Dave Geiser arrived in San Francisco in 1969 after graduating from the University of Vermont and soon befriended a litany of musicians, writers and artists. He had been offered a fellowship at Yale University to study art; he chose to stick around San Francisco and explore the limits of the underground comix scene. Geiser turned into a prolific comic-book creator in the early and mid '70s, producing his unique comic visions in titles like
Saloon, Clowns, Demented Pervert, Honky Tonk, Pain and
Uncle Sham. Besides creating a dozen unique underground books, Geiser produced limited edition publications, rock concert posters, album covers, and editorial cartoons for
The New York Times.
In the late '70s, Geiser recognized the festering carcass that underground comix had turned into and he wrapped up his cartooning career with two of his best books,
Edge City and
Sloppy Seconds. Geiser's illustration style had often been jam-packed with imagery, like S. Clay Wilson's, but he took it to another level with
Edge City and
Sloppy Seconds. His panels in these books are more conventionally detailed than in his previous work, though they still careen about in sometimes-confusing compositions.
Being just eight pages long,
Sloppy Seconds presents one six-page story, "Mutant Patrol," which is about two guys named Orb and Rub who are exterminators of freakish monsters in a post-apocalyptic world. As they're wiping out all those mutants, they get the idea to start fucking them before killing them, which leads to unforeseen complications. It's a typically gruesome Geiser comic with ugly sex, but this time the fuglies are aliens instead of Earthling women.
After completing
Edge City and
Sloppy Seconds, Geiser moved to New York and took up fine-art painting again. His short-term success with underground comix helped him hone his observational sensitivity and bullshit radar. His long-term success with abstract painting is indicative of his polished facility with design, color and texture. Geiser was one of a kind in the underground comix era. Whether you are grateful for that or yearning for more artists with his vision says a lot more about you than it does about Mr. Geiser.