Steve Leialoha

Steve Leialoha (born January 27, 1952)^[1] is an American comics artist whose work first came to prominence in the 1970s. He has worked primarily as an inker, though occasionally as a penciller, for several publishers, including Marvel Comics and later DC Comics.

Steve Leialoha
Leialoha at the 2023 WonderCon
Born	(1952-01-27) January 27, 1952 (age 73) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Penciller, Inker
Notable works	Fables Spider-Woman
Awards	Inkpot Award 1986 Eisner Awards 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007

Early life

Cover for Spider-Woman #8 (November 1978). Art by Carmine Infantino and Steve Leialoha.

Steve Leialoha was born in San Francisco, California, the son of a Native Hawaiian 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."^[2]

Career

Steve Leialoha's career began in 1975 with the early independent comic book Star*Reach,^[3] drawing the five-page story "Wooden Ships on the Water", adapted by writer Mike Friedrich from the song by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Paul Kantner, in issue #3 (Sept. 1975).^[4] 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,^[3] working on such series as Warlock, Star Wars,^[5] Spider-Woman, the Spider-Man title Marvel Team-Up, the Firestar limited series, New Mutants and Howard the Duck.^[4] He and writer J. M. DeMatteis co-created "Greenberg the Vampire" in Bizarre Adventures #29 (Dec. 1981).^[6]

Leialoha was one of the artists on Batman #400 (Oct. 1986)^[7] and in the 1990s, he began working at DC Comics on Batman and other characters; at Harris Comics on Vampirella; and at Claypool Comics on Soulsearchers and Company. He inked part of the World's End story arc in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series.^[8][9] The following decade, he became the regular inker on most of the issues of the DC/Vertigo series Fables, penciled by Mark Buckingham, for which they won the Eisner Award for "Best Penciller/Inker Team" in 2007.^[10][11]

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 until her death in 2024.^[2]

Writer Larry Hama named the G.I. Joe character Edward Leialoha (code name Torpedo) after Steve Leialoha.^[12]

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 #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 #694 (1993)
• Armageddon: The Alien Agenda #1 (1991)
• Batman #400, Annual #15 (1986–1991)
• Chronos #1–4, 6–7, 9–11 (1998–1999)
• DCU Heroes Secret Files #1 (1999)
• Detective Comics #629 (1991)
• Fly Annual #1 (1992)
• Heroes Against Hunger #1 (1986)
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1–3 (1993)
• Justice League International #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 #24, 47, 56 (1998–2001)
• Fables #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 #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)
• Bizarre Adventures #29 (1981)
• Captain America #221, 290 (1978–1984)
• Captain Justice #1–2 (1988)
• Captain Marvel #49 (1977)
• Conan the Barbarian #155 (1984)
• Coyote #1–2, 7–8 (1983–1984)
• Daredevil #154, 238 (1978–1987)
• Doctor Strange vol. 2 #62, 67 (1983–1984)
• Fantastic Four #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)
• Howard the Duck #1–13 (1976–1977)
• Marvel Comics Presents #82 (1991)
• Marvel Fanfare #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)
• New Mutants #32–34 (1985)
• Night Thrasher #17 (1994)
• Nova #22–23 (1978–1979)
• Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe #2, 5, 10 (1983)
• Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #6, 12 (1986)
• Power Man and Iron Fist #60 (1979)
• Rom #66 (1985)
• Secret Wars II #1–9 (1985–1986)
• Sensational She-Hulk #12 (1990)
• Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel #1 (1996)
• The Spectacular Spider-Man #44 (1980)
• Spider-Woman #7, 25–26, 28, 30–46 (1978–1982)
• Star Wars #2–5, 95, 105, Annual #1 (1977–1986)
• Steeltown Rockers #3, 5 (1990)
• Uncanny X-Men #189, 192, 194, 217, 250, 253–255, Annual #7–8 (1983–1989)
• Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounters #1 (1998)
• Warlock #9–14 (1975–1976)
• Web of Spider-Man #33 (1987)
• X-Factor #200 (2010)

Awards

• 1986: Won Inkpot Award^[13]
• 2003: Won Eisner Award for "Best New Series" and "Best Serialized Story" for Fables #1–5: "Legends in Exile" with Bill Willingham and Lan Medina.^[14]
• 2005: Won Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story", for Fables #19–27: "March of the Wooden Soldiers" with Willingham and Mark Buckingham.^[15]
• 2006: Won Eisner Award for "Best Serialized Story", for Fables #36–38, 40–41: "Return to the Homelands" with Willingham and Buckingham.^[16]
• 2007: Won Eisner Award for "Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team", for Fables with Buckingham.^[11]