S. Clay Wilson
Encyclopedia
S. Clay Wilson (Steve or Steven) is an American underground
cartoonist
and central figure in the underground comix
movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife
," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates
and bikers
. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix
, and Wilson's artistic audacity has been cited by R. Crumb as a liberating source of inspiration for Crumb's own work.
and later attended the University of Nebraska. He was trained as a medic in the United States Army
and held odd jobs before moving to San Francisco in 1968. Wilson lived in Lawrence, KS before moving West. He met up with Charles Plymell
, who was publishing Robert Crumb's
Zap Comix
. Wilson had been drawing since he was 12, and needed little persuasion to contribute to Zap. His work was praised by such counterculture icons as William S. Burroughs
and Terry Southern
.
Wilson was also featured in The Rip Off Review of Western Culture
, in which he contributed to the three issues that were published in 1972. The third issue of November/December 1972 has an extensive interview with
Wilson, interviewed by Robert Follett, the editorial director of the magazine/comic book.
According to Charles Plymell (an editor of Grist magazine), Wilson's first published work was in 1966 in Grist #7 magazine (a poetry magazine by John Fowler) and then in Grist #9, also from that same year. The first appearance of the Checkered Demon is said to have been in an ad in a later issue of Grist. His portfolio was printed the following year in 1967 (with subsequent printings later on in comic book form).
A striking feature of S. Clay Wilson's work is the contrast between the literate way in which his characters speak and think and the depraved violence in which they engage.
Wilson's later work became more ghoulish, featuring zombie
pirates and visualizations of the Virgin of Guadalupe
as a rotting vampire
mother. In many respects, however, his work has remained consistent since his emergence in the 1960s. In contrast to the many countercultural
figures who have moderated their more extreme tendencies and successfully assimilated into the mainstream of commercial culture, S. Clay Wilson's work has remained troubling to mainstream sensibilities and defiantly ill-mannered.
The main book collection of S. Clay Wilson's comics is the Checkered Demon Anthology Vol. 1 from Last Gasp
. The Art of S. Clay Wilson, published in 2006 by Ten Speed Press
, covers his prints and paintings as well as his comics work.
in San Francisco and drinking throughout the day, Wilson left the house of a friend and was found by two passersby, face down and unconscious between parked cars. Among his injuries were a fractured neck; it is not known if he was assaulted or passed out.
After a week in intensive care, Wilson was put on an accelerated therapy program, but still showed major difficulty in summoning words, a common form of aphasia
following a trauma of this sort. He had recovered enough to write his own signature in the first week of December, but continued to require hospitalization as of the end of December 2008, when a benefit was held to assist with his medical costs.
Another benefit was held in Hollywood in March 2009. Wilson returned home in November 2009, able to draw well and speak a little but still requiring special care.
("Tree Frog Beer" is the drink of choice for many of these characters).
Underground art
Underground art, as with underground music and underground film, is a term that seeks to describe art forms that are aloof to the mainstream art world, are illegal, taboo, unconventional, rebellious or revolutionary...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and central figure in the underground comix
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
movement. Wilson is known for aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas of "lowlife
Low-life
A low-life or lowlife is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community, especially those who exploit others for their own selfish purposes...
," often depicting the wild escapades of pirates
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
and bikers
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
. He was an early contributor to Zap Comix
Zap Comix
Zap Comix is the best-known and one of the most popular of the underground comics that emerged as part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While not believed to be the first underground comic to have been published, Zap is considered to mark the beginning of the "underground comix"...
, and Wilson's artistic audacity has been cited by R. Crumb as a liberating source of inspiration for Crumb's own work.
Life and work
Wilson was born in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and later attended the University of Nebraska. He was trained as a medic in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and held odd jobs before moving to San Francisco in 1968. Wilson lived in Lawrence, KS before moving West. He met up with Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell
Charles Plymell is a poet, novelist, and small press publisher. Plymell has been published widely, collaborated with, and published many poets, writers, and artists, including principals of the Beat Generation....
, who was publishing Robert Crumb's
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
Zap Comix
Zap Comix
Zap Comix is the best-known and one of the most popular of the underground comics that emerged as part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While not believed to be the first underground comic to have been published, Zap is considered to mark the beginning of the "underground comix"...
