George Metzger (born 1939) is an American cartoonist and animator. He was an

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

artist during the mid-1960s and early 1970s in California, eventually relocating to Canada, where he worked in animation.Vcon 35, October 2010.
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Biography

Born in rural

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, Metzger moved with his family to northern California when he was six years old. As a youth, he collected comic strips and read such authors as H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Herbert Asbury. He studied the work of such book illustrators as Fritz Eichenberg, and

Lynd Ward Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...

. His later work was influenced by his interest in

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spann ...

, Hannes Bok,

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...

, and various science fiction illustrators. After graduating from high school in 1957, he attended a two-year junior college, worked in forestry for two years and then returned to college. In the early 1960s, he contributed to fanzines and an

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

, followed by a period in the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

.Estren, Mark James. ''A History of Underground Comics''. Straight Arrow, 1974.
/ref> Later, he lived in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

and moved to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, where he resided for many years near the

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

campus. In the mid-to-late 1960s, he worked at Santa Clara's Hambley Studios, where he was a production serigraph printer for fine art print production of such artists as

Corita Kent Corita Kent (November 20, 1918 – September 18, 1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christian ...

. Metzger contributed to such publications as ''

Gothic Blimp Works ''Gothic Blimp Works'', an all-comics tabloid published in 1969 by Peter Leggieri and the '' East Village Other'', was billed as "the first Sunday underground comic paper". During its eight-issue run, the publication displayed comics in both color ...

'' and Bill Spicer's '' Graphic Story Magazine''. He eliminated dialogue balloons in " Mal-Ig" (''

'' #7); reprinted in '' Graphic Story Magazine'', " Mal-Ig" was a strong influence on

Paul Chadwick Paul Chadwick (born 1957) is an American comic book creator best known for his series ''Concrete'' about a normal man trapped in a stone body. Biography Born in Seattle, Chadwick grew up in its suburb Medina, where his father, Stephen F. Chadw ...

's ''

The World Below ''The World Below'' is a science fiction novel by British writer S. Fowler Wright. It was first published in 1929 by Collins. The novel was originally intended as a trilogy, but the third part was never written. The first part was originall ...

''. Obsessively drawing every night, Metzger could be found at his drawing board while friends gathered and talked around him. In the early days of the original '' Star Trek'', Metzger and several friends would gather every Wednesday evening to watch. Always a guest at the hippest parties in the Bay Area, he often carried a flask of brandy in his back pocket for all to share. He was friendly with the underground artists of the day, plus many Bay Area bluegrass and country musicians, as well as the Grateful Dead. His best known creation is ''Moondog'', a science-fantasy series notable for its sophisticated art and elaborate imaginative framework. Published by the

Print Mint The Print Mint, Inc. was a major publisher and distributor of underground comix based in the San Francisco Bay Area during the genre's late 1960s-early 1970s heyday. Starting as a retailer of psychedelic posters, the Print Mint soon evolved into ...

, it ran from 1969 until

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. It has no connection with the character Moondog in the comic strip '' Monty''. His story "Routine" was published in '' Graphic Story Magazine'' #16. The cover of Metzger's comic book ''Truckin'' (

, 1972) includes a self-portrait in the truck's mirror. In 1978,

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hard ...

published Metzger's ''Mu, the Land that Never Was''. That same year he was a guest at the San Diego Comic Con. Metzger later worked for several animation studios in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, including

Marv Newland Marv Newland (March 9, 1947) is an American-Canadian filmmaker, specialized in animation. Career Newland began a career making animated motion pictures in Los Angeles with the creation of the short '' Bambi Meets Godzilla'' (1969). He then desig ...

's International Rocketship Limited. In 2016, Fantagraphics Books re-issued Metzger's graphic novel, ''Beyond Time and Again''.

Awards

Metzger was the Artist Guest of Honor at

's Vcon 8 in 1980, invited back as the Artist GoH Emeritus in 2010.

References

External links

Inkstuds interview with George Metzger, part one

Inkstuds interview with George Metzger, part two

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzger, George 1939 births American cartoonists American comics artists American comics writers American animators Canadian animators Canadian cartoonists Canadian comics artists Living people Artists from San Jose, California Artists from Vancouver Underground artists Underground cartoonists Writers from San Jose, California Writers from Vancouver Canadian graphic novelists