Thaddeus Shearer (November 1, 1919 – December 26, 1992)[1] was an African-American advertising art director and cartoonist whose 1970–1986 Quincy was one of the earliest mainstream comic strips to star an African American in the lead role.

Shearer was born in May Pen, Jamaica, to parents Samuel and Sophie (née Parnell), and raised from infancy in the Harlem area of Manhattan, New York City.

[2] Through Continental Features, Shearer syndicated two one-panel comics, Around Harlem, about teens and young adults in that Manhattan neighborhood, and the family-centered Next Door.

[6] After those strips were discontinued in the 1950s,[4] Shearer joined the New York City advertising agency BBDO, where he served as an art director for 15 years,[3] winning five awards.

[7] Through King Features, Shearer launched the comic strip Quincy, starring an African-American elementary-school boy being raised by his grandmother in Harlem.

... Shearer's characters were identifiably minorities in lifestyle as well as skin tones, and often derived gags from the fact, but weren't vocal advocates of change.