Joseph Vergel Riley (February 26, 1964 – September 27, 2007) was an American visual and plastic artist based in Dallas, Texas.

A painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and special effects makeup artist, he made horror designs for latex masks and for films, such as the 2004 superhero film Blade: Trinity from Marvel Comics, as well as conceptual art for children's animated series, such as Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius franchise from DNA Productions.

"[6] Riley was also part of the beginnings of the Church of the SubGenius in Dallas (see Works section) and a friend of its co-founder Ivan Stang.

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,[8] 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.

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.