View source for Basil Wolverton

{{Short description|American cartoonist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = Basil wolverton.jpg
| caption       = Basil Wolverton at his drawing board, c. 1950
| alt           = 
| birth_name    = 
| birth_place   = [[Central Point, Oregon]], U.S.
| death_place   = [[Vancouver, Washington]], U.S.
| nationality   = 
| area          = 
| cartoonist    = y
| strip         = y
| write         = y
| art           = 
| pencil        = y
| ink           = y
| edit          = 
| publish       = 
| letter        = y
| color         = 
| alias         = 
| signature     = <!-- very optional -->
| signature_alt = 
| notable works = ''[[Powerhouse Pepper]]'', ''[[Spacehawk]]''
| awards        = [[List of Harvey Award winners#The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame|Jack Kirby Hall of Fame]]
| website       = 
| birth_date={{Birth date|1909|07|09}}
| death_date={{Death date and age|1978|12|31|1909|07|09}}
| relatives=[[Monte Wolverton]] (son)
}}

'''Basil Wolverton''' (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978)<ref name=lam>[http://lambiek.net/artists/w/wolverton.htm Basil Wolverton] at the [[Lambiek Comiclopedia]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20190221153527/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/wolverton.htm Archived] from the original on February 21, 2019.</ref> was an American [[cartoonist]] and illustrator known for his intricately detailed [[grotesque]]s of bizarre or misshapen people. Wolverton was described as "Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who Prowl this Perplexing Planet." His many publishers included [[Marvel Comics]] and ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine.

His drawings have elicited a wide range of reactions. Cartoonist [[Will Elder]] said he found Wolverton's technique "outrageously inventive, defying every conventional standard yet upholding a very unusual sense of humor. He was a refreshing original." However, there are some negative responses such as when [[Jules Feiffer]] stated, "I don't like his work. I think it's ugly."<ref>Both quotes from ''Wolvertoons: The Art of Basil Wolverton'', edited by Dick Voll. ([[Fantagraphics Books]], 1990) {{ISBN|1-56097-022-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-56097-022-4}}</ref>

He was posthumously inducted into the comic book industry's [[List of Harvey Award winners#The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame|Jack Kirby Hall of Fame]] in 1991.

==Biography==

===Early life and career===
[[File:Basil Wolverton HS Yearbook.jpeg|thumb|upright|left|Wolverton as a senior in high school, 1927.]]
[[File:Target Comics v3 7 page 58.jpg|thumb|Target Comics v3 7, art by Basil Wolverton, September 1942.]]

Born in [[Central Point, Oregon|Central Point]], Oregon, he later moved to [[Vancouver, Washington|Vancouver]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and worked as a [[vaudeville]] performer and a cartoonist and reporter for the ''Portland News''. At age 16 he sold his first nationally published work and began pitching comic strips to newspaper syndicates. His [[comic strip]], ''Marco of Mars,'' was accepted by the Independent Syndicate of New York in 1929 but never distributed because it was deemed too similar to ''[[Buck Rogers]],'' which debuted that year.<ref name=jim>{{cite web|url= http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/wolvertn.htm|last=Vadeboncoeur|first=Jim Jr. |work= Illustrators|title=by Basil Wolverton|publisher=JVJ Publishing|access-date=January 6, 2013|archive-date=June 8, 2011|url-status=usurped|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110608215602/http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/wolvertn.htm}}</ref>

''Disk-Eyes the Detective'' and ''Spacehawks'' were published in 1938 in ''Circus'' comics.  In 1940, ''[[Spacehawk (comic book)|Spacehawk]]'' (a different and improved feature) made its debut in ''[[Target and the Targeteers|Target Comics]]'', published by [[Novelty Press]]. It ran for 30 episodes (262 pages) until 1942.<ref name=jim/>

Other Wolverton characters include Scoop Scuttle, a newspaperman who ran as a backup feature in [[Lev Gleason Publications]]' ''Daredevil Comics'' and ''Silver Streak Comics''; and Mystic Moot and his Magic Snoot in [[Fawcett Publications]]' ''Comic Comics'' and ''Ibis The Invincible''. "Bingbang Buster and his Horse Hedy" was a three-page backup story in Lev Gleason's ''Black Diamond Western'' #16–28 (1950–1952).<ref name=gcd>{{gcdb|type=credit|search=Basil+Wolverton}}</ref>

