Jon St. Ables
Encyclopedia
Jon St. Ables a.k.a. Jon Stables (1912 - 1999) was born in Ulverston, England on December 23rd 1912. Jon Stables left school at 13 to follow his father and older brother to Winnipeg
and become an artist.
, he ventured west to Victoria, British Columbia
and contributed to the war effort as a painter and sign writer for the shipbuilding industry. It was there he met his wife Esther and the pair were married in May, 1942. Shortly after, Stables was hired by Imperial News Ltd. to work for Maple Leaf Comics, one of the first "golden age
" publishers of Canadian Comics.
and Bill Speed but were unable to make significant inroads.
. Eventually Stables settled in Seattle, working in the art department at Boeing
until retiring in 1975. He died in 1999 at the age of 87.
Hall of Fame for his contributions to Canadian comics
.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
and become an artist.
First job
With the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he ventured west to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and contributed to the war effort as a painter and sign writer for the shipbuilding industry. It was there he met his wife Esther and the pair were married in May, 1942. Shortly after, Stables was hired by Imperial News Ltd. to work for Maple Leaf Comics, one of the first "golden age
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
" publishers of Canadian Comics.
Comic book creations
Stables worked well with Maple Leaf’s British approach to comics and was considered by many to be its most accomplished artist, signing his work with the nom de plume, St. Ables. His facility with cartooning in the prehistoric Piltdown Pete and adventure strips like Brock Windsor and Bill Speed helped make Maple Leaf titles very prominent in Canadian comics. Soon, Stables took over the art editing chores from Vernon Miller and became the line’s top cover artist. In 1946, Maple Leaf made an effort to launch several syndicated comic strips based on their features CallaghanCallaghan
Ó Ceallacháin, O'Callaghan, or simply Callaghan without the prefix, is an Irish surname.-Munster:The surname means descendent of Ceallachán who was the Eóganachta King of Munster from AD 935 until 954. The personal name Cellach means ‘bright-headed’. The principal Munster sept of the name Callaghan...
and Bill Speed but were unable to make significant inroads.
Later career
With two sons to support, Stables and Esther opened a studio and briefly produced a line of colouring books. In 1950, the family moved to California where Stables attempted to pitch ideas and artwork to DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. Eventually Stables settled in Seattle, working in the art department at Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
until retiring in 1975. He died in 1999 at the age of 87.
Awards
In 2006 Jon St. Ables was inducted into the Joe Shuster AwardsJoe Shuster Awards
The Joe Shuster Awards are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics by Canadians, there are additional awards for Retailers and Publishers. The full name is the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards.The Joe Shuster Awards...
Hall of Fame for his contributions to Canadian comics
Canadian comics
In spite of U.S. dominance of comic book sales in Canada and the overwhelming number of U.S. comic strips printed in Canadian newspapers there is such a thing as Canadian Comics. The only area where there is no American dominance is editorial cartoons...
.