Greg Irons
Biography
Gregory Rodman "Greg" Irons (September 29, 1947 – November 14, 1984) was born in Philadelphia and was largely self-taught, citing early MAD paperbacks as a formative influence. He arrived in San Francisco in 1967 and almost immediately fell into Bill Graham's orbit: his first Fillmore commission, BG-70 (Chuck Berry, Eric Burdon & the Animals, and the Steve Miller Blues Band; June 1967), was reportedly a rush job he turned out overnight. He went on to make roughly eight posters for Graham. After a stint in London contributing to the animated feature Yellow Submarine, Irons returned to the Bay Area and moved into underground comix — working through Last Gasp and the Print Mint and collaborating with writer Tom Veitch on titles including Slow Death, Skull, and The Legion of Charlies. In the late 1970s he took up tattooing, building a reputation in flash design. He died in Bangkok on November 14, 1984, struck by a bus while on a working trip; he was 37.
Why They Matter
Irons is one of the clearest bridges between two adjacent undergrounds: the psychedelic concert-poster scene and the underground comix movement. Where many Fillmore artists trafficked in lush optical color, Irons brought a darker, densely detailed, often macabre line — apparent already in his BG-70 debut and pushed to its limit in his comix work. His later move into tattooing extended that draftsmanship into a third medium. His range across poster, page, and skin — cut short at 37 — is much of what makes him a distinctive figure of the era.
Notable Works
- BG-70 (Chuck Berry / Eric Burdon & the Animals / Steve Miller Blues Band, Fillmore, 1967 — his debut)
- BG-85 (Jefferson Airplane, 1967)
- BG-166 (Butterfield Blues Band, 1969)
- BG-167 (Procol Harum / Buddy Miles, 1969)
- BG-193 (Chuck Berry, Fillmore West, 1969)
- Slow Death and Skull comix
- The Legion of Charlies (with Tom Veitch)
- animation work on Yellow Submarine
- 1980s tattoo flash