Rick Geary

Rick Geary
Geary, photographed at the 2004 Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco.
Born	(1946-02-25) February 25, 1946 Kansas City, Missouri
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Penciller, Inker, Writer
Notable works	A Treasury of Victorian Murder (graphic novel series)
Awards	National Cartoonist Society Magazine and Book Illustration Award, 1994

Rick Geary (b. 1946 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American cartoonist and illustrator.

Biography

Rick Geary was born on February 25, 1946 in Kansas City, 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 postcards 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.

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
• Trotsky: A Graphic Biography (2009) Hill and Wang
• The Adventures of Blanche (2009) Dark Horse Comics

A Treasury of Victorian Murder (series, published by NBM/ComicsLit):

• Jack the Ripper (1995)
• The Borden Tragedy (1997)
• The Fatal Bullet (1999)
• The Mystery of Mary Rogers (2001)
• The Beast of Chicago (2003)
• The Murder of Abraham Lincoln (2005)
• The Case of Madeleine Smith (2006)
• The Saga of the Bloody Benders (2007)

A Treasury of XXth Century Murder (series, published by NBM/ComicsLit):

• The Lindbergh Child (2008)
• Famous Players (2009)
• The Terrible Axe-Man of New Orleans (2010)
• The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti (2011)
• Lovers' Lane: The Hall-Mills Mystery (2012)

Biography series:

• J. Edgar Hoover
• Trotsky

External links

• Geary's official website
• NCS Awards