BASIL WOLVERTON: MASTER OF THE GROTESQUE (PART 1)

Basil Wolverton was an extremely talented cartoonist, but when he looked through the artist's version of a fun house mirror, his characters became some of the most unique -- and uniquely grotesque -- in comics history. He described himself as a "Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who Prowl this Perplexing Planet", and THE NEW YORK TIMES went even further by calling him "the Michelangelo of MAD magazine". His "spaghetti and meatball school of design" -- coined by the editors of LIFE magazine -- has few comparisons, and along with EC Comics and early animated cartoons, his work was the inspiration for many underground cartoonists, including one of the greatest, Robert Crumb. SoCal car customizer and cult cartoonist phenom Ed "Big" Daddy Roth also named him as an influence. Wolverton gained national fame when his "Lena the Hyena" interpretation won a contest and ended up on a MAD magazine cover parody of LIFE (#11, May 1954), as well as several appearances in DC's humor comic, PLOP.

A young Basil Wolverton hamming it up in a photo booth.

An early Wolverton cartoon.

Lena the Hyena of Lower Slobbovia was originally an idea by Al Capp dreamed up in 1946 for his newspaper strip LI'L ABNER. Instead of revealing her face (which would supposedly drive people insane), he asked fans of the strip to send in their ideas as a contest, the winner who would receive the princely sum of $525. The judges were Salvador Dali, Frank Sinatra and Boris Karloff (!). The response from readers was overwhelming and it has been said that there were over 500,000 entries, Wolverton accounting for seven of them. Other contestants were Carl "Uncle Scrooge" Barks and Jack "Plastic Man" Cole.

MAD magazine #11 (May 1954).

On 21 October 1946 the winner was announced and Wolverton's hideous visage was printed in LIFE and newspapers across the country, insuring his celebrity status -- at least for a short time -- as well as a place in popular culture.

PLOP #1 (October 1973).

What? Don't worry -- Spacehawk, Powerhouse Pepper and more Wolverton to come!

See more Wolverton posts HERE.

The "Lena the Hyena" segment of Al Capp's LI'L ABNER:

Basil Wolverton's interior work MAD #11:

THIS ONE'S FOR THE BIRDS

Besides being known as "The Master of Suspense", Alfred Hitchcock was also known for his deadpan humor. The ad campaign for his now 60-year-old film, THE BIRDS included the grammatically-quirky phrase, "The Birds Is Coming" and appeared on billboards everywhere.

If the article below was bird seed, it would be millet, but there's still a few morsels to peck at. It's from the March 19, 2023 issue of PARADE magazine, a newsprint insert for Sunday papers across the country that has been around for years. The cover is a graphic simulacra of the February 1, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.

One final note: When asked if birds could inherit the Earth, and which ones particularly, he answered: “Crows, probably. You can see that they’re working that way already. They hold courts, have a fair language and a rudimentary banking system. I like their chances of taking over.” The quote came 20 years before THE BIRDS was filmed!

A WEEK OF VAMPIRES (DAY 5)

In the last installment of the LIFE magazine Vampire Special, the final two chapters are on the vampire fiction of author Charlaine Harris, and "Friendly Forebears", a look at the humorous side of bloodsuckers.

More vampire happenings this weekend!

A WEEK OF VAMPIRES (DAY 4)

Here we have a look at the "Celluloid Sensations" of other vampires that have transfixed audiences over the years.