===Powerhouse Pepper and Lena the Hyena===
Wolverton's humor feature ''[[Powerhouse Pepper]]'', about a superstrong if none-too-bright [[boxing|boxer]], appeared in various comic books published by [[Timely Comics]], the 1930s and 1940s precursor of [[Marvel Comics]], from 1942 through 1952.<ref name=gcd /> The strip was characterized by alliterative, rhyming dialogue, [[screwball comedy]] and [[throwaway gag]]s in background. The Timely titles, such as ''[[Joker Comics]]'', ''Gay Comics'' and ''[[Tessie the Typist]]'', debuted a number of his spin-off characters and features, including Flap Flipflop, The Flying Flash (who later appeared in [[Charlton Comics]]' ''Jack in the Box'' #13), Leanbean Green, "Cartoon Crime Mystery" featuring Inspector Hector the Crime Detector, Doc Rockblock, "Picture Poems about Peculiar People", "Funny Boners", Dauntless Dawson, "Hothead Hotel", "Bedtime Bunk", "Foolish Faces" and more.

Five issues of a ''[[Powerhouse Pepper]]'' comic book were released in 1943 and 1948 by Timely,<ref name=gcd /> but not all the covers were by Wolverton and many interior pages were also not devoted to Wolverton strips.

[[Image:Lenahyena.png|thumb|right|upright=2|''[[Li'l Abner]]'' daily strip by [[Al Capp]], introducing Basil Wolverton's "Lena the Hyena"]]
In 1946, Wolverton won a contest to depict "Lena the Hyena", the world's ugliest woman, a running gag in [[Al Capp]]'s ''[[Li'l Abner]]'' newspaper strip where Lena remained unseen beneath an editorial note stating her face had been covered to protect readers.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Markstein |first=Don |encyclopedia=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |access-date=2 April 2020 |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/lena.htm |title=Lena the Hyena}}</ref> Capp, responding to popular demand, announced a contest for artists to submit their interpretations. Among 500,000 entries, Wolverton's was the winner;<ref name="Secrets">{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Stan |title=Secrets Behind the Comics |publisher=Famous Enterprises |year=1947 |page=81}}</ref> it appeared in a ''Li'l Abner'' daily and ''[[Life magazine|Life]]'' magazine. Wolverton's fame briefly led to ''Life'' and ''[[Pageant (magazine)|Pageant]]'' printing his caricatures. The Lena portrait typified the unique "spaghetti-and-meatballs school of design" style he employed regularly thereafter.<ref name=jim/>

In the 1950s, Wolverton produced 17 comic-book [[horror fiction|horror]] and science-fiction stories for Marvel and other comic-book publishers, including one story by author [[Daniel Keyes]], which led to him being "hailed for creating uniquely grotesque monsters".<ref>{{cite news |last=Stanley |first=John |title=Comics That Draw Gasps, Not Smiles |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=September 25, 2005 |pages=[–] – 24}}</ref> Among these tales were "The Brain-Bats of Venus" for ''[[Mister Mystery]]'' #7<ref>{{cite web |title=The Brain-Bats of Venus |department=Horror Comics |website=Scary For Kids |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=April 29, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241106212850/https://www.scaryforkids.com/brain-bats-of-venus/ |archive-date=November 6, 2024 |url=https://www.scaryforkids.com/brain-bats-of-venus/}}</ref> and "Where Monsters Dwell" in Marvel's ''[[Adventures into Terror]]'' #7,<ref name=gcd /> the title of which was later used for a 1970s Marvel reprint series.

===''Mad''===
Wolverton first appeared in ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' with a single panel in #10, drew ''Mad Reader!'' for #11 and also contributed an iconic Lena-like image to the cover of #11, which was billed as the "Beautiful Girl of the Month".<ref name=gcd /> Although Wolverton contributed sporadically to the title—appearing in just nine issues over two decades—his work was memorable enough that, in 2009, ''[[The New York Times]]'' dubbed him "The Michelangelo of Mad Magazine".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/07/22/arts/20090723_BASIL_SLIDESHOW_index.html "The Michelangelo of Mad Magazine"] (slideshow), ''[[The New York Times]]'', n.d.</ref> E.C.'s other humor title, ''Panic'', edited by [[Al Feldstein]] (who later became ''Mad'''s editor for 30 years) also used Wolverton's art on a ''Panic'' cover, though publisher William M. Gaines was not a fan of Wolverton's work. Other humor magazines from other companies such as ''[[Cracked (magazine)|Cracked]]'', ''From Here to Insanity'' and ''Cockeyed'' also featured Wolverton's work, as did an issue of ''Ballyhoo''.

