Steve Skeates

Steve Skeates
Skeates at the Big Apple Convention, May 21, 2011.
Born	Stephen Skeates 1943 (age 73–74)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer
Pseudonym(s)	Chester Hazel Warren Savin
Notable works	Aquaman Hawk and Dove House of Mystery Warren Publishing titles
Awards	Shazam Award, 1972, 1973 Warren Award, 1973

Steve Skeates is an American comic book creator known for his work on such titles as Aquaman, Hawk and Dove, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Plop! He has also written under the pseudonym Chester P. Hazel.

Stephen Skeates was born in Rochester, New York, on January 29, 1943. He and his parents lived in the attic of his maternal grandmother's Fairport home until he was four and a half, at which time they and his baby brother moved into a two-story home that his father and uncle had built. His parents tended to describe him as "a dreamer" because he preferred to play alone rather than interact with other children. He enjoyed reading comic books, preferring funny animal antics to the superhero titles. From an early age, he wanted to become a writer, but he found that ambition hampered by the fact that he read very slowly. So, in junior high school and later at Fairport High, he was drawn to humorists such as James Thurber, Donald Ogden Stewart, S.J. Perelman, and Robert Benchley, who wrote short works. He also loved the parody stories in EC's MAD, subscribing to its comic-book incarnation. Skeates set his sights on becoming a humorist himself and writing for magazines, but the popularity of television in the fifties drove many publications out of business.

Still desiring a writing career, Skeates chose his college based on catalog recommendations that it was a good school for writers. However, when he entered Alfred University in 1961, he chose math as his major, which he later called "a truly silly idea from the start." After a year, he changed to English Literature. Despite what the college catalogs had indicated, Alfred offered only one two-credit creative-writing course, in which the instructor, Dr. Ernest Finch, required the composition of only three short stories. As he approached graduation still undecided on a career, Skeates half-heartedly applied to various metropolitan newspapers for reporting jobs. It was at about this time that he discovered the new Marvel Comics being written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck. He became an instant fan. Then, "on a whim," he sent the four major comic-book firms application letters in the form of comic-book captions, "but with me as the central character rather than some superhero!" Marvel editor-writer Lee himself called with the offer of a job as his assistant.