 (Flying Buffalo) * ''

Grimtooth's Traps Too ''Grimtooth's Traps Too'' is a 1982 role-playing game supplement published by Flying Buffalo's Blade division. Contents ''Grimtooth's Traps Too'' is a compilation that presents 101 more traps intended to be used in any role-playing game system. ...

'' - 1982 (Flying Buffalo) * '' Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker'' - 1982 (Flying Buffalo) * ''

'' - 1983 (Flying Buffalo) * '' The Traveller Adventure'' - 1983 (

Game Designers' Workshop Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a Board wargame, wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers. History Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. ...

) * ''Alderson Yards Shipbook'' - 1985

* ''Grimtooth's Traps Fore'' - 1986 (Flying Buffalo) * '' Lejentia Campaigns Book 1: Skully's Harbor'' - 1988 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Lejentia Campaigns Book 2'' - 1989 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Grimtooth's Traps Ate'' - 1989 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Grimtooth's Traps Lite'' - 1991 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Case of the Pacific Clipper - Mugshots 1'' - 1991 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Lost World: Flaming Cherry'' - 1992 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Lost World: Gargoyle w/ Spear'' - 1992 (Flying Buffalo) * Nuclear War Booster Cards - 1993 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Grimtooth's Dungeon of Doom'' - 1993 (Flying Buffalo) * Maps 1 - Cities - 1993 (Flying Buffalo) * Maps 2 - Places of Legend - 1994 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Grimtooth's Traps Bazaar'' - 1995 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Citybook VII - King's River Bridge'' - 1997 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Nuclear Proliferation'' 2nd ed - 1990, 2003 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Nuclear War'' 2nd ed - 2001 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Wurst of Grimtooth’s Traps'' - 2005 (

Necromancer Games Necromancer Games was an American publisher of role-playing games. With offices in Seattle, Washington and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the company specialized in material for the d20 System. Most of its products were released under the Open Game Licens ...

) * ''Weapons of Mass Destruction'' - 2005 (Flying Buffalo) * Origins Poker Decks — 2007-2011 (Flying Buffalo/

Game Manufacturers Association The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is a non-profit trade association based in Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to the advancement of the non-electronic social game industry – tabletop games, miniatures games, card games, collectable/tradeable ...

) (GAMA) * City of the Gods Map Pack - 2013 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Adventurers Compendium'' - 2014 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls'' - 2015 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Grimtooth's Ultimate TRAPS Collection'' - 2015 (Goodman Games) * ''Agent of Death'' - 2016 (Flying Buffalo) * ''T&T Adventures Japan'' - 2017 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Vaults of K'Horror'' - 2018 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Grimtooth's Trapsylvania'' - 2019 (Goodman Games) * ''

'' - 2019 (Flying Buffalo) * ''Alice in Weirdworld'' T&T solo - 2020 (Flying Buffalo) * ''

'' 2nd Ed. RPG - 2020 (Trollhalla Press Ultd.) * ''Monsterary of Zimrala'' - 2022 (Trollhalla Press Ultd.) * ''Monsters! Monsters! 2.7'' - 2023 (Trollhalla Press Ultd.) * ''Humans! Humans! RPG Supplement'' - 2024 (Trollhalla Press Ultd.)

Art for comics

Crompton is best known for his creation Demi the Demoness and his work as editor and designer of the

Carnal Comics Carnal Comics is an American adult comics imprint established in 1992. Carnal Comics' flagship title is ''Carnal Comics: True Stories Of Adult Film Stars'', which features autobiographies co-created with porn stars. Since the line’s inception, ...

line since 2001, with over 35 books including

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

's Carnal Delights and Carnal Comics: the Inside Story. He has worked for

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and '' Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...

, Hippy Comix,

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

, Cry for Dawn Productions,

Revolutionary Comics Revolutionary Comics was an American comic book publisher specializing in unauthorized profiles of entertainers and professional athletes, as well as a line of erotic comics. Its flagship series was '' Rock 'N' Roll Comics''. Founded by Todd Lo ...

and many others. He also created 100 comic-style art cards for the

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

''Mars Attacks Invasion'' trading card series.

