Lon Chaney Speaks

Lon Chaney Speaks is the life of the legendary silent-film actor Lon Chaney (the original Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame), as imagined by an artist whose work recalls the style and skill of early-era New Yorker cartoonists.

From the artist: “‘No one will ever love me!’ I believe it was this near-universal fear that makes Lon Chaney’s characters continue to resonate with us today. On their surface, most of them are distinctly unlikeable: they are monsters, outcasts, criminals. But through his unique magic, Chaney makes them empathetic. He pioneered the craft of makeup artist long before that term ever existed, and he used his expertise to hide himself from public view—what if nobody loved him?”

PART OF THE PANTHEON GRAPHIC LIBRARY

“[Lon Chaney Speaks is] . . . a thoroughly researched, lively, empathic biography of a screen icon who haunted my childhood. Lon Chaney was wholly devoted to—immersed in and perhaps engulfed by—his art. This fascinating tale is lovingly told, chock-full of details, and snappily rendered, with nods to classic cartooning throughout.” —Ivan Brunetti, author of Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice