WOLVERTON, BASIL - Human Torch #6 (Timely Dec 1942). large size, one page Dr. Dimwit story

Human Torch Comics (1940) #6
Published Dec 1942 by Timely/Marvel.

Basil Wolverton was a U.S. comic artist, notorious for his unforgettable depictions of wacky, grotesque and ugly people. His artwork has often been described as "spaghetti and meatballs", while he referred to himself as a "producer of preposterous pictures of peculiar people who prowl this perplexing planet". Naturally his style suited comedy and horror the best. Wolverton created humorous comics like 'Powerhouse Pepper' (1942-1952). He visualized the previously invisible character Lena Hyena for Al Capp's 'Li'l Abner' and designed the hideous woman on the front page of Mad Magazine's 11th issue, arguably the most iconic cover in its history. Wolverton drew various chilling one-shot horror stories for comic books like Mystic, Journey Into Unknown Worlds, Adventures Into Terror, Weird Tales of the Future and Weird Mysteries. It gained him a strong cult following, but Wolverton also broke with his signature reputation by illustrating various chapters of The Old Testament ('The Bible Story'). Although a polarizing artist, Basil Wolverton has a highly original, unique and instantly recognizable style, which still influences artists today. He remains the godfather of all "gross-out" cartoonists. At the same time, his zany and sometimes repulsive illustrations illuminate a sense of fun, elegance and charm.

Early life and career:
Basil Wolverton was born in 1909 in Central Point, Oregon. His father was a jack-of-all-trades who settled in Vancouver, Washington, when Basil was ten years old. Despite being devout Christians, Wolverton's parents divorced when the boy was a teenager. Around the same time his older sister died unexpectedly from rheumatic fever. This made Wolverton lose his faith for the next 14 years. The man had no formal art training, but loved doodling anyhow. Among his graphic influences were Sidney Smith, Rube Goldberg and E.C. Segar. Later in life he also expressed admiration for the work of his good friend Al Fagaly. As an adult, Wolverton made a living as a vaudeville performer. He had a special act where he sang in a baritone voice, played ukelele and tap danced. Others sources of income were provided by his job as a journalist/cartoonist for the Portland News. One of his most exciting assignments was visiting the set of the film 'The General' and meeting comedian Buster Keaton in person. In 1926 Wolverton sold his first cartoon to America's Humor Magazine. He sold his first comic strip, 'Marco of Mars' (1929), to the Independent Syndicate of New York. But the editors felt it was too similar to Philip Francis Nowland and Dick Calkins' 'Buck Rogers' and never syndicated it. In 1937 Wolverton applied for a job at the Walt Disney Studios, but was once again rejected.

Spacehawk(s):
In 1938 Wolverton finally managed to get his work into print, by entering the American comic book market. The science fiction comic 'Spacehawks' and the detective comic 'Disk-Eyes the Detective' found a spot in the short-lived comic magazine Circus, The Comic Riot by the Globe Syndicate. In 1940 Wolverton reused much of the themes of 'Spacehawks' to create the nearly identically titled 'Spacehawk' (1940-1942), which appeared in Target Comics by Novelty Press. The zany science fiction saga stars an interplanetary lawman who battleds space pirates and other malefactors. It was an early showcase of his talent for creating highly imaginative worlds and creatures.

Another early client was Centaur Publishing, for which Wolverton most notably created the 'Space Patrol' feature (1939-1940), published in Amazing Mystery Funnies, followed by two 'Meteor Martin' (1941-1942) stories for Amazing Man Comics. In Lev Gleason's Daredevil Comics and Silver Streak Comics he had a comic strip named 'Scoop Scuttle' (1942-1945), about a newspaper salesman. For Fawcett's Whiz Comics, he made a filler feature called 'The Culture Corner' (1945-1952), a screwball guide to life, hosted by a certain Croucher K. Conk, Q.O.C (Queer Old Coot). 'Mystic Moot and his Magic Snoot' (1945-1948) ran in Fawcett's Comic Comics and parodied Bob Kingett's 'Ibis the Invincible'. 'Bingbang Buster and his Horse Hedy' (1950-1952) was a western comic published in Black Diamond Western, another Lev Gleason title.

Powerhouse Pepper:
Wolverton's first major success was 'Powerhouse Pepper' (1942-1948), a humorous boxing series published by Timely (the future Marvel Comics)
Other Timely Comics titles:
Among Wolverton's more short-lived contributions to Timely were such melodiousnessly titled features as 'Prof. Jogg's Travelogs', 'Frink Clinkslink', 'Flap Flipflop', 'Inspector Hector the Crime Detector', 'Dr. Whackyhack the Wacky Quack', 'Hothead Hotel', 'Dr. Dimwit' and 'Supersonic Sammy'.

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