| Rand Holmes | |
|---|---|
 Panel showing Harold Hedd, Rand Holmes' most well-known creation | |
| Born | (1942-02-22)February 22, 1942 Truro, Nova Scotia |
| Died | March 15, 2002(2002-03-15) (aged 60) Nanaimo,British Columbia |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
Notable works | Harold Hedd |
| Awards | Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame Joe Shuster Hall of Fame |
Randolph Holton Holmes (February 22, 1942 – March 15, 2002) was a Canadian artist and illustrator probably best known for his work inunderground comix. His work was of a higher level of quality than was seen elsewhere in the field,[1] and is considered comparable to such creations asGilbert Shelton'sThe Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers andRobert Crumb'sMr. Natural.[1]
Born inTruro, Nova Scotia, he grew up inEdmonton,Alberta.[2] As a teenager Holmes taught himself to draw by copying comic-strip artistsWally Wood andWill Eisner.Harvey Kurtzman later published two of his drawings inHelp! He married young and worked briefly as a sign painter.
Holmes moved toVancouver in 1969 and found work as an illustrator atThe Georgia Straight, a weeklyunderground tabloid.[3] TheStraight's publisher, Dan McLeod, would later say of him:
Here was one of the greatest artists in the history of underground comics, living in our building and churning out major satirical work about those who were out to destroy us, turning them into buffoons. He was a sweet, gentle man who helped us to seize the moral high ground when we were feeling beaten.[1]
He drew numerous covers for theStraight and created theHarold Hedd comic strip, which ran in the paper as well as in other publications such asThe Body Politic,[4] during the early 1970s. Described by writer Dana Larsen as Holmes's "most well known cartoon creation",[5] the one-page strip was collected in two volumes:
Harold Hedd: Hitler's Cocaine was Holmes's longest published story (in two issues of 26 and 30 p.), published byKitchen Sink in 1984. It received notable success among European readers.[1]
Holmes's work appeared in various underground comics titles:
He provided the cover for the debut issue ofGay Comix (1980, Kitchen Sink), and illustrated three horror story scripts forPacific Comics:Twisted Tales #2, #5 (1983) andAlien Worlds #8 (1984).
In 1982, Holmes and his second wife Martha left Vancouver and moved toLasqueti Island. In his last years he concentrated on his meticulous surrealisticoil painting. His reference library included works byRené Magritte,Robert Williams,Pablo Picasso andWonder Warthog.[6]
Holmes died atNanaimo, BC, undergoingchemotherapy treatment forHodgkin's lymphoma.[2]
In 2007, Holmes was inducted into theGiants of the North,[7] and a retrospective of his work was presented at that time at his Gulf Island home.[8] A further exhibition was held in Vancouver in 2011.[9]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
