The Culture Corner

by Basil Wolverton

Did you ever wonder how to stop brooding if your ears are protruding? Or how to indulge yourself and snore without being a bore? Or for the masochists among you, how to sit on a tack? Or for the narcissists, how to contemplate the back of your pate? Or something as simple as how to get out of bed gracefully? Or something a bit more challenging like how to boot a fly off your snoot? Or, if you’re the violent type, what’s the best way to kick someone in the teeth? Or, for those striving for greater refinement, how to be particular and is perpendicular?

If these conundrums have perplexed and mystified you, the remedy is at hand: cartooning genius Basil Wolverton’s “Culture Corner,” an indispensable guide to demystifying life’s most worrisome and disconcerting social quandaries.

With his fictional host, Croucher K. Conk, Q.O.C (Queer Old Coot), Wolverton would posit the problem and offer a uniquely Wolvertonian solution over seven or eight panels, each one a miniature masterpiece of scandalous visual humor.

Wolverton’s feature “Culture Corner” originally appeared every month in Fawcett’s Whiz Comics (featuring the adventures of Captain Marvel) from 1945 to 1952. Each episode would tackle a different subject from the practical to the pixilated—”How to cross a busy street” to “How to tweak a beak.” Fantagraphics’ collection of the complete strips is the first time the little-known feature has been reprinted since its original publication over 60 years ago! Revered by aficionados, it contains some of Wolverton’s most outrageous drawing and his trademarked lexicon of wacky wordplay.

The Fantagraphics edition will also contain Wolverton’s original pencil versions of each strip, which have been carefully preserved over the years, and demonstrate a looser, more spontaneous interpretation of the finished strips.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comic Strips

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2010

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolverton’s “Culture Corner” originally appeared every month in Fawcett’s Whiz Comics (featuring the adventures of Captain Marvel) from 1945 to 1952. Each episode would tackle a different subject such as "How to Get Your Beard Sheared," or "How to Keep Your Sox Up," and on and on, every week a different topic. It was a half-page strip of corny "advice" from Croucher C. Conk, Q.O.C. (Queer Old Coot). Just that name alone captures the corny feel of it.

Now, it's interesting. I really thought Wolverton's sci fi work, Spacehawk, was "better," for my interests, more entertaining and interesting, but if you put them together, they show a guy trying various genres, audiences, approaches, tones, trying to do anything he could to reach an audience. Maybe the thing in common is this odd sense of humor, this unique tone I identify as "alternative." Seems like Conk is a kind of precursor to some of Crumb's goofy, big-nosed characters, though the atmosphere never gets as dark with Wolverton (in this pre-code period). We get pages of his roughs, too. One for comics history, and Wolverton collectors.

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverton's a funny guy. He loves puns, rhyme, alliteration, an eclectic, slangy vocabulary, and, of course, his trademark, grotesquely exaggerated comic images. This book collects a recurring feature he did for years in the 1940s and 1950s--a half-page strip of ridiculous culture advice provided by Croucher C. Conk, Q.O.C. (Queer Old Coot). The formula is straightforward: take a simple situation or problem: flat feet, how to trim your eyebrows, how to sit up straight, and provide an absurd solution to the problem (often one that would in fact be dangerous if not deadly). Many of Wolverton's roughs survive, as well, including several for strips that were never printed, and they're all included, so you can often compare the rough version to the final product. Fun book for those who like absurd humour.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Culture Corner was a screwball half-page 'advice column' appearing in Fawcett Publications' Whiz Comics for a decade starting in the mid 1940s. A simple formula ensued, whereby Wolverton would introduce a relatively straightforward problem and propose surrealist gag solutions to them. These were mildly funny bits, largely exaggerated by Wolverton's own bombastic illustrations. The main character in this advice column strip was Croucher C. Conk (or Queer Old Coot/Q.O.C.), who served as the absurd cartoon stand-in for Wolverton. Unlike many of his later comics that were steeped in more a more underground and transgressive style, these comics were fairly tame and light-hearted, so expect a little departure from the typical Wolverton aesthetic. The Culture Corner is a fun bit of memorabilia for this acclaimed cartoonist, even if it isn't the most reflective of his broader body of work.

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lively series of comics offering ridiculous cultural advice on mundane problems. Wolverton's art is wonderfully bizarre and his wordplay is loads of fun to read aloud. Like many of these older strip-like comics, though, it can become a little tedious reading them one after another.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of early, mid-40s, half-page humor strips Wolverton created for Fawcett - cute if you're a little kid, but not much there for adults. Nice art, and cool to see some of Wolverton's earliest work, particularly the unpublished pencil-only pages, but not essential unless you love Wolverton.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you need a light diversion, reach for this collection of comics. Each installment offers to solve a common complaint (such as flat feet or snoring) in madcap and surreal ways that hearken back to the heyday of Looney Tunes.

The collection of unfinished sketches in the back was a little much and may be of interest only to diehard fans.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably only for Wolverton compltests. Not a whole lot of strips, but good background on his process via inclusion of his pencils.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could stare at this all day, every day. Of the various Wolverton books on my shelf (Wolvertoons, Powerhouse Pepper, that big Last Gasp collection), I think this one is my favorite.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primarily for Wolverton fans only.