And while it may not have been his first book, and it's far from the first to find its way to another medium, it may be the most genuine Lemire-adaptation yet. Today, that story of - among other things - growing up in Ontario becomes the latest of his works to jump to TV, as it premieres on CBC Gem. It's based on where I grew up, and a lot of the people I grew up with.' 'I feel it's my first project and the closest to my life…. 'That was the book, I think, where I found my voice as a creator,' Lemire told CBC News. To him, it's Essex County: the book about his hometown, and that truly launched him into the industry - and helped him define who he was. But for Lemire himself, it's a much earlier story he holds apart from the rest.

If you're more inclined to keep up with original stories, you might be patiently waiting for the planned Black Hammer adaptation (Lemire's Twilight Zone-esque take on the genre) or the second season of Sweet Tooth (the post-apocalyptic, deer-boy drama produced by Robert Downey Jr.)įor the English lit crowd, it would likely be his books Roughneck, the Gord Downie collaboration Secret Path, the twin Descender and Ascender series or The Underwater Welder that stand out. The superhero-stories golden boy racked up credits at all the major publishers in the first decade of his career - on projects that would eventually find themselves in the industrial cinematic juggernauts of both the Marvel and DC TV and film universes.įor fans of those, it may be Marvel's Moon Knight, Old Man Logan and Hawkeye, or D.C.'s Justice League, Green Arrow and Superboy that his name brings to mind all huge names that found their way to the screen - as well as comics runs that, for a time, were under Lemire's creative direction. Then again, if you know a thing or two about comics it's unlikely you've managed to miss his name. Jeff Lemire may be the most famous man you've never heard of.

Essex county by jeff lemire