| Mike Curtis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 71–72) Tennessee, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Writer, editor, publisher, television host |
Notable works | Dick Tracy Shanda the Panda |
| Awards | Harvey Award 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Spouse(s) | Carole Curtis |
Mike Curtis (born 1953)[1] is an American writer who scripts theDick Tracycomic strip, withJoe Staton as artist. He has been working professionally in comic books as a writer since the mid-1980s. He has also been anewspaper editor,deputy sheriff,comic book publisher,movie theater manager, TV horror movie host,Santa Claus for 39 years in the family tradition, and is aBaptist minister.
Curtis is currently best known forDick Tracy, but he is also the third largest collector ofSuperman memorabilia in the United States. He has been exhibiting and writing about Superman since 1973.
Curtis grew up inTennessee.[2]
In the early 1970s Curtis and his best friend and cousin Wally Hall formed a comedy team called "Curtis and Hall". The duo was very active on local TV with their showCurtis and Hall's Cosmic Banana Revue, in addition to performing weekly on college TV. Before the duo split amicably, they considered attending the tryouts forHee Haw in nearby Nashville. One of their most frequent sketches were original routines with themselves as theMarx Brothers (with Hall portrayingChico and Curtis asGroucho). Curtis and Hall considered their best work a sketch called "Dinosaur Boogie", featuring plastic dinosaurs on wire hangers. Curtis refers to "Boogie" as "the ultimate cheap dinosaur movie".
In the 1970s, Curtis was a horror movie TV host on Channel 6 inJackson, Tennessee, as Count Basil onShock Theater. He brought back the character in 2010 as horror host guest at theSivads of March[3] event inMemphis, Tennessee honoring that city's horror host.
In the 1980s, Curtis entered the comic book field by writingRichie Rich,Casper the Friendly Ghost, andNew Kids on the Block forHarvey Comics. While there, he also designed theHarvey Enchanted Forest map (based onIrish Bayou in Louisiana) and scripted several pilots forCasper TV series and specials.
In the 1990s, Curtis teamed up with artist Mike Sagara to produce his own comic,Shanda the Panda, ananthropomorphic or "furry" comic about a theater manager. With the first comic published byMU Press, the title moved toAntarctic Press for the second issue. There it ran for 14 issues, while Curtis' wife Carole produced aNative American cat adventure comic calledKatmandu with artist Terrie Smith.
Later the Curtises took their titles to Vision Comics, while also beginning their own imprint, Shanda Fantasy Arts (SFA). Eventually. both flagship titles were reclaimed under the SFA Banner. SFA has published dozens of comic series and specials, includingExtinctioners,Albedo Anthropomorphics, and the non-furryLast Kiss. Curtis has also written a short story and novella dealing with the adventures ofGeorge Reeves asSuperman.
Shanda andKatmandu are still being published by the Curtises, but both series ended in 2012. They expect to publish an occasional comic or comic story, but the main focus is now on Dick Tracy.
When not at fan conventions, the Curtises live on a farm inGreenbrier, Arkansas. Mrs. Curtis makesjewelry, doescostume work, and is active in the localSociety for Creative Anachronism. Curtis is now working on several novels and other projects with various projected print dates, including an alternate history novel with friend Richard Thatcher.
Curtis donated hisSuperman collection in 2016 to theCleveland Public Library for permanent exhibit in 2017.[4][5][6]
Curtis and Staton were selected byTribune Media Services to continue theDick Tracy comic strip (which was approaching its 80th Anniversary) in January 2011.[7][8] They are only the fifth team to ever do so. Shelley Pleger, inker, who has worked as an artist forDisney, and Shane Fisher, Sunday colorist and a talented graduate of theJoe Kubert School of Cartooning, round out the team.
On May 2, 2011, theTennessee Senate passed Resolution 30, congratulating Curtis and Staton on their professional accomplishments.[9]
Staton and Curtis had their first eBook collection,Calling Dick Tracy, published by Rabbit Hole Graphics.[10]
Staton and Curtis were the 2013, 2014, and 2015 winners of theHarvey Award for Best Syndicated Strip forDick Tracy.[11]
Katmandu is afurrycomic book set in a fantasy world populated byanthropomorphicfeline androdent species. It was created by Carole Curtis, originally drawn by Terrie Smith and is one of two key titles published byShanda Fantasy Arts—along with the publisher's namesakeShanda the Panda.[12][13]
The original story introduced the framing story characters, Leahtrah and Thorin. They were members of warring cat nations; loosely modeled as the equivalent of theArab–Israeli conflict in theMiddle East afterWorld War II. That first story arc involves their adventures in the desert which led to them falling in love and marrying.
However, the primary focus of the series is the stories Leahtrah tells about her ancestor, Liska. Liska was a noted warrior chief who was first captured in a raid and kept as a slave. However, when raiders attacked the village, Liska assisted in its defence and personally killed half the raiders. In recognition of her loyalty and her prowess in battle, Liska was immediately manumitted and given status as a free warrior of the tribe. She is based loosely onWoman Chief the Absaroka Amazon, of theCrowNative American nation. Reviews have praised the book for its presentation of a detailed fictional setting and its characterization.[14]