Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

and a key member of the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that 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 ...

movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', ''

Fat Freddy's Cat Fat Freddy's Cat is a fictional orange Tabby cat, nominally belonging to Fat Freddy Freekowtski, one of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, a trio featured in Gilbert Shelton's underground comix. While the Cat is usually featured in a small ' topp ...

'', and ''

Wonder Wart-Hog Wonder Wart-Hog (the "Hog of Steel") is an underground comic book character, a porcine parody of Superman, created by Gilbert Shelton and first published in 1962. Over the years, Shelton has worked on the strip in collaboration with various writer ...

''.

Biography

Early life and education

Shelton was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. He graduated from Lamar High School in Houston. He attended

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

, and the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where he received his bachelor's degree in the social sciences in 1961. His early cartoons were published in the University of Texas' humor magazine '' The Texas Ranger''.

Early career

Directly after graduation, Shelton moved to New York City and got a job editing automotive magazines, where he would sneak his drawings into print. Early work of his was published in Warren Publishing's '' Help!'' The idea for the character of ''Wonder Wart-Hog'', a porcine parody of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

, came to him in 1961. The following year, Shelton moved back to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

to enroll in graduate school and get a student deferment from the draft. The first two ''Wonder Wart-Hog'' stories appeared in ''Bacchanal'', a short-lived college humor magazine, in the spring of 1962. That same year, he published (in

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

form)

Frank Stack Frank Huntington Stack (born October 31, 1937 in Houston, Texas) is an American underground cartoonist and fine artist. Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the Bible Belt, Stack published wh ...

's ''The Adventures of Jesus'', one of the first underground comix; Stack wrote and drew the comic strip under the name Foolbert Sturgeon. Shelton then became editor of '' The Texas Ranger''Shelton entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''
Accessed November 5, 2016. and published more ''Wonder Wart-Hog'' stories. After switching from graduate school to art school (where he befriended singer

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage presence. ...

) for two years, he was finally drafted, but Army doctors declared him medically unfit after he admitted to taking

psychedelic drug Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...

s. After this, in 1964 and 1965, he spent some time in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, where his girlfriend Pat Brown (another UT alum)Holland, Richard A. ''The Texas Book: Profiles, History, and Reminiscences of the University'' (University of Texas Press, 2006), pp. 223–299. was studying at the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at firs ...

. He applied for a job at the Cleveland-based American Greeting Card Company (where a fellow

underground comic Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that 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, ...

artist Robert Crumb had worked) but was turned down. The period of 1965–1968 was an itinerant one for Shelton: he moved to New York to work for the underground '' East Village Other'', and to Los Angeles to work for the '' Los Angeles Free Press''. Around this time Shelton became art director for the

Vulcan Gas Company The original Vulcan Gas Company (usually called simply Vulcan) was the first successful psychedelic music venue in Austin, Texas. The Vulcan opened its doors at 316 Congress Avenue in the fall of 1967, and closed in the summer of 1970. Gary Scanlo ...

, a rock

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, where he worked with Jim Franklin. He created a number of posters in the style of contemporary California poster artists such as Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin. After a year of this, he moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

in 1968, hopeful that being closer to the action would enable him to do more poster work. That same year, Millar Publishing Company, who had been publishing regular Wonder Wart-Hog stories since 1966, published two issues of ''Wonder Wart-Hog''. 140,000 copies of each were printed, but distributors did not pick up the magazine, and only 40,000 of each were sold.

Underground comix star

Also in 1968 Shelton self-published '' Feds 'n' Heads'', a collection of strips first published in the Austin underground paper ''

The Rag ''The Rag'' was an underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas from 1966–1977. The weekly paper covered political and cultural topics that the conventional press ignored, such as the growing antiwar movement, the sexual revolution, gay ...

''. The comic featured Wonder Wart-Hog and what became his most famous strip, '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers''. The first edition of ''Feds 'N' Heads'' was hand-collated, folded, and stapled by Shelton in his garage, with an initial print run of 5,000 copies; it proved so popular that it was later re-issued multiple times by the San Francisco-based publisher the Print Mint,Estren, Mark. ''A History of Underground Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition'' (Ronin Publishing, 2012), p. 54. selling over 200,000 total copies by 1980.Fox, M. Steven
"Feds 'n' Heads,"
ComixJoint. Accessed Nov. 3, 2016. In 1969, Shelton co-founded Rip Off Press with three fellow "expatriate" Texans: Fred Todd, Dave Moriaty, and

Jack Jackson. Rip Off Comix published 13 issues of ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' comic from 1971 to 1997, with many issues undergoing multiple printings. Shelton created a spin-off strip, ''

'', in 1969. During this period, Shelton was also a regular contributor to '' Zap Comix'' and other underground titles, including '' Bijou Funnies'', '' Yellow Dog'', '' Arcade'', ''

The Rip Off Review of Western Culture ''The Rip Off Review of Western Culture'' was an underground comics magazine published by Rip Off Press and produced out of San Francisco, California. It published three issues in 1972. The publication was historically significant in that it broug ...