Selected comics bibliography

Demi the Demoness

* ''Demi the Demoness'' #1 - 7. 1992 - 2003,

* ''Demi Adventure Special'' #1. 1995,

* ''Tracey Adams/Demi'' #1. 1995, Revisionary Press * ''Demi the Demoness'' color strip. 1996/98, '' Oui'' magazine * ''Demi meets Cassiopeia'' #1. 1997,

* ''Demi & Capt. Fortune'' #1. 1997

* ''Demi & Shaundra'' #1. 1998,

* ''Demi Art Card Set''. 1998, Opus Graphics * ''Demi's Wild Kingdom'' #1. 2000, Carnal/

MU Press MU Press (officially Miscellanea Unlimited Press) was an independent comic book publisher based in Seattle, Washington, which operated from 1990 until c. 2006. MU Press was one of the industry's most prolific " furry" comic publishers, while its ...

* ''Demi's Strange Bedfellows'' #1 - 5. 2001-2015,

* ''Demi Demoness Graphic Novel''. 2006,

* ''Demi & Vampirooni'' #1. 2006,

* ''Demi the Demoness Movie''. 2008,

/MSD Productions * ''Crimson Gash Meets Demi'' #1. 2009,

* ''Demi & the Sex Squad'' #1. 2010,

* ''Demi vs the Monsters of the Third Reich''. 2014, Carnal Comics * ''Demi Rarities''. 2018, Carnal Comics * ''CthulhuCrisis! #1''. 2019, Raven Press * ''CthulhuCrisis! Rise of the Yellow Wizard GN''. 2024, Zimrala Press * ''CthulhuCrisis! #2''. 2024, Zimrala Press

Other titles

* ''Lejentia Stanza'' #1 - 3. 1987, Opus Graphics * ''Psychoman'' #1. 1992,

* ''Contemporary Bios: Ross Perot''. 1992,

* ''Rock & Roll #59: Eric Clapton''. 1993,

* ''Heavy Metal Monsters 3D.'' 1993 * ''Ray 3D Zone; Cherry’s Jubilee'' #4. 1994,

* ''NOIR'' #1 & 2, 1995, CryForDawn * ''Pantheon'' #1 - 2. 1996, Archer Books and Games * ''Letha Weapons'' #1. 1997 Revisionary Press * ''Wild Kingdom'' #12. 2001 (artist, letterer),

* ''Felecia Adult Star Stories'' #1. 2002, Hippy Comix * ''Sex Squad'' #1 & 2. 2003,

* ''Jenna Jameson Collection''. 2004,

* ''Carnal Comics: Inside Story''. 2004,

* ''Djustine - Twisted West'' #1. 2004,

* ''Sex Squad'' #2. 2004,

* ''Wild!'' #13/''Minkenstein'' #1. 2005,

* ''Aurora Snow Bio Comic'' # 1. 2009,

* ''Girl Meets Tentacle'' #1. 2010,

* ''Underground Comix Price Guide Supplement''. 2010, Hippy Comix * '' City of the Gods: Forgotten''. 2011, Raven Press * ''The Last Goddess''. 2011, Raven Press * ''Mythic Tales: City of the Gods''. 2011, Raven Press * ''One Day in Hell'' #1. 2012, 3nd N Press * ''Pantheon of the Gods''. 2012, Raven Press * ''Lost Comics of SS Crompton''. 2013, Opus Graphics * ''This Conquered Earth''. 2013, Opus Graphics * ''Fogel's Underground Comix Price Guide''. 2015, Hippy Comix * ''Twisted Tales of the West'' #1. 2020,

* ''Vampirooni Crisis #1''. 2024, Zimrala Press

Pen name

Crompton has written a series of novels and short stories under the pen name ''M. Scott Verne''. Currently these works are all related to the City of the Gods: Forgotten novels and other related books/games.

References

External links

*
Official Steve Crompton website

City of the Gods Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Steve 1962 births Arizona State University alumni Canadian comics artists Canadian comics writers Living people

Education

Career

Art for games

Selected game bibliography

Art for comics

Selected comics bibliography

Demi the Demoness

Other titles

Pen name

References

Further reading

External links