Joseph Vergel Riley (February 26, 1964 – September 27, 2007) was an American

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (the ...

and plastic artist based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. A painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

makeup artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions incl ...

, he made horror designs for latex masks and for films, such as the 2004 superhero film '' Blade: Trinity'' from

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, as well as conceptual art for children's animated series, such as Nickelodeon's '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' franchise from

DNA Productions DNA Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio and production company founded in 1987 by John A. Davis and Keith Alcorn, which is best known for its comedy films. It also provided directing, script writing, and production to its clients ...

. He was also a notable part of the multimedia beginnings of the

Church of the SubGenius The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. SubG ...

as St. Joe Riley.

Biography

Life

Joseph Vergel RileyDMN 2006. was born on February 26, 1964,DMN 2007. in

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,613,539, making it the ninth-most populous county in the country. Dallas County is included in the Dallas-Arlington-F ...

,USGenWeb (2002)
"Vital Records - Dallas County, TX - Birth 1964"
, USGenWeb Archives, files.usgwarchives.net, contributed by Chuck H. Mahaffey on January 31, 2002, consulted in March 2009 — Provides county of birth. U.S. His father was Rev. George Vergel Riley (alive ) and his mother Robbie Jean Riley (August 16, 1927 – June 1, 2006).LLFHC 2007 Joe Riley went to a career development high school in Dallas, Skyline High School, majoring in commercial art, graduated in 1982, and followed at college with stage craft classes and the video department. Riley became an illustrator and painter, a designer and filmmaker, a storyboard and

background artist A background artist or sometimes called a background stylist or background painter is one who is involved in the process of animation who establishes the color, style, and mood of a scene drawn by an animation layout artist. The methods used can e ...

in animation, as well as a movie

s and

prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

. He also made videos and audio collages, and sometimes comics. His defining career move was deciding to stay in Dallas: in a 2004 interview, he explained about not moving to Los Angeles, "I really wasn't interested in going to a large pond and being a small fish. I liked the medium to small pond that Dallas was. ..I wasn't concerned about working on big titled films. ..It was the work that was the thing... the craft." Riley was also part of the beginnings of the

in Dallas (see Works section) and a friend of its co-founder

Ivan Stang Ivan Stang (born Douglass St. Clair Smith; August 21, 1953) is an American writer, filmmaker and broadcaster, best known as the author and publisher of the first screed of the Church of the SubGenius. He is credited with founding the Church wi ...

. On his blog, Riley reminisced in 2006 about how Stang once gave him a tape of cult "kook" Francis E. Dec recordings that he lent to a friend who played it at a 1993 party in Dallas where Forrest Jackson heard it,Riley 2006, "Francis E. Dec, Esquire". leading to Jackson videotaping in 1995 the only documented encounter with the reclusive Dec. About his involvement with the Church, Riley was quoted by the Church's online zine '' The Stark Fist of Removal'' as saying: "I'm not into SubGenius for the religious aspect so much. I see the Church more as... genetic stuntmen." Joe Riley died of a sudden and unexpected heart attack on September 27, 2007, at age 43. He was survived by his wife, Penny Lee Harris Riley.,USGenWeb (2001)
"Vital Records - Dallas County, TX - Marriage 1994"
USGenWeb Archives, files.usgwarchives.net, contributed by Chuck H. Mahaffey on September 9th, 2001, consulted in March 2009 — Provides first marriage. and his 9-year-old son MitchRiley 2005, "Get Up Offa' the Meat Loaf of the Gods". (Mitchell Ian Riley).

Works

Eulogized by his friend Rev.

, co-founder of the

, as "one of the funniest, coolest, most talented, most patient fellows I have ever had the pleasure to know and work with",Stang 2007. Riley was involved with the beginnings of the Church as "St. Joe Riley": he worked on the syndicated program ''

Hour of Slack ''The Hour of Slack'' is a one-hour radio program produced by the Church of the SubGenius centering on the King of Slack, J. R. "Bob" Dobbs. Reverend Ivan Stang presents his own commentary, along with recorded material from all SubGenius radio ...

