The Beast of Chicago

If, as I did, you thought that The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen didn't have enough about H. H. Holmes in it, Rick Geary's The Beast of Chicago will give you his life and crimes in graphic novel format.

The maps are helpful, as is the murder castle's plan for the second floor. There's a prologue about Chicago and the World's Fair of 1893. The prologue ends mentioning H. H. Holmes' place.

H. H. Holmes was born Herman Webster Mudgett in New Hampshire to a abusive drunkard father and a mother who couldn'r protect him and his siblings. Herman was a smart kid, but arrogant. He got married before he went to medical school. Herman started with insurance fraud schemes there. He managed to get his diploma, then settle his wife and their show more infant son before he went off. Two years later he was in Chicago, calling himself Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, physician and apothecary.

Before this account is over, Holmes has swindled, defrauded, murdered, and committed bigamy twice. I feel sorry for the wife, later widow, of the pharmacy that Holmes eventually bought out and, with the plot next to it, used to erect his 'murder castle'. I feel sorry for the workmen he cheated, and his many victims.

Holmes closed down his establishment when the World's Fair ended, and traveled with his second 'wife'. There was also the matter of his personal assistant, Pietzel's wife, and their five children. Don't get attached to the family. Sadly, Holmes was not arrested before he had managed to kill more than half the Pietzels.

Some pages are given to the investigation of the 'murder castle,' with most unpleasant details. We learn the eventual fates of Holmes and his building. The last page suggests that the site is haunted.

One piece of trivia not mentioned is that writer and editor William Anthony Parker White, whose best known pen name was 'Anthony Boucher' (where the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention gets its name), also used 'H. H. Holmes' as a pen name. He even wrote light verse under Holmes' real name, 'Herman W. Mudgett'.

This is a good, quick overview of a serial killer who, if he was not American's first, was certainly notorious. show less

The Beast of Chicago is a chilling and thoroughly readable account of the dark exploits of a truly unbelievable monster, and yet the measure of the story certainly rings true in the hands of an artist as talented as Rick Geary. The author has proven his ability to pull off this sort of complex narrative before, most obviously in previous volumes of the Treasury of Victorian Murder series. But the familiar elements are deployed with unusual panache in The Beast of Chicago, with both the narrative and the penwork displaying a high level of confidence and formal beauty. The only real downside of this book is the unrelieved grimness of the character and his deeds - it's all so dark as to be almost unbelievable, and yet the man really lived. show more A troubling paradox delivered (in this volume) by a master artist. show less

In the mid- to late 1800s, one man known under various aliases committed many horrific criminal acts. This true crime book recounts his story.

This may be one of the most interesting books by comics creator Geary to date. While all of his books are good, this one was particularly compelling because I knew absolutely nothing about H.H. Holmes before reading this title. That the man was clever enough to get away with so many scams and murders before being caught is astounding. And that his name is not more well known with the general public is equally unusual.

Typically, I find Geary's illustrations to just sort of be "eh" in these books. While they don't hurt, they aren't usually necessary to understanding the plot the way illustrations show more often are in graphic novels. But here the drawings really struck me. There was a lot of emotion conveyed, which made the story strike even more of a chord of shock at the crimes and sympathy for the victims.

Highly recommended for fans of history, nonfiction comics, and/or true crime. show less

Fascinating. Horrifying. Saddening. And Maddening. All at once. Rick Geary once more brings to life another age, another time, and another simple, unassuming man who was one of the first serial murderers caught and executed for his crimes. Although a very grisly, ghastly, and gruesome subject matter, it is nonetheless quite a book in Geary's inimitable style.

Beast of Chicago details the life and crimes of Herman W. Mudgett, the conman and serial killer who preyed on men, women and children in his boarding house during the Chicago World’s Fair. Beast of Chicago is another installment in Rick Geary’s Victorian Murders graphics novel series, and delivers on par with his other work. Geary’s style is similar to that of traditional action comic books, with a narrator that hints to titillating and sometimes gruesome conclusions and uses a lot of exclamation points to control the audience’s excitement level. Most of the violence in Mudgett’s story is alluded to by noting that this or that person was “never heard from again,” but there are enough references to sinister happenings to show more keep readers flipping through the pages. By and large this is not a high-quality historical resource, but it will definitely keep bloodthirsty teenagers entertained from cover to cover. Recommended for all public library (and most school library) graphic novel collections. show less

The true life exploits of Dr. Holmes are presented in graphic novel format with all the macabre details. The author bases his story on primary sources. Rather than pass judgment as to what really occurred, Geary presents the evidence on the case and recreates the story of Dr. Holmes as a narrative. Although the story unfolds as the story goes from chapter to chapter, the author explains the details are not proven. For example, the author reveals that Dr. Holmes earlier confessed to the crimes then later denied that he committed them. Also, Geary makes it clear that the whereabouts of many of his supposed victims were never uncovered.

I prefer the more whimsical side of Mr. Geary's work. It was valuable in terms of understanding the people involved. I'm getting ready to read 'Timebound' so I thought it would be nice to have some of that information.