'', and ''

Anarchy Comics ''Anarchy Comics'' is a series of underground comic books published by Last Gasp between 1978 and 1987, as part of the underground comix subculture of the era. Edited by Jay Kinney (#1-3) and Paul Mavrides (#4), regular contributors to ''Anarch ...

''. Along with R. Crumb,

S. Clay Wilson Steve Clay Wilson (July 25, 1941 – February 7, 2021) was an American underground cartoonist and central figure in the underground comix movement. Wilson attracted attention from readers with aggressively violent and sexually explicit panoramas ...

, Robert Williams, "Spain" Rodriguez, and two artists with reputations as

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...

designers, Victor Moscoso and Rick Griffin, Shelton became part of the "''Zap'' collective," which remained mostly constant throughout the nearly 50-year history of ''Zap.'' In the 1970s, Shelton managed the Rip Off Press Syndicate, which sold weekly content, including Shelton's own strips, to alternative newspapers and student publications. Much of the material produced for the syndicate was eventually published in the company's long-running

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

Rip Off Comix ''Rip Off Comix'' was an underground comix anthology published between 1977 and 1991 by Rip Off Press. As time passed, the sensibility of the anthology changed from underground to alternative comics. The anthology was originally a byproduct of t ...

'', which had debuted in 1977. Shelton designed the cover art for the 1973 album '' Doug Sahm and Band'', as well as The Grateful Dead's 1978 album, '' Shakedown Street''. He also illustrated the cover of the early classic computer magazine compilation ''The Best of

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...

Volume 2'' in 1977. In 1979,

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

paid Shelton and Rip Off Press $250,000 for the rights to make a live-action ''Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' film.Fox, M. Steven
"Rip Off Comix — 1977-1991 / Rip Off Press,"
Comixjoint. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2022. Shelton used his share (which was the bulk of the money) to finance repeated trips to Europe, and to eventually settle down in France. Meanwhile, the Universal-produced ''Freak Brothers'' film never made it to production.

Later work

Shelton's ''

Not Quite Dead Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', ''Fat Freddy's Cat'', and ''Wonder Wa ...

'', done in collaboration with French cartoonist Pic, appeared in ''

'' #25 (Winter 1989) and in six ''Not Quite Dead'' comic books (1993–1996). A new Wonder Wart-Hog story appeared in '' Zap Comix'' #15 ( Last Gasp, 2005), as well as ''The Complete Zap'' boxed set ( Fantagraphics, 2014) which contained ''Zap'' #16; and a new ''Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' story appeared in ''Zap'' #16 as well. ''Fifty Freakin' Years with the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' was published in 2017 by

Knockabout Comics Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of underground and alternative books and comics. They have a long-standing relationship with underground comix pioneer Gilbert Shelton. History The company was founded in 1975 by Tony and Caro ...

. It contains new strips by Shelton, as well as his written introduction.

Music

In 1966 Shelton formed the Gilbert Shelton Ensemble and released a 45 record on ESP Records, "If I Was A Hells Angel," b/w "Southern Stock Car Man," backed by members of the

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

band The Conqueroo, consisting of Tom Bright, Bob Brown and Ed Guinn. Since moving to France, Shelton has become part of a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

group, the Blum Brothers, featuring Shelton on vocals and piano. The band features fellow cartoonist musician Bruno Blum on vocals and guitar. A Blum-produced album was recorded but not released. The Blum Brothers played at the Jockomo, a New Orleans-style bar in the

11th arrondissement of Paris The 11th arrondissement of Paris (''XIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''onzième''. The arrondissement, called Popincourt, is situated on ...

Personal life

Shelton and his wife,

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

Lora Fountain, left San Francisco in 1979. They were residents of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, (

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, Spain) in 1980–1981, and moved to France in 1984.

In popular culture

Film and TV

There have been several attempts to film Shelton's Freak Brothers characters, and over the years there were several film rights options taken on Shelton's work, but none of them went to production. In 1978, the unauthorized

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotic ...

'' Up in Flames'' was released, which "ripped off the Freak Brothers R._Crumb's.html" ;"title="/nowiki>and R. Crumb's">/nowiki>and R. Crumb's/nowiki> Mr. Natural all in one go." It was rumored that Universal's acquisition of the Freak Brothers film rights in 1979 was in order to prevent competition against the Cheech & Chong franchise. Although a script was written, the film was never done. At one point, the Freak Brothers' antics were reportedly being turned into a Broadway musical, after a stop motion animated film, titled '' Grass Roots'' and produced by Celluloid Dreams, fell through.. Finally, in 2021, an animated series called ''Freak Brothers'' featuring the voices of Pete Davidson,

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, ...

