Born in rural
Illinois, Metzger moved with his family to northern California when he was six years old. As a youth, he collected
comic strips and read such authors as
H. P. Lovecraft,
Robert E. Howard, and
Herbert Asbury. He studied the work of such book illustrators as
Fritz Eichenberg, and
Lynd Ward. His later work was influenced by his interest in
Maxfield Parrish,
Hannes Bok,
EC Comics, and various science fiction illustrators. After graduating from high school in 1957, he attended a two-year junior college, worked in forestry for two years and then returned to college. In the early 1960s, he contributed to fanzines and an
underground newspaper, followed by a period in the
National Guard. Obsessively drawing every night, Metzger could be found at his drawing board while friends gathered and talked around him. In the early days of the original
Star Trek, Metzger and several friends would gather every Wednesday evening to watch. Always a guest at the hippest parties in the Bay Area, he often carried a flask of brandy in his back pocket for all to share. He was friendly with the underground artists of the day, plus many Bay Area bluegrass and country musicians, as well as the
Grateful Dead. His best known creation is
Moondog, a science-fantasy series notable for its sophisticated art and elaborate imaginative framework. Published by the
Print Mint, it ran from
1969 until
1973. It has no connection with the character Moondog in
Jim Meddick's comic strip
Monty. His story "Routine" was published in
Graphic Story Magazine #16. The cover of Metzger's comic book
Truckin (
Print Mint, 1972) includes a self-portrait in the truck's mirror. In 1978,
Kitchen Sink Press published Metzger's
Mu, the Land that Never Was. That same year, he was a guest at
San Diego Comic-Con. Metzger later worked for several animation studios in
Vancouver, including
Marv Newland's International Rocketship Limited. In 2024, they released
The Lost Worlds of George Metzger, a collection of Metzger's comics work including rediscovered stories. == Awards==