Steve MacIsaac
Steve MacIsaac is a Canadian comics artist and writer who lives in Long Beach, California. He was born on October 21, 1969, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
He is best known for Shirtlifter (2006–2019) and the graphic novel Unpacking (2018). His comics focus on the lives and relationships of contemporary gay men, including marriage, dating, and sexuality.
Early in his career he published gay male erotica, and in 2006 he collaborated with writer Dale Lazarov on Sticky, a wordless graphic novel about gay men’s sex lives. Since 2006, he has concentrated on Shirtlifter, an anthology series that features short stories and longer works like Unpacking.
MacIsaac says he is less interested in arousing desire and more in how sex reveals character and helps build friendships. People often let their guard down when they sleep with someone, which can show who a person really is.
His work has received recognition. His short story “Ex-Communication,” with Todd Brower, was selected for Best American Comics 2010. Unpacking was nominated for the 2019 Lambda Literary Graphic Novel Award. He won Prism Comics’ first Queer Press Grant and a 2007 Xeric Foundation grant. His work has been collected in anthologies such as No Straight Lines, QU33R, Alphabet (with Todd Brower), Stripped, Boy Trouble, Blocked, and Best Erotic Comics 2009.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:43 (CET).