GEORGE WILSON
Master Cover Artists No. 1
GEORGE WILSON
George Wilson nasce il 2 agosto 1921 a New York. La famiglia si trasferisce a Syracuse nel 1935 e poi a Buffalo, dove George cresce. Da ragazzo, I suoi disegnatori preferiti sono Alex Raymond e Noel Sickles.
Frequenta corsi d’arte a Richmond per due anni e poi presso il Pratt Institute di New York per un altro biennio. Richiamato alle armi nel 1942, resta nell’esercito per oltre tre anni come geniere addetto alla mimetizzazione, seguendo le truppe in Normandia.
Dopo la Guerra torna a frequentare il Pratt grazie alla borsa di studio concessa agli ex militari, e torna a risiedere nella stessa stanza dove è stato prima del Conflitto. La sua padrona di casa è correttrice di bozze per l’editrice Harcourt Brace, e la stanza è stata precedentemente occupata dallo scrittore Carl Sandburg.
Divenuto illustratore professionista, grazie al suo stile realistico prende a produrre illustrazioni e copertine per vari editori di New York.
Nel 1956 dipinge copertine per i Classics Illustrated, e inizia una venticinquennale collaborazione con la Western Printing, che pubblicherà numerosi albi a fumetti con i marchi Dell, Gold Key, Golden Press e Whitman. Alla Western, Wilson diviene ben presto il copertinista per eccellenza, producendo copertine per ogni genere narrativo, per serie quali Tarzan, Turok, Son of Stone, The Twilight Zone, The Phantom, Space Family Robinson – Lost in Space, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, The Phantom, Korak Son of Tarzan e Star Trek. Per quanto sia ispirato dalle trame delle storie, dà libero sfogo alla fantasia, creando composizioni di grande impatto grafico.
In parallel con la produzione di copertine per I fumetti, è illustratore e copertinista per libri e riviste. Nella seconda metà degli anni Cinquanta e negli anni Sessanta contribuisce a diversi men’s magazines quali Adventure, Action for Men e Saga. Usa Steve Holland come modello per la maggior parte di queste illustrazioni.
Dal 1968 al 1972 realizza le illustrazioni interne per 22 titoli nella popolare serie degli Hardy Boys pubblicata da Grosset & Dunlap. Per la Avon Books, tra il 1972 e il 1975, dipinge sei copertine per la serie tascabile di Flash Gordon paperback e quindici per quella di The Phantom (l’Uomo Mascherato).
Lasciata la Western, Wilson si concentra sulle copertine per libri tascabili. Dal 1979 al 1983 lavora principalmente per Pinnacle Books (con 39 copertine per la serie di romanzi dedicata a The Penetrator), Jove Books (dove realizza copertine per i romanzi di H.G. Gunther) e Harlequin Books (copertine per i romanzi “rosa” della serie Silhouette).
Negli anni Novanta realizza illustrazioni per le riviste Wild West and World War II, pubblicate e distribuite per abbonamento dalla Cole’s Multimedia.
Nel 1999 realizza un ultimo quadro raffigurante The Phantom per la copertina di Friends of the Phantom, il newsletter di Ed Rhoades dedicato all’Uomo Mascherato. Purtroppo scompare il 7 dicembre dello stesso 1999 nello Upstate New York, dove risiedeva da 25 anni.
George Wilson was born August 2, 1921 in New York. The Wilsons moved to Syracuse in 1935 and then to Buffalo, where George grew up. As a kid, his favorite artists were Alex Raymond and Noel Sickles.
He attended art school in Richmond for two years and then Pratt Institute in New York for another two years. He was drafted in 1942 and served in the Army over three years as an engineer in camouflage, and even went into Normandy.
After the War he went back to Pratt on a GI Bill, and back to the same rooming house he was in before the War. The landlady was a proofreader for Harcourt Brace, and the room had been previously occupied by writer Carl Sandburg.
He became a professional illustrator and thanks to his outstanding realistic style he was soon producing illustrations and covers for various New York publishers.
By 1956 he was painting covers for Classics Illustrated, and was starting his 25-year stint with Western Printing, which published several comic titles under the Dell, Gold Key, Golden Press, and Whitman imprints. At Western, Wilson soon became the cover artist, producing amazing paintings in any genre, for such titles as Tarzan, Turok, Son of Stone, The Twilight Zone, The Phantom, Space Family Robinson – Lost in Space, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, The Phantom, Korak Son of Tarzan, and Star Trek. Though inspired by the plots of the stories, he let his imagination run free, creating outstanding compositions.
