Cartoonist Basil Wolverton was known for his grotesque drawings, fantastically odd creatures, spaghetti-like hair, smoothly sculpted caricatures and insanely detailed crosshatching. His career in the golden age of comic books lasted from 1938 until 1952, after which his illustrations and caricatures extended into such publications as Life, Pageant and MAD magazines. Stylistically, he has been regarded as one of the spiritual grandfathers of underground and alternative comix.
Less well known and understood is his work for the Worldwide Church of God, headed until 1986 by radio evangelist Herbert Armstrong. From 1953 through 1974, Wolverton, a deeply religious man, was commissioned and later employed by the church to write and illustrate a narrative of the Old Testament (including over 550 illustrations), some 20 apocalyptic illustrations inspired by the Book of Revelations, and dozens of cartoons and humorous illustrations for various Worldwide Church publications.
Compiled and edited by Wolverton’s son, Monte, the 304-page Wolverton Bible includes all of Wolverton’s artwork for the Worldwide Church of God corporation. Recording artist and noted EC authority Grant Geissman (Tales of Terror: The E.C. Companion and Foul Play!: The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics!) provides an insightful foreword, while Monte Wolverton delivers commentary and background in the introduction and in each section. This volume is authorized and commissioned by the Worldwide Church of God and endorsed by the Wolverton family.
Many of the illustrations in this book are regarded as Basil Wolverton’s finest work. Still others have never been published, and some of the humorous drawings printed here rival Wolverton’s work in MAD magazine.
(While supplies last, all orders for The Wolverton Bible will also receive, FREE, a set of 10 Wolvertoons Postcards!)
We're pleased to present Grant Geissman's Foreword and Monte Wolverton's Introduction to The Wolverton Bible by Basil Wolverton for your reading enjoyment here on our website. These two pieces both provide valuable biographical context as well as background information on the creation of Wolverton's Bible stories. We hope they entice you to check out the book, which is due imminently.
We've been busy bees making downloadable PDF excerpts available for several new and upcoming books. Unlike previously, when PDF previews were only available to registered users, these downloads are available to everyone (and of course they're free)! Download links are available on the product listing pages for the books listed and linked below. Try before you buy with these nice juicy chunks:
Sweet merciful Jebus do we have an ever-lovin' load of books coming out in the next couple of months -- about a dozen of 'em, if all goes according to plan. The advance copies have been pouring into our office and we've got lots of preview photos and videos to share with you. We'll present one book a day here on Flog but if you're impatient you can head over to our Flickr page and gorge yourself on the first 5 sets right now, with many more to come shortly.
Today we're presenting The Wolverton Bible, which features hundreds of amazing illustrations of the Old Testament and Revelations by MAD pioneer Basil Wolverton. Click here if the embedded slideshow doesn't appear above or to open it larger in a new window.
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