As was so often the case in his long career, Basil Wolverton often found that Publishers frequently were unsure of how to handle his considerable --if decidedly odd-- talents, and Timely/Marvel's handling of Wolverton's Powerhouse Pepper Comics is a prime example.

Powerhouse Pepper debuted in the first issue of JOKER Comics in April of 1942, and 30 of the next 31 issues featured stories in which Powerhouse appeared, to enough acclaim by fans and readers that the 1st issue of Powerhouse Pepper Comics appeared less than a year later, in 1943. Rather than let Wolverton's brilliance shine from the cover, Timely's editors (Stan Lee among them) covered the issue with a too-generic rendering of the character, which may have dissuaded some of Powerhouse's fans from picking up this seminal issue. Whatever the reason, and despite the stellar work in that first issue, another FIVE YEARS went by before a second issue appeared, with a new logo and the title shortened to simply POWERHOUSE PEPPER #2. This second issue quite correctly featured an illustration by Wolverton himself, with Powerhouse doing the sort of thing he does best, in this instance snapping a table in half with his bare hands...

• Issue #5
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• Issue #2
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• Issue #1
  11/15/2021