Parallel to his painting covers for comics was his career as a book and magazine illustrator and cover artist. During the latter part of the 1950s and the 1960s he was also working for such men’s magazines as Adventure, Action for Men, and Saga. He used Steve Holland as a model for most of these illustrations.
From 1968-72, he did line drawings for twenty-two titles in the Hardy Boys series published by Grosset & Dunlap. For Avon Books, from 1972-75, he painted six covers for the Flash Gordon paperback series, and fifteen for the Phantom series.
After leaving Western, Wilson concentrated on paperback covers. From 1979-83, his main accounts were at Pinnacle Books (where he painted thirty-nine covers for the Penetrator series), and Jove Books (where he mainly did covers for the H. G. Gunther series), and Harlequin Books (painting covers for the Silhouette romance series).
During the 1990s, he did illustrations for subscription-only magazines published by Cole’s Multimedia, namely Wild West and World War II.
In 1999 he did one last The Phantom painting for the cover to Friends of the Phantom, Ed Rhoades’ newsletter on the Ghost-Who-Walks. Unfortunately Wilson passed away shortly after, on December 7, 1999, in upstate New York, where he had lived for twenty-five years.
FUMETTOGRAFIA / COMICOGRAPHY
COMIC BOOKS
Editore/Publisher: DELL (aka KK Publications, Western Printing)
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art.
Four Color #737 [Steve Canyon], 794 [The Count of Monte Cristo], 900 [Prince Valiant], 939 [Steve Canyon], 1243 [Ellery Queen Detective], 1245 [New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes], 1288 [The Twilight Zone] (1956/57/59/61/62).
Indian Chief #26-33 (195?-59).
Jungle Jim #19 (1959).
March of Comics #204 (?) [Tarzan] (1960).
Tarzan #111-113, 117, 121-131 (1959-62).
Turok, Son of Stone #15, 16, 20, 24-29 (1959-62).
The Twilight Zone #01-860-207, 12-860-210 (1962).
Editore/Publisher: GILBERTON
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art.
The Time Machine [Classics Illustrated #133] (1956).
Treasure Island [Classics Illustrated #64] (1956).
Editore/Publisher: GOLD KEY (aka KK Publications, Western Publishing, Whitman)
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art. Le ristampe non sono elencate / reprints are not listed.
Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #3-22, 24-50, 52-54, 59, 60, 65-67, 69-72, 81, 85 (1963-78).
Brothers of the Spear #2, 3, 4(?), 5-11, 13-17 (1972-76).
Captain Venture and the Land Beneath the Sea #1 (1968).
City Surgeon #1 (1963) [Wilson?].
Dagar the Invincible #1-10, 12 (1972-75).
Dark Shadows #8-19, 20 (?), 21-28, 30 (1969-75).
Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #6-10, 15, 17-27 (1963-69).
Flash Gordon #1, 19, 20, 23-28, 34 (1965/78-81).
Gold Key Champion #1 [Lost in Space], 2 [Mighty Samson] (1978).
Grimm’s Ghost Stories #1-13, 16-22, 25, 29, 31, 35, 41 (?), 42 (1972-77).
Jet Dream #1 (1968).
The Jungle Twins #1-17 (1972-75).
King Kong #1 (1968).
Korak Son of Tarzan #13-43, 45 (1966-72).
Magnus Robot Fighter #1 [with Russ Manning], 2-4, 6-13, 20 (1963-67).
March of Comics #234 [Smokey the Bear], 252 [Tarzan], 320 (?) [Space Family Robinson Lost in Space], 322 [The Lone Ranger], 328 [Space Family Robinson Lost in Space], 332 [Tarzan], 342 [Tarzan], 352 [Space Family Robinson Lost in Space], 354 [Tarzan], 378 [Turok, Son of Stone], 394 [Lassie], 399 [Turok, Son of Stone], 404 [Space Family Robinson Lost in Space], 408 [Turok, Son of Stone], 411 [Lassie], 414 [Space Family Robinson], (1960/62/63/68-71/73-76).
M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War #3-6, 8-10 (1965-69).
The Microbots #1 (1971).
Mighty Samson #3, 5, 6, 8, 9-20 (1965-69).
Mystery Comics Digest #1, 2, 4, 5 (1972).
The Phantom #1-4, 5 (?), 6-11, 15-17 (1962-66).
Ripley’s Believe It or Not #2-16, 21-65, 69, 76 (1966-78).
Ripley's Believe It or Not! Story Digest Magazine #1 (1970).
Space Family Robinson – Lost in Space #1-54 (1962-77).
Star Trek #10-29, 31-44, 53, 57 (1971-78).
Steve Zodiac and the Fireball XL 5 #1 (1964).
