JAMES WALEY (1951-)
James Waley was the publisher, editor-in-chief, and sometimes writer, artist and colourist of Orb Magazine, a quality black and white magazine-sized anthology, which could be found on Canadian newsstands between 1974 and 1976. Orb lasted six issues. With it, Jim provided readers with some of the most sophisticated comic book stories available anywhere while giving a start to many young creators, many of whom would become the finest Canadian comic artists and writers of their generation. He also co-created Canadian superhero the Northern Light, who debuted in Orb and would later appear in the American publication Power Comics. Waley’s many other subsequent accomplishments include writing for Heavy Metal, creating a comic from scratch for Charlton, filling the Propeller Gallery with art by prominent Toronto comic book artists, running the monthly one-day convention “Supershow” for many years at the Ontario College of Art, and being instrumental in developing the Joe Shuster Award as co-founder and instigator of the idea of a Canadian comic book award.