===Later career===
Beginning in 1958, Wolverton wrote and illustrated an abridged version of [[The Old Testament]] stories under the titles "The Bible Story" and (beginning with chapter 121 in November 1968) "The Story of Man", serialized in 133 chapters from November 1958 to November 1969 in the magazine ''The Plain Truth'', and continued for another 23 chapters in the magazine ''Tomorrow's World'' from January 1970 to April 1972. From 1961 to 1968 the first ninety-nine chapters of ''The Bible Story'' were collected in six volumes published by Ambassador College Press, and from 1982 to 1988 the complete 156 chapters (as 154 chapters, with 47/48 and 56/57 combined) were collected in six volumes published by the Worldwide Church of God.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/wolverton.htm | title=Basil Wolverton |date=September 9, 2024 |last=Knudde |first=Kjell |website=Lambiek Comiclopedia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2017/11/27/the-wolverton-bible-the-old-testament-book-of-revelation-through-the-pen-of-basil-wolverton/ | title=The Wolverton Bible – the Old Testament & Book of Revelation Through the Pen of Basil Wolverton | date=November 27, 2017 |last=Wiacek |first=Stephen |website=Comics Review}}</ref> In February 2009, the illustrations which accompanied the text were collected by [[Fantagraphics]] in ''The Wolverton Bible'', along with sixteen illustrations of the [[Book of Revelation]] (originally accompanying articles in ''The Plain Truth'', and reprinted in two booklets, ''Prophecy'' and ''The Book of Revelation Unveiled at Last''), a forward by [[Grant Geissman]], and an introduction by his son, [[Monte Wolverton]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Stein |first=Leigh |title=The Wolverton Bible |date=June 4, 2009 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-wolverton-bible |website=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nealumphred.com/revelations-of-basil-wolverton/ |title=The Revelations of Basil Wolverton Will Keep You Awake |date=April 3, 2015 |last=Umphred |first=Neal |website=neal umphred dot com}}</ref>

In 1968, Wolverton did the ''Ugly Posters'' series of [[trading card]]s for [[Topps]], displaying his trademark twisted headshots.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://potrzebie.blogspot.com/2010/02/topps-6-basil-wolverton.html | publisher = Potrzebie | first = Bhob | last = Stewart | date = February 1, 2010 | title = Topps #6: Basil Wolverton | access-date = January 6, 2013 | author-link = Bhob Stewart | archive-date = July 19, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719093156/http://potrzebie.blogspot.com/2010/02/topps-6-basil-wolverton.html | url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1973, he returned to mainstream comics, illustrating several covers for [[Joe Orlando]]'s satiric ''[[Plop!]]'' at [[DC Comics]]. ''[[Comix Book]]'', a joint production of [[Marvel Comics]] and [[Denis Kitchen]]'s [[Kitchen Sink Press]], featured two strips by Wolverton, "Calvin" and "Weird Creatures".

==Personal life==
In 1934, Wolverton married his Vancouver High School classmate Honor Lovette (class of 1927). They remained married until his death.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/DigitalObject/Download/3ae38b3d-46aa-456e-9175-233d67e8ca29|title=Certificate of Marriage |publisher=Clark County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1843–Present|access-date= February 6, 2020|archive-date=February 6, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200206223454/https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/DigitalObject/Download/3ae38b3d-46aa-456e-9175-233d67e8ca29|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Honor obit">{{cite news|url=https://obits.columbian.com/obituaries/columbian/obituary.aspx?n=honor-wolverton&pid=3556305&fhid=2246|title=Obituary: Honor Wolverton|newspaper=[[The Columbian]]|location=Vancouver, Washington|date=May 19, 2005|archive-date=February 6, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200206222831/https://obits.columbian.com/obituaries/columbian/obituary.aspx?n=honor-wolverton&pid=3556305&fhid=2246|url-status=live|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref>