'' and most of the early SubGenius videos, including the 1991 SubGenius commercial for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

; he provided key illustrations for Stang's books ''Revelation X'' (1994) and ''The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack: The Bobliographon'' (2006), as well as cards for '' INWO: SubGenius'' (1997, an official supplement to the

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

card game '' Illuminati: New World Order'');

(1997)
"INWO: SubGenius Rules, v1.01"
1997, copy on www.sjgames.com: "Card illustrations by .. St. Joe Riley, .. he designed the official face of SubGenius mythos entity NHGH, and made the Church's rubber masks of Dobbs and NHGH (also used in the MTV ad). Riley produced bizarre masks and designs for

Funko Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories ...

or Death Studios, and

prosthetic makeup Prosthetic makeup also called special make-up effects and FX prosthesis) is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects. Prosthetic makeup goes back to the beginning of film makin ...

or designs for gore or horror movies,LMC 2004. such as the

vampire movie '' Blade: Trinity'' (2004,

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

) as painter. Riley also worked as conceptual artist on children's properties: he collaborated to the remake of '' Mighty Joe Young'' (1998, Disney/

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

) as post-production coordinator, and made designs for the children's animation franchises of Dallas-based production company

, such as the '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' feature (2001,

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

) and

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

(2004,

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

) as conceptual and storyboard artist, or ''

The Ant Bully ''The Ant Bully'' () is a 1999 children's book drawn and written by John Nickle. It is about a young boy named Lucas Nickle (also known as Peanut the Destroyer), who is the title character in the book and who likes to torment ants. It was late ...

'' (2006,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

) as digital effects and background artist. From May 1996-February 1999, Riley produced and hosted a Dallas, Texas, cable access clip show called The Hypnotic Eye, collecting and showcasing obscure film material, animation, trailers, commercials, and behind the scenes footage from other local cable access shows and film screening interviews. The series ran 12 episodes.

References

Sources

Main sources used for this article: * DMN (2006)
"Riley, Robbie Jean" (mother's obituary)
''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'', June 4, 2006, via

NewsBank NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched i ...

— Pay article not accessed, but abstract provides middle name and family data. * DMN (2007)
"Riley, Joseph V." (obituary)
''

'', September 30, 2007, via

Legacy.com Legacy.com is a United States-based website founded in 1998, the world's largest commercial provider of online memorials. The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths.Keagle, Lauri Harvey"Death in the D ...

— Pay article not accessed, but abstract confirms name and dates. * LLFHC (2007)
"Mr. Joseph V. Riley: February 26, 1964 - September 27, 2007" (online memorial)
Laurel Land Funeral Homes and Cemeteries, laureldallas.createatribute.com, consulted in March 2009 — Confirms dates and family. * LMC (2004)
"Life and Times of Riley" (interview)
, Latex Mask Central, October 2004,Undated interview: date assumed from

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's , and features user comments dated October 2004 too. 3 pages — Industry interview about his horror masks. * Riley, Joe (2005). – highlight textArchive.org may not have archived some

CSS Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone techno ...

subfiles that define color of text and background, and your browser may display an apparently blank page that's actually white text on white background. By selecting the whole text (using "Edit: Select all" or CTRL+A or such) you highlight it and make it legible again. if displayed white on white), Riley's blog ''Men-Oo-She-A'', May 7, 2005 — Wife and child data. * Riley, Joe (2006). – highlight text if displayed white on white), Riley's blog ''Men-Oo-She-A'', August 19, 2006 — The Francis E. Dec anecdote. * Stang, Ivan (2007)
"St. Joe Riley" (eulogy)
'' The Stark Fist of Removal'', October 6, 2007

Notes

External links

* at The Monster Lab,

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...

required)
Joe Riley
at the New York Times/Baseline * * (very incomplete) {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Joe (artist) 1964 births 2007 deaths Sculptors from Texas Skyline High School (Dallas) alumni People from Dallas County, Texas American graphic designers 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists 20th-century American illustrators Background artists American make-up artists Filmmakers from Texas American SubGenii Special effects people 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors