Basil Wolverton never drew Green Lantern or Spider-Man. He was never feted as a “hot” artist by glossy fanzines and his greatest works most likely caused readers to shriek in terror.
However, anyone fortunate enough to encounter Wolverton’s hilarious Powerhouse Pepper, his infamous Mad covers and his horrifying illustrations of the Book of Revelations will forever remember the artist as a truly unique - and undeniably brilliant - talent.
His warped sense of humor and twisted grotesqueries influenced a generation of underground cartoonists and has been singled out by such diverse luminaries as Clive Barker and Al Capp.
Wolverton’s work was recently reprinted in two volumes we highly recommend - The Original Art of Basil Wolverton and Basil Wolverton: Agony and Ecstasy.
For a brief taste of Wolverton’s genius, here’s a three-page story from 1954’s Weird Chills comics.
(And believe us, it’s both weird and chilling …)
Brrrrrr. Pleasant dreams, kiddies!
For more on Basil Wolverton, visit the official Web site of Monte Wolverton - his son and a skilled cartoonist in his own right - and The Basil Wolverton Homepage.
Don’t blame us if you never see the world the same way again!
