It's President's Day in the U.S. It's a day to remember past presidents by having big furniture and car sales. Banks are closed, as are schools, local and federal government offices; we won't get our mail, but everyone else is open and pitching a product. The holiday was originally February 12, called Lincoln's Birthday, but it was decided to combine it with the February birth date of our first president, George Washington, given the name President's Day, and placed always on a Monday so those lucky enough to work in government or schools can have a 3-day weekend.
We seem to remember those presidents the best who died under tragic circumstances. Who remembers George Washington died sick in bed, attended by physicians?
We tend to remember, as in the cases of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, those who came to their ends via assassination. It's human nature: murder is interesting. So happy President's Day, everybody.
Rick Geary's Treasury of Victorian Murder graphic novel series from NBM is top notch. Not only is Geary an artist who captures an era with his cartooning, but his books are well researched and full of details. These pages are from The Murder of Abraham Lincoln, published in 2005. Geary has presented the facts in conjunction with his dramatic artwork.
I met Geary in the early '80s. He handed me several small publications he'd done, including one on the kidnapping of Charles Chaplin's body. I found his cartooning style, done with pen and ink to evoke something of the look of 19th Century steel engravings, completely unique. I have followed his career since.
If you like this excerpt, you can buy his books at Amazon.com.
Copyright © 2005 Rick Geary
excellent comic
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