Tarzan of the Apes #132-138, 140-142, 144-149, 151, 154-161, 163, 164, 167, 169, 170, 172-177, 179-182, 184, 187-206 (1962-72).
Tarzan of the Apes Story Digest Magazine #1 (1970).
The Time Tunnel #1, 2 (1967).
Total War #1, 2 (1965).
The Travels of Jamie McPheeters #1 (1963).
Turok, Son of Stone #30-35, 37-53, 55, 56, 62, 64-74, 76-86, 89-92, 96, 98-100, 102-111, 113-119, 121, 123, 126, 127 (1962-81).
The Twilight Zone #1-3, 5-20, 22-25, 28, 30, 32-58, 61, 67 (?), 68, 72, 75, 78, 90, 91 (?) (1962-79).
UFO Encounters #11192 (1978).
UFO Flying Saucers #1-6, 8-13 (1968-77).
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea #1-5, 8-13 (1964-68).
ILLUSTRAZIONI PER LIBRI E RIVISTE / BOOK AND MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATION
Editore/Publisher: AVON BOOKS
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art.
Flash Gordon #1: The Lion Men of Mongo (#18515, 1974).
Flash Gordon #2: The Plague of Sound (#19166, 1974).
Flash Gordon #3: The Space Circus (#19695, 1974).
Flash Gordon #4: The Witch Queen of Mongo (#21378, 1974).
Flash Gordon #5: The War of the Cybernauts (#22335, 1975).
Flash Gordon #6: The Time Trap of Ming XIII (#20446, 1974).
The Story of the Phantom #1: The Ghost Who Walks (#V2480, 1972).
The Story of the Phantom #2: The Slave Market of Mucar (#V2470, 1972).
The Story of the Phantom #3: The Scorpia Menace (#V2481, 1972).
The Story of the Phantom #4: The Veiled Lady (#14498, 1973).
The Story of the Phantom #5: The Golden Circle (#14894, 1973).
The Story of the Phantom #6: The Mysterious Ambassador (#15545, 1973).
The Story of the Phantom #7: The Mystery of the Sea Horse (#15867, 1973).
The Story of the Phantom #8: The Hydra Monster (#17061, 1973).
The Story of the Phantom #9: Killer’s Town (#17731, 1973).
The Story of the Phantom #10: The Goggle-Eyed Pirates (#18184, 1974).
The Story of the Phantom #11: The Swamp Rats (#18820, 1974).
The Story of the Phantom #12: The Vampires & the Witch (#19406, 1974).
The Story of the Phantom #13: The Island of Dogs (#23085, 1975).
The Story of the Phantom #14: The Assassins (#23283, 1975).
The Story of the Phantom #15: The Curse of the Two-Headed Bull (#24729, 1975).
Editore/Publisher: BANTAM BOOKS
Longhorn Territory (#26904-6, 1987) – Copertina / Cover art.
Editore/Publisher: BARD PUBLISHING CORPORATION
Western Gunfight – Copertina a tempera / Painted cover art c.1957.
Editore/Publisher: COLE’S MULTIMEDIA
Wild West Magazine (1990s) – Illustrazioni / Illustrations.
World War II (1990s) – Illustrazioni / Illustrations.
Editore/Publisher: DELL PUBLISHING CO.
John F. Kennedy: War Hero (#F194, 1963) – Copertina a tempera / Painted cover art.
Editore/Publisher: DUELL, SLOAN & PEARCE
The Tenth Show Summer (1963) – Sovraccoperta / Jacket design.
Zarga’s Shadow (1966) – Illustrazioni / Illustrations.
Editore/Publisher: FAWCETT PUBLICATIONS
Cavalier – Illustrazioni / Illustrations 01/1954 et al.
Editore/Publisher: GROSSET & DUNLAP
NOTE: Illustrazioni / Illustrations.
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #15: The Sinister Sign Post (1968).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #18: The Twisted Claw (1969).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #20: The Mystery of the Flying Express (1970).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #21: The Clue of the Broken Blade (1970).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #22: The Flickering Torch Mystery (1971).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #23: The Melted Coins (1970).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #25: The Secret Panel (1969).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #26: The Phantom Freighter (1970).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #28: The Sign of the Crooked Arrow (1970).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #29: The Secret of the Lost Tunnel (1968).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #30: The Wailing Siren Mystery (1968).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #31: The Secret Of Wildcat Swamp (1969).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #32: The Crisscross Shadow (1969).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #33: The Yellow Feather Mystery (1971).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #34: The Hooded Hawk Mystery (1971).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #35: The Clue In The Embers (1972).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #36: The Secret Of Pirates’ Hill (1972).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #37: The Ghost At Skeleton Rock (1966).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #48: The Arctic Patrol Mystery (1969).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #49: The Bombay Boomerang (1970).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #50: Danger On Vampire Trail (1971).
