'The Sentinel' (Man of War #2).
George Wilson was an American illustrator of pulp magazines. During the 1940s, he was also active as a comic artist for Fiction House, Centaur Comics and Ace Magazines. He should not be confused with the George Wilson (1921-1999) who painted many comic book covers for Dell Comics and Gold Key in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Early life and career
The artist was born in 1902 as George Homer Willson, Jr., in Jackson, Ohio, as the youngest of four children. While his older brothers pursued technical careers with a construction company, Wilson's interest went to the arts. At age 24, he moved to New York City to work as a commercial artist. He shortened his last name to Wilson and attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. As a freelance artist, he worked on advertising art, lettering, story illustrations and magazine covers, as well as portrait and landscape painting.
Pulp illustrations
Through the Dold brothers (artist Elliott Dold and writer/editor Douglas Dold), Wilson got in touch with Harold Hersey, an editor of several pulp magazines at Clayton Publications. From the early 1930s on, he drew pen and ink story illustrations for pulp magazines like All-Story Love, High Seas Adventure, Pirate Stories, New Mystery Adventures, Underworld, and Underworld Detective Magazine, and also painted covers for Underworld Detective Magazine and New Mystery Adventure Magazine. In 1933, Wilson additionally started a correspondence art school.
Cover illustrations for Underworld Detective and New Mystery Adventures.
Comics
In the 1940s, Wilson had a short stint as a comic book artist, when he drew stories for Fiction House, Centaur Comics and Ace Magazines. His first known credit was 'White Hunters of the African Safari' in the first issue of Jungle Comics by Fiction House (January 1940). He then made the feature 'The Sentinel' for titles like Liberty Guards Comics and Man of War Comics by Centaur Publishing, and 'Kay McKay - Air Hostess' and 'The Raven' for comic books by Ace Magazines, all in the period 1941-1942.
Later life and death
After World War II, Wilson and his wife earned extra income by renting out a portion of their home as a furnished two-room apartment. The artist passed away in New York City on 11 July 1970, at the age of 67.
'Kay McKay, Air Hostess', from Banner Comics #5 (January 1942).