Geof Darrow

Geofrey "Geof" Darrow (born October 21, 1955) is an American comic book artist, best known for his work on Hard Boiled; The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, which was adapted into an animated television series of the same name, and Shaolin Cowboy.

Character design and Moebius collaborations

Darrow was a student at Hanna-Barbera cartoon studios after studying at the American Academy of Arts in Chicago. In the early 1980s he worked in character design for the Super Friends, Richie Rich, and Pac-Man television series.

In 1982, he met French comic book writer and artist Moebius who was working on the film Tron. Two years later, the two collaborated on a portfolio of prints named La Cité Feu, later reprinted for the English-speaking market as City of Fire.

Geof has stated in interviews that he considers Hergé, Jack Kirby (who he worked with at Hanna-Barbera), Osamu Tezuka, and Jean Giraud (Moebius) as his artistic influences.

In 1986, Geof produced "Comics and Stories," a collection of stories starring his own character Bourbon Thret, for French publisher Editions Aedena. It contains several pin ups colored by Moebius, Tanino Liberatore and Francois Boucq.

Frank Miller collaborations

Moebius introduced Darrow to Frank Miller which led to a friendship and eventually two collaborations. In 1990, Darrow and Miller collaborated on the comic book Hard Boiled, a 3-part mini-series, for which they won the 1991 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist.

In 1993 and 1994, Darrow provided art for the role-playing game line Underground, published by Mayfair Games. Inc.

Darrow and Miller worked together again on Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot in 1996, a far more family-oriented work, in which the protagonists save Tokyo from destruction by a giant lizard. The story was later developed into a 26-episode animated series of the same name, produced by Columbia TriStar Television and Dark Horse Entertainment, which aired from 1999 to 2001.

The Wachowskis and Shaolin Cowboy

The Wachowskis saw his work on Hard Boiled, and approached Darrow to do some conceptual work for The Matrix. Darrow was credited as 'Conceptual Designer' on all three Matrix movies. His visual style is most prominent in the scene of Neo's awakening from his biomechanical sleep. The insect-like machine that attacks Neo is a classic Darrow mechanoid made up of tubes, viewscreens and riveted joints. He has also contributed to both volumes of The Matrix comics, a series of short Matrix-inspired comic stories.

Darrow has also contributed covers to a number of other comics, including Concrete, Transmetropolitan and Andrew Vachss' Cross, as well as illustrating a part of Vachss' Another Chance To Get It Right (1993).

Geof Darrow at San Diego Comic Con 2009.

Darrow started writing and illustrating Shaolin Cowboy in 2005 (published by Burlyman Entertainment), featuring Darrow's trademark ultra-violence, irony and meticulous level of detail. Seven volumes were released until May 2007. Variety reported in April 2009 that the Wachowskis and Circle of Confusion were producing an animated feature of Shaolin Cowboy, written and directed by Darrow, and animated by Madhouse.

Darrow is also the co-creator of the series Doc Frankenstein, written by the Wachowskis, with art by Steve Skroce, also published by Burlyman Entertainment.

Geof has also written forewords for other artists' works, such as The Art of Blade of the Immortal and Art Adams' Creature Features.

Outside of comic books and film, Darrow has also done some artwork for the Magic: The Gathering trading card series. As well as various trading card line, such as Witchblade, Star Wars, The Shadow and Mike Allred's Madman.

The Wachowskis also brought Darrow in to be the conceptual designer on Speed Racer.

Darrow serves on the national advisory board of PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children.

At the 2011 Toronto, San Diego and New York Comic Cons, Darrow said that Shaolin Cowboy would continue as a three-issue series with Dark Horse Comics. A "pulp-style" prose novel written by Andrew Vachss, with spot illustrations by Darrow, was released in 2012.

• 1991 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Nominee – Best Artist
• 1991 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Writer/Artist: (with Frank Miller for Hard Boiled - Dark Horse)
• 1996 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Penciller/Inker: (for Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot - Dark Horse/Legend)
• 2006 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Winner – Best Writer/Artist: (for Shaolin Cowboy - Burlyman Entertainment)
• 2012 Inkpot Award
• "2012 PROTECT Messenger Award"

Television

• Richie Rich (1982) character designer
• Super Friends (1981–1983) character designer
• Pac-Man (1983) character designer
• The Biskitts (1983) character designer
• Super Friends: The Legendary Super Power Show (1984) character designer
• Pink Panther and Sons (1984) character designer
• The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985) character designer
• Garbage Pail Kids (1987) models
• Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (1999) monster designs

Cinema

• Barb Wire (1996) visual consultant
• The Matrix (1999) conceptual designer
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003) conceptual designer
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003) conceptual designer
• Speed Racer (2008) conceptual designer
• The Spirit (2008) The Spirit butcher diagram