Rick Geary
Encyclopedia
Rick Geary is an American
cartoonist
and illustrator
.
, Missouri
. Geary was initially introduced to comics readers with his contributions to the Heavy Metal
and National Lampoon magazines. He has also created a number of postcard
s as well as illustrations for all kinds of publications. Perhaps his most widely circulated illustration is his logo
for the audiobook publisher Recorded Books.
Geary's distinctive cartooning style evolved from his early imitations of Edward Gorey
. His drawings typically consist of stark clean black lines against a white background, with a total absence of half-tone or shading. Even more distinctive is Geary's method of panel art. Most comics artists will draw several consecutive sequential panels of the same characters in the same setting: Geary, uniquely, almost never devotes two consecutive panels to the same locale or character. This creates a constant impression of jumping from one image to another.
Geary has drawn a variety of solo comic books and graphic novels for various publishers, including adaptations of Great Expectations
, The Invisible Man
and Wuthering Heights
for the revived Classics Illustrated
series and a kid-oriented Flaming Carrot spinoff. His most extensive project is his ongoing non-fiction
comic book
series, A Treasury of Victorian Murder. The series chronicles such 19th century criminals as H. H. Holmes
, Lizzie Borden, Charles Guiteau and Jack the Ripper
. In the series he often uses literary devices characteristic of 19th century popular literature. For example, The Borden Tragedy is narrated through excerpts of a period diary
, and The Fatal Bullet didactically contrasts the lives and morality of Guiteau and his victim, President James Garfield
.
The National Cartoonist Society awarded Geary its Magazine and Book Illustration Award in 1994.
A Treasury of Victorian Murder (series, published by NBM/ComicsLit):
A Treasury of XXth Century Murder (series, published by NBM/ComicsLit):
Biography series:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
Biography
Rick Geary was born on February 25, 1946 in Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Geary was initially introduced to comics readers with his contributions to the Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
and National Lampoon magazines. He has also created a number of postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s as well as illustrations for all kinds of publications. Perhaps his most widely circulated illustration is his logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
for the audiobook publisher Recorded Books.
Geary's distinctive cartooning style evolved from his early imitations of Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
. His drawings typically consist of stark clean black lines against a white background, with a total absence of half-tone or shading. Even more distinctive is Geary's method of panel art. Most comics artists will draw several consecutive sequential panels of the same characters in the same setting: Geary, uniquely, almost never devotes two consecutive panels to the same locale or character. This creates a constant impression of jumping from one image to another.
Geary has drawn a variety of solo comic books and graphic novels for various publishers, including adaptations of Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
, The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by H.G. Wells published in 1897. Wells' novel was originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, and published as a novel the same year...
and Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
for the revived Classics Illustrated
Classics Illustrated
Classics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies...
series and a kid-oriented Flaming Carrot spinoff. His most extensive project is his ongoing non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series, A Treasury of Victorian Murder. The series chronicles such 19th century criminals as H. H. Holmes
H. H. Holmes
Herman Webster Mudgett , better known under the alias of Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was one of the first documented American serial killers in the modern sense of the term...
, Lizzie Borden, Charles Guiteau and Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
. In the series he often uses literary devices characteristic of 19th century popular literature. For example, The Borden Tragedy is narrated through excerpts of a period diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
, and The Fatal Bullet didactically contrasts the lives and morality of Guiteau and his victim, President James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
.
The National Cartoonist Society awarded Geary its Magazine and Book Illustration Award in 1994.
Notable works
- At Home with Rick Geary (1985) Fantagraphics Books
- A Treasury of Victorian Murder (1987) NBM/ComicsLit
- Housebound with Rick Geary (1991) Fantagraphics Books
- Cravan (2005) Dark Horse Books
- J. Edgar Hoover (2008) Hill and Wang
- The Adventures of Blanche (2009) Dark Horse Comics
A Treasury of Victorian Murder (series, published by NBM/ComicsLit):
- Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
(1995) - The Borden Tragedy (1997)
- The Fatal BulletJames A. Garfield assassinationJames A. Garfield was shot in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881 by Charles J. Guiteau at 9:30 a.m., less than four months after taking office as the twentieth President of the United States. Garfield died eleven weeks later on September 19, 1881, the second of four Presidents to be assassinated,...
(1999) - The Mystery of Mary RogersMary RogersMary Cecilia Rogers , also known as the "Beautiful Cigar Girl", was a 19th-century murder victim whose story became a national sensation in the United States...
(2001) - The Beast of Chicago (2003)
- The Murder of Abraham Lincoln (2005)
- The Case of Madeleine SmithMadeleine SmithMadeleine Hamilton Smith was a 19th century Glasgow socialite who was the defendant in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857...
(2006) - The Saga of the Bloody BendersBloody BendersThe Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Osage township, Labette County, Kansas from 1872 to 1873. The inn was a dingy place called the Wayside Inn. The alleged family consisted of John Bender, his wife Kate, son John Jr. and daughter Kate...
(2007)
A Treasury of XXth Century Murder (series, published by NBM/ComicsLit):
- The Lindbergh ChildLindbergh kidnappingThe kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
(2008) - Famous PlayersWilliam Desmond TaylorWilliam Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
(2009) - The Terrible Axe-Man of New OrleansAxeman of New OrleansThe Axeman of New Orleans was a serial killer active in New Orleans, Louisiana , from May 1918 to October 1919...
(2010)
Biography series:
- J. Edgar HooverJ. Edgar HooverJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
- Trotsky