STEACY Ken
Ken Steacy was born January 8, 1955 in Zweibruken, Germany where his father a pilot with the Canadian Armed Forces (then the Royal Canadian Air Force) was stationed. He spent his youth moving from place to place as his father was transferred from station to station.
He finally wound up studying Photo/Electric Arts at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. “He drove his profs crazy by turning in comic strips instead of film or video.” This must not have had too harmful an effect on his academic standing as he graduated in 1978 with four scholarships, including the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal.
He began drawing comics professionally in 1974 with “Electric Warrior” published in Orb magazine.
“The Scared and the Profane” which Dean Motter wrote and he illustrated first appeared in Star Reach issue 9, June 1977 and finished in issue 13, August 1978. In Star Reach issue 14, August 1978 there was a short story of another mission. The book version appeared in 1987.
He also appeared in the 1980 Comics Annual and in Andromeda magazine in a collaboration with Harlan Ellison. This partnership blossomed into a graphic novel Night and the Enemy published by Comico also in 1987.
In 1990 to 1991 he both wrote and illustrated a four part series “Tempus Fugitive” published by DC Comics. In 1997 Dark Horse published it as a trade paperback. In it Steacy explored the aviation adventure series which had its heyday in “Buzz Sawyer” and “Terry and the Pirates”.
Among these major works he illustrated most of the major characters published by DC and Marvel and worked with Lucasfilm producing stories and computer generated illustrations for Star Wars children’s books.
He also worked two years at Sanctuary Woods Multimedia creating, producing, directing and illustrating an interactive CD-ROM for children called “The Awesome Adventures of Victor, Vector and Yondo” then produced a three issue cartoon series based on the same characters.
He has produced a series of paintings depicting the peacetime activities of Canadian Armed Forces navigators. It is part of the permanent collection of the National War Museum in Ottawa.
He has written designed and art directed a book Brightwork which celebrates American classic car ornamentation.
He has produced all of the display artwork for the Space Place gallery at Telus World of Science in Edmonton.
He has designed the sets and promotional material for a production of West Side Story.
Since about 1998 Ken and Doug Coupland have collaborated on various projects. Their latest was an art exhibit at PS Gallery in Victoria B.C. August to September 2008. In the series of futuristic pictures, is a year 2504 Toronto dominated by a decayed CN Tower. Ken explains that the exhibit: “is about the dynamic process we employ when working together. Doug conveys the subject in question, then together we assemble and work with both random abandon and Legolike structure, using pencil, pen and ink, and pixels. Once completed, it’s invariably something that retains evidence of the initial idea, but is still parsecs from the point of departure.”
In 2017, as part of the Globe & Mail’s “The Story Of Canada” fictional series commemorating our sesquicentennial, Margaret Atwood wrote “Oursonette”. Art Director Bryan Gee was looking for an illustrator for the story when art historian Jaleen Grove, who was originally from Victoria and knew Ken Steacy, suggested he would be a good fit. Ken not only illustrated the piece – he and Margaret expanded and reworked it into the graphic novel “Warbears”.
WORK:
CARTOONIST:
BOOK GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:
Content story:
Potlatch presents The 1980 Comics Annual. Ed., Ian Carr. Potlatch Publications, 1979: “Street Noise”: 26-30.
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:
Content story:
Alien Worlds, 1-2, May 1983: “Vicious Circle”: 15-22.
Amazing High Adventure, 1-5, Dec. 1986” “My Brother’s Keeper: 38-49.
Orb Magazine 1-3, Dec. 1974: “Super Student”: 27-28.
ILLUSTRATOR:
BOOK GRAPHIC:
Content novel & Cover book front:
Night and the Enemy. Writ., Harlan Ellison. Comico The Comic Co., November 1987. (Limited Edition, Hardcover.)
Content novel & Cover dust jacket:
The Sacred & The Profane, Writ., Dean Motter. Eclipse Books, 1987. (Limited Edition, Hardcover.)
BOOK TEXT:
Cover:
Book wraparound::
Canuck Comics. Ed., John Bell. Matrix Graphic Series, 1986.
Dust jacket:
Benny Cooperman Mystery: Murder On Location. Writ., Howard Engel. Clarke, Irwin & Co., 1950.
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:
Cover front:
| Airboy, …. Eclipse Comics. | |
| 17, Mar. 20 1987. | 33, Nov. 1987. |
Cybercom, 1-1, Winter 1987.Matrix Graphic Series.
| Northguard….. Matrix Production/Caliber Press. | ||
| 1, 1989. | 2, 1989. | 3, 1990. |
| The Original Astro Boy, …. Now Comics. | ||
| 1-1, Sept. 1987.
