The Ordeal of Robert Mitchum

It surprises me that Rick Geary does not seem to be valued and appreciated as much as he deserves. His [relatively modestly-priced] commission list seems to have been open for, like, forever, and his most recent projects have been financed via crowdfunding. Speaking as an outsider, ie a non-North American, Rick Geary’s material appears to often be about the quirky, exciting and attractive glamour of the USA. I’d have thought he would be to the US what someone like Raymond Briggs would be to us in the UK: a National Treasure.

Two themes, if that is the right word, that run through a lot of his work are movie-star celebrity and true crime, and sometimes they intersect like in this example. The reason I picked this strip to acquire is not because I am a big fan of Robert Mitchum, although I have seen and enjoyed a number of his films and he is a remarkable screen presence (IMDB writes “an underrated American leading man of enormous ability who sublimated his talents beneath an air of disinterest.” What a splendid description, that could partially be applied to someone else.) but because of that drawing throughout but particularly of the mophead. How the heck do you draw a mophead like that? I have spent a lot of time with mopheads (that is not a euphemism) and Geary's delineation is as virtuoso an example of draughtsmanship as, say, Brian Bolland’s spaghetti man, or Wonder Woman’s hair as drawn by George Pérez. Absolutely incredible.

Sometime towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century RG with the help of his friend/representative Mark Rosenbohm started selling a lot of his work on eBay with low three-figure starting prices. This was work that he had been holding onto for twenty or thirty years. Being a fan since the late 80s I was a little worried as to what this signified, but how was I to find anything out? In the end I did nothing and I am happy to report that RG seems to be alive and well and as proficient as ever. The drawing in his latest crowdfunded project is as unmistakeably “Geary-esque” as it has ever been and the colourwork typically sumptuous.

It is well known that certain US entertainers – a comic film actor/director and an underground comic artist come to mind – who although not unappreciated in the US are looked on as near-mythic genius-gods in continental Europe. Here’s hoping that Rick Geary gets his due recognition and long may he continue.

[It was mentioned on Steve Wright’s afternoon radio show yesterday that today is the anniversary of Robert Mitchum starting a two-month jail sentence in 1949 for possession of marijuana.]