. Wilson had been drawing since he was 12, and needed little persuasion to contribute to Zap. His work was praised by such counterculture icons as William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
and Terry Southern
Terry Southern
Terry Southern was an American author, essayist, screenwriter and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style...
.
Wilson was also featured in The Rip Off Review of Western Culture
The Rip Off Review of Western Culture
Rip Off Review Of Western Culture was an underground comic magazine based in San Francisco, California. There were three issues in 1972. The publication was historically significant in that it brought together the work of many noteworthy underground artists and writers.-History:The Rip Off Review...
, in which he contributed to the three issues that were published in 1972. The third issue of November/December 1972 has an extensive interview with
Wilson, interviewed by Robert Follett, the editorial director of the magazine/comic book.
According to Charles Plymell (an editor of Grist magazine), Wilson's first published work was in 1966 in Grist #7 magazine (a poetry magazine by John Fowler) and then in Grist #9, also from that same year. The first appearance of the Checkered Demon is said to have been in an ad in a later issue of Grist. His portfolio was printed the following year in 1967 (with subsequent printings later on in comic book form).
A striking feature of S. Clay Wilson's work is the contrast between the literate way in which his characters speak and think and the depraved violence in which they engage.
Wilson's later work became more ghoulish, featuring zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
pirates and visualizations of the Virgin of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
as a rotting vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
mother. In many respects, however, his work has remained consistent since his emergence in the 1960s. In contrast to the many countercultural
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
figures who have moderated their more extreme tendencies and successfully assimilated into the mainstream of commercial culture, S. Clay Wilson's work has remained troubling to mainstream sensibilities and defiantly ill-mannered.
The main book collection of S. Clay Wilson's comics is the Checkered Demon Anthology Vol. 1 from Last Gasp
Last Gasp
Last Gasp is a book and underground comix publisher and distributor based in San Francisco, California.- History :Founded in 1970 by Ron Turner to publish the ecologically-themed comics magazine Slow Death Funnies, followed by the all-female anthology It Ain't Me Babe, Last Gasp soon became a major...
. The Art of S. Clay Wilson, published in 2006 by Ten Speed Press
Ten Speed Press
Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California in 1970. Philip Wood, founder and publisher, began his career with Barnes & Noble in 1962 and in 1965 at Penguin books...
, covers his prints and paintings as well as his comics work.
Brain injury
On November 8, 2008, Wilson suffered a severe brain injury. After attending the Alternative Press ExpoAlternative Press Expo
The Alternative Press Expo or APE, as it is more commonly known, is a comics convention. It was founded in 1994 by Dan Vado as an event for self-publishers, independent publishers and alternative cartoonists to showcase their books. It was originally held in San Jose, California. Comic-Con...
in San Francisco and drinking throughout the day, Wilson left the house of a friend and was found by two passersby, face down and unconscious between parked cars. Among his injuries were a fractured neck; it is not known if he was assaulted or passed out.
After a week in intensive care, Wilson was put on an accelerated therapy program, but still showed major difficulty in summoning words, a common form of aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
following a trauma of this sort. He had recovered enough to write his own signature in the first week of December, but continued to require hospitalization as of the end of December 2008, when a benefit was held to assist with his medical costs.
Another benefit was held in Hollywood in March 2009. Wilson returned home in November 2009, able to draw well and speak a little but still requiring special care.
S. Clay Wilson characters
- The Checkered DemonThe Checkered DemonThe Checkered Demon is a fictional character created by S. Clay Wilson, one of the leading underground comix artists of the 1960s and a contemporary of Robert Crumb.The Demon debuted in Zap Comix #2, in 1968.-Fictional character history:...
- Star-eyed Stella
- Captain Pissgums and his Pervert Pirates
- Ruby the Dyke
- Hog Riding Fools (motorcycle gang)
- Club Choad Charley (a member of the Hog Riding Fools)
("Tree Frog Beer" is the drink of choice for many of these characters).
External links
- Lambiek Comiclopedia entry on Wilson
- Interview with Wilson
- Wilson's Grimm, By Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, Illustrated by S. Clay Wilson
- The Underground Genius Surfaces On artist S. Clay Wilson, by Charley Plymell