James Waley (the Northern Light)

The Northern Light, Richard Robertson, front cover, Orb No. 2, July 1974 Copyright/Source

James Waley was born in Windsor, Ontario, in 1951. Waley has contributed to Canadian comics for nearly three decades. During the 1974-1976 period, he was the publisher of Orb, a groundbreaking Canadian alternative-comics magazine that showcased work by creators such as Richard Robertson, Gene Day, Ken Steacy, James Craig, Don Marshall, and John Allison. Orb (Nos. 2-5) also featured the adventures of Canada's first modern-era, non-satirical, national superhero, the Northern Light. Starting with Orb (No. 4), Waley and the artist James Craig became the main creators associated with the character.

Power Comics, Jim Craig, front cover, Power Comics No. 4, November 1977 Copyright/Source

In 1977 they published a full-length, Northern Light adventure in the U.S. comic book Power Comics (No. 4). During the 1980s, Waley was associated with several comics publishing ventures. In the early 1990s he was also active as a comics-convention promoter in Toronto. Recently, he contributed to the Hudson's Bay giveaway comic Tales from the Bay (produced and distributed by CoEd Communications). He is currently writing for the Canadian science-fiction magazine Parsec and working on several comic book projects.