It would be tough to think of someone who is more of an avid classic comic enthusiast than local author Tim Lasiuta.
“I’ve been busy exploring the worlds of fictional characters both in terms of writing stories about them, editing stories about them and looking at potential characters ready to be reintroduced to the reading public again,” he explains.
Over the years, Lasiuta’s editorial work has appeared in True West Magazine, Mad For Kids, Illustration Magazine, Wildest Westerns and The Old Cowboy Picture Show.
His more recent contributions have included Roy Rogers – King of the Cowboys (The Collected Dailies and Sundays) for which he penned the introduction. The book is packed with original comic strips and artwork complete in their unforgettable vibrant colour. “I focused on the writers, the artists and some of the history about the strip.”
Lasiuta has also contributed to The Green Hornet Casefiles, for which he wrote an afterword for a piece called Raymond J. Meurer: Man With Many Hats, but he really got the chance to flex his creative muscles with a story he wrote for Captain Midnight Chronicles.
There’s even a local touch to the brisk, exciting story, which is called Wind & Rain. Lasiuta writes with plenty of colour and description – it’s obvious he has a heart for the genre and a natural ability to plot a solid, compelling story. “The climax of that story takes place in the Banff Springs Hotel,” he adds with a laugh.
Lasiuta has also adapted a Hopalong Cassidy story called The Holdup by Clarence E. Mulford for a collection entitled Western Classics.
Lasiuta, a married father of four, has long had a fascination with not just comic strips, but with virtually every aspect of the industry itself. He loves heading to the U.S. for conventions where he’s met all sorts of like-minded folks from artists to creators and legends in the biz.
“I love this stuff. You are creating something long lasting – it stands. This Roy Rogers book, for instance, is the only collection ever done of Roy Rogers strips. It’s very unique.
“I’ve tried every bit of it,” he adds. “I’ve done licensing, publishing – the whole bit. It’s neat because it’s possible do that from anywhere.”
Having said that, it’s a challenging field at times to find one’s way into. “A lot of people say I want to do this, but they never get published. There’s a lot of work to it, and you hear the word ‘no’ an awful lot.”
Meanwhile, the ageless battle between good and evil – so often at the heart of the plots of famous comic strips and of course well-known hero characters – also contributes to their universal and essentially timeless appeal, he says.
For nearly 10 years, he has reviewed books, comic books, and movies for Amazon (Top 1000 reviewer), Happy Harbor Comics, Suite 101 and Penguin Comics.
It keeps him busy, along with his other work and of course range of responsibilities as a family man. “Despite all my credits, my kids still consider me cool and consider it quite normal to get calls from all over North America regarding the ‘funnies’.”
Check out www.timlasiuta.weebly.com.
editor@reddeerexpress.com