Wolverton was baptized into [[Herbert W. Armstrong]]'s [[Radio Church of God]] in 1941 and was [[ordination|ordained]] as an [[elder (religious)|elder]] in 1943. As a board member of that church, he was one of the six people, including Armstrong and his wife, who reincorporated the church in 1946 when it moved from its original headquarters in Oregon to California.<ref>{{cite web | title = The Worldwide Church of God | url = http://www.isitso.org/guide/wcg.html | first = Pamela Starr | last = Dewey | publisher = Field Guide to the Wild World of Religion | access-date=September 15, 2012}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2020}}

Wolverton died on December 31, 1978, at age 69.<ref name=lam />

Wolverton's son, editorial cartoonist [[Monte Wolverton]], has worked for ''The Plain Truth'' and contributed to ''Mad''.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=July 2021}}

==Bibliography==

===Books===
Books by Wolverton or collecting his work include:
* ''The Bible Story'' v1–6 (1961–1968); reprinted 1982–1988
* ''Wolvertoons: The Art of Basil Wolverton'' (1990) ({{ISBN|1-56097-022-7}})
* ''Wolverton in Space'' (1997) ({{ISBN|1-56971-238-7}})
* ''Basil Wolverton's Powerhouse Pepper'' (2001) ({{ISBN|1-56097-148-7}})
* ''The Basil Wolverton Reader Vol.1'' (2003) ({{ISBN|1-56685-017-7}})
* ''The Basil Wolverton Reader Vol.2'' (2004) ({{ISBN|1-56685-027-4}})
* ''Basil Wolverton: Agony & Ecstasy'' (2007) ({{ISBN|1-56685-041-X}}) (reprints from ''The Bible Story'')
* ''The Original Art of Basil Wolverton'' (2007) ({{ISBN|978-0-86719-687-0}})
* ''The Wolverton Bible'' (2009) ({{ISBN|978-1-56097-964-7}})
* ''The Culture Corner'' (2010) ({{ISBN|978-1-60699-308-8}})
* ''Spacehawk'' (2012) ({{ISBN|978-1-60699-550-1}})
* ''Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Vol. 1'' (2014) ({{ISBN|978-1-60699-505-1}})
* ''Brain Bats of Venus: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Vol. 2'' (2019) ({{ISBN|978-1-68396-214-4}})
* ''Scoop Scuttle and His Pals: The Crackpot Comics of Basil Wolverton'' (2021) ({{ISBN| 978-1-68396-397-4}})

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web | url = http://www.wolvertoon.com/basilmain.html | title =  Basil Wolverton | work = Wolvertoon.com (Monte Wolverton official site) | access-date = January 6, 2013 | archive-date=July 23, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723030637/http://www.wolvertoon.com/basilmain.html | url-status=live}}
*{{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=4342}}
*{{Find a Grave|45296753}}
*{{cite web | url = https://www.angelfire.com/or/basil/ | title = The Basil Wolverton Website | editor-first = Gene | editor-last = Gallatin | work = (fan site authorized by Basil Wolverton estate) | access-date = January 6, 2013 | archive-date = April 30, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110430165629/http://www.angelfire.com/or/basil/ | url-status=live}}
*{{cite web | url  = http://madcoversite.com/ugoi-basil_wolverton.html | title = ''Mad'' Magazine Contributors: Basil Wolverton | work = Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site (fan site) | access-date = January 6, 2013}}
*{{cite web | url = http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/wolverton01.htm | title = Basil Wolverton's The Apocalypse | work = HollywoodJesus | access-date = January 6, 2013 | quote = Used courtesy of Zondervan Bible Publishers }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolverton, Basil}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American illustrators]]
[[Category:American fantasy artists]]
[[Category:American science fiction artists]]
[[Category:American horror artists]]
[[Category:Christian comics creators]]
[[Category:People from Vancouver, Washington]]
[[Category:Churches of God Christians]]
[[Category:Golden Age comics creators]]
[[Category:Mad (magazine) cartoonists]]
[[Category:People from Central Point, Oregon]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:EC Comics]]