Templeton first received attention for Stig's Inferno (Vortex Comics), now a cult favorite, which detailed the journey of its lead character into Hell in a parody of Dante's The Divine Comedy. Templeton recalled that after reading the three books of The Divine Comedy, "I fell in love with them as stories. It took a bit to get past the language translations, but for a year or so, I was reading different versions, off and on, as my reading on subways and buses, getting to and from school." Templeton first transferred this inspiration into comic book form with the intent of making it a strip in his campus newspaper, but ended up shelving the project until Vortex publisher William P. Marks suggested that he make it into a series. According to Marks, of the five series that Vortex was publishing at the time, Stig's Inferno was the most consistently produced on schedule.

 

He has gone on to do titles for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Bongo Comics, and Moonstone Books, including Batman Adventures, The Simpsons, and many others. He also created his own graphic novel, Bigg Time, published by DC Comics' mature readers imprint, Vertigo. He was recently editor of an independent Canadian comic company, Mr. Comics. Recent work includes writing and drawing stories for DC's Batman 66, based on the 1960s television series. He teaches classes in comic book writing and drawing, known as "Ty Templeton's Comic Book Boot Camp".