Review by Frank Plowright
It’s odd that Rick Geary should title his forensic investigations of 19th century killings as Victorian murders, as only the full opening volume occurred in an area ruled by the UK’s Queen Victoria. It’s presumably not a commonly used frame of reference in the USA given her reign began just over sixty years into the establishment of the USA, encompassed the Civil War and extended into the 20th century.
Whatever the peculiarities of the title, the results are unquestionably good, and NBM have repackaged them in two bulkier paperback volumes, although not in the original publication order. Here we have obvious crowd-pleaser Jack the Ripper, the assassination of President James A. Garfield covered in The Fatal Bullet, and the activities of Herman W. Mudgett under assorted aliases as The Beast of Chicago.
Anyone familiar with Geary’s absurdist work prior to embarking on this series was surely surprised to find it the polar opposite, completely avoiding narrative whimsy, although some eccentricity remains in the art. His approach was cemented from the first volume, beginning proceedings with a map laying out locations of the crimes or journeys taken, and then heading into the crimes themselves, followed by investigations into them. The presentation is very considered, sticking to proven facts, although commenting on speculation, most frequently in the case of Jack the Ripper, the only inclusion here where a culprit hasn’t been definitively identified. Geary also notes social conditions, prevailing morality and investigative flaws.
The quirky artwork serves the series well apart from the peculiar insistence on presenting faces with a form of shading that can resemble cat’s whiskers. Otherwise there’s neat encapsulation of people and a joy taken in their surroundings, particularly the Chicago that emerged after a great fire in 1871. Considering the potentially lurid opportunities, Geary’s illustration remains respectful and restrained, with sensationalism studiously avoided. This is especially apparent in the case of Jack the Ripper, where the corpses are seen, but shrouded, in shadow, or in silhouette from distance.
Beyond the fact of them being killers, little connects the murderers in the spotlight. Jack the Ripper struck savagely at night in the poorer areas of London, while the President’s assassin Charles J. Guiteau was pitiful and delusional. Mudgett, better known to history as H. H. Holmes, was a calculating planner as prone to disposing of his allies as he was people who booked into his guest house. Financial gain was always the motive.
Geary began his series in the early 1990s, yet the commonality of approach, distanced observation and in-depth research renders them timeless. If you’ve never been tempted before, this is an ideal sampler, and a second compendium followed.