The Hardy Boys’ Mysteries #51: The Masked Monkey (1972).
Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1967).
Editore/Publisher: HARLEQUIN BOOKS
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art.
Silhouette romance novel series (1983-92).
Editore/Publisher: HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
Builders of Emerging Nations (1961) – Dust jacket illustration.
Editore/Publisher: JOVE BOOKS
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art.
The Desert Doctor (#Y5675, 1980).
Dr. Erica Werner (1981).
Easy Company and the Bible Salesman (1983).
Island in the Sky (1981).
Private Hell (1981).
The Ravishing Doctor (1980).
Summer with Danica (1981).
Editore/Publisher: LITERARY ENTERPRISES
See for Men – Copertine e illustrazioni / Cover art and illustrations c.1957-64.
Editore/Publisher: MACFADDEN PUBLICATIONS
Saga – Illustrazioni / Illustrations 1957.
Editore/Publisher: MALE PUBLISHING CORPORATION
Male – Illustrazioni / Illustrations 11/1960 et al.
Editore/Publisher: MEREDITH PRESS
They Peopled the Pacific: How Man Conquered the Largest Ocean From Prehistory to the Present (1964). R in 1967.
Editore/Publisher: NEW PUBLICATIONS
Adventure – Illustrazioni / Illustrations 12/1959 et al.
Editore/Publisher: PINNACLE BOOKS
NOTE: Copertine a tempera / Painted cover art.
The Evil That Waited (1973).
The Penetrator #15: The Quebec Connection (#220882, 1976).
The Penetrator #16: Deepsea Shootout (#220912, 1976).
The Penetrator #17: Demented Empire (#220951, 1976).
The Penetrator #18: Countdown to Terror (#220995, 1/1977).
The Penetrator #19: Panama Power Play (#40-020, 1/1977).
The Penetrator #20: The Radiation Hit (#40-044, 1977).
The Penetrator #21: The Supergun Mission (#40-079, 7/1977).
The Penetrator #22: High Disaster (#40-067, 8/1977).
The Penetrator #23: Divine Death (#40-085, 11/1977).
The Penetrator #24: Cryogenic Nightmare (#40-177, 1978).
The Penetrator #25: Floating Death (#40-178, 4/1978).
The Penetrator #26: Mexican Brown (#40-179, 1978).
The Penetrator #27: The Animal Game (#40-180, 1978).
The Penetrator #28: The Sky-High Betrayers (#40-268, 11/1978).
The Penetrator #29: Aryan Onslaught (#40-269, 1/1979).
The Penetrator #30: Computer Kill (#40-270, 3/1979).
The Penetrator #31: Oklahoma Firefight (#40-363, 5/1979).
The Penetrator #32: Showbiz Wipeout (#40-514, 7/1979).
The Penetrator #33: Satellite Slaughter (#40-513, 9/1979).
The Penetrator #34: Death Ray Terror (#40-631, 1979).
The Penetrator #35: Black Massacre (#40-632, 3/1980).
The Penetrator #36: Deadly Silence (#40-673, 6/1980).
The Penetrator #37: Candidate’s Blood (#40-674, 1980).
The Penetrator #38: Hawaiian Trackdown (#40-923, 9/1980).
The Penetrator #39: Cruise Into Chaos (#40-924, 10/1980).
The Penetrator #40: Assassination Factor (#41-114, 12/1980).
The Penetrator #41: Hell’s Hostages (#41-116, 2/1981).
The Penetrator #42: Inca Gold Hijack (#41-153, 5/1981).
The Penetrator #43: Rampage in Rio (#41-157, 9/1981)
The Penetrator #44: Deep Cover Blast Off (#41-407, 12/1981).
The Penetrator #45: Quaking Terror (41-398, 1/1982).
The Penetrator #46: Terrorist Torment (#41-553, 1982).
The Penetrator #47: Orphan Army (#41-554, 1982).
The Penetrator #48: Jungle Blitz (#41-680, 1982).
The Penetrator #49: Satan’s Swarm (#41-681, 12/1982).
The Penetrator #50: Neutron Nightmare (#41-735, 3/1983).
The Penetrator #51: Plundered Paradise (#41-736, 1983).
The Penetrator #52: Brotherhood of Blood (#41-957, 10/1983).
The Penetrator #53: City of the Dead (#41-958, 1984).
Editore/Publisher: VISTA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Action for Men – Illustrazioni / Illustrations 11/1964 et al.