Three Minutes with Ken Wheaton...

Ken Wheaton is a man of mystery! Luckily over the past few years I have begun to unravel the mystery and learn a bit more about this artist, inker, collector, teacher and hack. I first met Ken when I started attending comic conventions as a guest myself. I was seated between Jon Hull, who is a pin-up artist, and Ken Wheaten, who was never at his table. And so the mystery began. Seriously, the guy was at his table maybe a half hour the entire day...maybe! (Truth be told, I have been know abandon my table during several shows as of late.) I came to realize that Ken wasn't being rude or anything, Ken is a great cartoonist, and while many artists have A.D.D., cartoonists have it a lot worse. If we can't say it in three panels, then forget it! Ken and I consider ourselves illustrators, so if anything goes beyond a single image, we're gone!




Bill Wilkison: Ken, I have found a common thread among artists in many disciplines that Dr. Seuss had a big influence on them growing up and that influence continues today. What influence has Dr. Seuss had on your life, work or art?

Ken Wheaton: Economy of line and fluidity (not as big an influence as Segar, Kelly or Wood.) I wish some of his creativity had rubbed off!

BW: Art is interpretive. What is this?



KW: "Pogo" close-up! EXTREME close-up! That, or it's Bill Wilkison's hairy butt. I wouldn't know.

BW: When you're not at your table--where do you go?!

KW: To get another cup of coffee, look for Popeye comics and cause mayhem.










©2006 B. Wilkison, of course!