, and

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

, premiered on the

streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

Tubi.

Music

"Set My Chickens Free"

Shelton's strip "Set My Chickens Free," published in issue #1 of the '' Bijou Funnies'' comic (1968) has been used in multiple music projects: * In 1969, the words were set to music by The Hub City Movers and recorded as "The Chicken Song"; re-released in 1983 as "Set Your Chickens Free". * In David Carradine's 1975 album ''Grasshopper'' (and 1976 single "Cosmic Joke"), he uses the words in "Chicken Song." * In 1994,

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

used the words in his song "Set My Chickens Free," released on his studio album ''

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

''.

Literature

Shelton's "Set My Chickens Free" cartoon was also published on page 128 of

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...

's '' Steal This Book'' (1971), illustrating its third section, ''"Liberate!"''

Bibliography

Wonder Wart-Hog

* ''Wonder Wart-Hog'' (2 issues, Millar Publishing Company, 1967) * ''(Not Only) The Best of Wonder Wart-Hog'' (3 issues, Rip Off Press and the Print Mint, 1973) — issues #1-2 published by Rip Off Press, #3 by the Print Mint * ''Wonder Wart-Hog, Hog of Steel'' (3 issues, Rip Off Press, 1995) * ''Wonder Wart-Hog and The Battle of the Titans'' (Rip Off Press, 1985) * ''Underground Classics'' #5 (Rip Off Press, 1987) —titled "Wonder Wart-Hog Vol. 1" * ''Wonder Wart-Hog and the Nurds of November'' (Rip Off Press, 1988) * ''The Best of Wonder Wart-Hog'' (Knockabout Comix, 2013)

''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers''

* ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' (13 issues, Rip Off Press, 1971–1997) — with Dave Sheridan (1974–1982) and Paul Mavrides (1978–1997) * ''Thoroughly Ripped with the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Fat Freddy's Cat!'' (Rip Off Press, 1978) . There are 2 editions, one with a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

, one without * ''Underground Classics #1 (Rip Off Press, 1985) — titled "The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #0" *''The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', Volume One (Knockabout Comics, 2001) — reprints ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' #0–7 and 12 *''The Complete Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', Volume Two (Knockabout Comics, 2003) — reprints ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' #8-11 and 13 * ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus'' (Knockabout Comics, 2008) * ''Fifty Freakin' Years with the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' (Knockabout Comics, 2017)

Fat Freddy's Cat

*''The Collected Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat and his Friends'' (Gilbert Shelton, 1975) *''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat'' (

, 1977) — reprints the four small ''Adventures of ... " comix except for 4 strips from #2 and 1 strip from #3 *''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat Book 1'' ( Rip Off Press, 1977) *''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat Book 2'' (Rip Off Press, 1977) *''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat Book 3'' (Rip Off Press, 1977) *''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat Book 4'' (Rip Off Press, 1980) — titled "The Burning of Hollywood" *''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat Book 5'' (Rip Off Press, 1980) *''More Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat'' (Rip Off Press, 1981) — reprints 91 one-page strips *''Fat Freddy's Comics & Stories'' (2 issues, Rip Off Press, 1983–1985) *''The Fat Freddy's Cat Omnibus'' (Knockabout Comics, 2009) — reprints ''The Adventures of Fat Freddy's Cat'' #1-7, ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' #1-6

Other titles

* '' Feds 'N' Heads'' (self-published, 1968) — re-issued in multiple printings by the Print Mint * ''Give Me Liberty: A Revised History of the American Revolution'' 1976 * ''Underground Classics'' #12: "Gilbert Shelton in 3D" (Rip Off Press, 1990) * ''Philbert Desanex' Dreams'' (Rip Off Press, 1993) * ''Not Quite Dead'' (6 issues, Rip Off Press, 1993–1996; Knockabout Comics, 2005–2010) — with Pic

References

External links

*
"Me and Gilbert Shelton: A Memoir," by Ramsey Wiggins, ''The Rag Blog''
March 8, 2010.
The Hog of Steel, a complete bibliography of Wonder Wart-Hog

UT Texas Ranger Magazine archive

Best of Creative Computing, Volume 2 cover art

Interviews

*
"Cartoonist and Underground Comix Artist Gilbert Shelton" on Rag Radio
interviewed by

Thorne Dreyer Thorne Webb Dreyer (born August 1, 1945) is an American writer, editor, publisher, and political activist who played a major role in the 1960s-1970s counterculture, New Left, and underground press movements. Dreyer now lives in Austin, Texas, wh ...

, March 9, 2010.
Video Interview with Gilbert Shelton on oc-tv.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelton, Gilbert 1940 births American comic strip cartoonists American comics artists American satirists American expatriates in France Artists from Austin, Texas Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Living people American poster artists Psychedelic artists Texas A&M University alumni Underground cartoonists University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni