The complete collection of Wolverton's legendary costumed crusader. Basil Wolverton is one of the greatest, most idiosyncratic talents in comic book history. Though he is best known for his humorous grotesqueries in MAD magazine, it is his science-fiction character Spacehawk that Wolverton fans have most often demanded be collected. The wait is over, as The Complete Spacehawk features every story from Spacehawk’s intergalactic debut in 1940 to his final, Nazi-crushing adventure in 1942. Spacehawk is the closest thing to a colorfully-costumed, conventional action hero Wolverton ever created, yet the strip is infused with Wolverton’s quintessential weirdness: controlled, organic artwork of strangely repulsive aliens and monsters and bizarre planets, and stories of gruesome retribution that bring to mind Wolverton’s peer, Fletcher Hanks. Spacehawk had no secret identity, no fixed base of operations beyond his spaceship, and no sidekicks or love interests. He had but one mission in life: to protect the innocent throughout the Solar System, and to punish the guilty. He was a dark ― yet much more visually playful ― counterpart to Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.

This is the first in a two-volume retrospective―collecting full comics stories, unpublished art, ads, etc.―and biography of the famous Mad cartoonist. This is the first of two volumes reprinting copious amounts of comics stories and recounting the career of cartoonist Basil Wolverton. Based on his correspondence and journals, the biographical portion of the books follow Wolverton from childhood to adult day-to-day life as freelance cartoonist, itinerant handyman, persistent contest enterer, and local pastor of the Radio Church of God. Wolverton lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest, unique among the first generation of comic book pioneers. In the precious period before the industry calcified into a commercial institution, Wolverton was free to work under the radar to explore in detail his weird tales of the future. The book collects all of Wolverton’s non-humorous comic stories and a substantial selection of his humorous comics, alongside dozens of pages of unpublished artwork, unsold features, and never-before-seen correspondence, including rejection letters!

The enduring cultural phenomenon of comic book heroes was invented in the late 1930s by a talented and hungry group of artists and writers barely out of their teens, flying by the seat of their pants to create something new, exciting, and above all profitable. The iconography and mythology they created flourishes to this day in comic books, video, movies, fine art, advertising, and practically all other media. Supermen! collects the best and the brightest of this first generation, including Jack Cole, Will Eisner, Bill Everett, Lou Fine, Fletcher Hanks, Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Basil Wolverton.

The hilarious spaghetti-and-meatball style caricature art of Basil Wolverton has been a huge influence on such art luminaries as Robert Crumb, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Robert Williams, and Drew Friedman. This publication of represents the very first time that the work of one of comicdom's major legacies is presented in a fine art tome. The entire book is photographed in full color from the original artwork. The majority of the work has never been published before. Includes essays by Glenn Bray, Basil's son and an artist, Monte Wolverton, and art writer Doug Harvey.

Klassik Komix embarks on an Odd Odyssey! Strange, weird, and funny fables from the Golden Age of comics. Several stories by the brilliant Basil Wolverton, featuring Spacehawk, Meteor Martin, Scoop Scuttle, Gateway To Horror, Bingbang Buster, Robot Woman, They Crawl By Night, and Jumpin' Jupiter! Also included are a Bikini Luv, Bucky Bizarre, Kongzilla, Ali Barber, This Is Your Wife, and the Looney Ladies! 100 Big Pages, and in color!

Who cares what a Jedi craves?! A true hitch-hiker knows that excitement, adventure and really wild things are what's totally hoopy, and all of these are in this collection of Klassik Komix. Meet the Blue Men of Bantro, witness the End of the World, sign up for the Space Police, trek with The Triad, a hippie gets The Power, gamble with the Earth getting a Second Chance, meddle with the Monster of Mars, mankind asks What Was It?, visit the Planet of Terror, submerge with Spacehawk, behold the Birth of Death, Clik through a menu of options for humans, go on vacation with space cadet Andromeda, track down The Traveller, welcome The Visitor, space babes bash Cthulu in Celestial Battle, and examine the Abduction of Henry Twigg. Keep your towel handy for these public domain gems from the Golden Age of Comics! 100 Big Pages!

The 1940s saw the birth of many enduring superheroes like Superman, Batman, Captain America and Captain Marvel. Outside of the superhero genre, the golden age of comics also featured a host of lesser-known, evil-fighting action figures, and this book contains a wealth of information about these heroes without capes. Covered here are jungle heroines like Sheena, Rulah and Princess Pantha; science fiction stalwarts including Spacehawk, Hunt Bowman and Futura; adventurers such as Kayo Kirby, Werewolf Hunter and Senorita Rio; and Western heroes ranging from Tom Mix to the Ghost Rider.

This volume continues Sadowski’s biography of the famed Mad cartoonist. It includes scores of letters between Wolverton and his editors and publishers and excerpts from his personal diaries, providing documentary insight not only into Wolverton’s day-to-day life and career, but also the inner workings of the early comic book industry. It is also chock full of Wolverton’s comics stories from this period, including 17 science-fiction and horror tales fully restored and never before collected in a single volume.