1-2, Oct. 1987. 1-3, Nov. 1987. 1-4, Dec. 1987. 1-5, Jan. 1988. |
1-6, Feb. 1988.
1-7, Mar. 1988. 1-8, Apr. 1988. 1-9, May 1988. 1-10, June 1988. |
1-11, Aug. 1988.
1-12, Sept. 1988. 1-13, Oct. 1988. 1-14, Nov. 1988. 1-15, Jan. 1989. |
Content serial:
| The Original Astro Boy, …. Writ., Michael Dimpsey Now Comics. | |
| 1-2, Oct. 1987. | 1-3, Nov. 1987. |
| The Original Astro Boy, …. Writ., Michael Dimpsey Assist illus., Andrew Pratt. Now Comics. | ||
| 1-4, Dec. 1987. Let., A. Pratt.
1-5, Jan. 1988. |
1-6, Feb. 1988.
|
1-7, Mar. 1988. Let., A. Pratt. |
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:
Content:
Contents page.
Andromeda, 2-6, Nov.1979.
.Novel:
Batman: Anniversary Issue, 400, Oct. 1986: “Chap., 9: Branches & Bones.” Wtit., Doug Moench.Let., Jo9hn Costanza. Co., Adrienne Roy. 43-45.
Star Reach, 9, June 1977 to 14, Aug.1978: “The Sacred and the Profane.” Writ., Dean Motter.
Serial:
Orb Magazine 1-4, Nov./Dec. 1975: “Electric Warrior.” Writ., Kerri Ellison. Let., Michael Cherkas: 3-10.
Story:
Andromeda, 2-2, June 1978: “The Hidden Diaries.” Writ., Jeffery Morgan.
Alien Worlds, 1-3, July 1983: “Pi In The Sky.” Writ., Bruce Jones. Let., Carrie McCarthy: 12-19.
Alien Worlds, 1-4, Sept. 1983: “One Day In Ohio.” Writ., B. Jones. Let., C. McCarthy: 15-20
Alien Worlds, 1-5, Dec. 1983: “Game Wars.” Writ., B. Jones: 11-13.
Alien Worlds, 1-8, Nov. 1984: Collector’s Item.” Writ., B. Jones: 17-21.
BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC:
Cover book wrap around:
Marvel Comics Index,1-7A: Heroes From Tales To Astonish, Bk. 1: The Incredible Hulk. G & T Enterprises, June 1978.
Marvel Comics Index,1-8B: Heroes From Tales Of Suspense, Bk. 2: Iron Man. G & T Enterprises, December 1978.
POSTER:
Camosun Comics Art Festival, Saturday 15 April 2017. Camosun College, Victoria, British Columbia.
The Hart House Committee presents: JOHNNY CANUCK A Look At 10 Toronto & district cartoonists. Hart House Art Gallery July 3-20, 1979. (University of Toronto.)
CO-ILLUSTRATOR:
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:
Cover back:
Pork Knight 1-1, no date. Co-illus., Rob Walton.
Content:
The Original Astro Boy,1-1, Sept., 1987. Writ., Michael Dempsey. Co-illus., Rodney Dunn. Col., Ken Steacy, Denra Marks, Paul Rivoche.
The Original Astro Boy, 1-8, Apr. 1988. Writ., Michael Dempsey Co- illus. & Let., Andrew Pratt.
WRITER:
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:
Content:
Serial:
The Original Astro Boy,17, March 1989. Illus., Brian Thomas. Let., Marc Hansen.
| The Original Astro Boy, …. Co- illus., Andrew Pratt. Let., Andrew Pratt Now Comics. | ||
| 1-9, May 1988.
1-10, June 1988. 1-11, Aug. 1988. |
1-12, Sept. 1988.
1-13, Oct. 1988.
|
1-14, Nov. 1988.
1-15, Jan. 1989. |
CO-WRITER & ILLUSTRATOR:
BOOK GRAPHIC COLLECTION:
Content novel & Cover book front & back :
:Warbears. Co-writ., Margaret Atwood. Dark Horse Books/Dark Horse Comics Inc., February 2019. (Collected from the periodical below).
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:
Content story:
| Warbears,…. Co-writ., Margaret Atwood. Dark Horse Comics. | ||
| 1, September 2018. | 2, October 2018. | December 2018. |
GALLERY:
See NORTHGUARD & SACRED AND PROFANE
“Vicious Circle.” Alien Worlds, 1-2, May 1983: 15-22.
Ken Steacy painted this as a tribute to the 1940’s cartoon hero “Brok Windsor” in 2014.
Ironman, acrylic on board, 1985, 38cmhX49cmw
Warbears, September 2018: Front cover.