Although not a comic book illustrator himself, American illustrator George Wilson was influential in the presentation of many non-superhero comic books as a prolific cover illustrator. He most notably painted hundreds of covers for the Dell Comics and Gold Key brands of Western Publishing from the 1950s through the 1970s. Educated at both the Richmond Art School and the Pratt Institute, Wilson worked as a commercial illustrator for ad agencies and for publishing houses like Dell Publications, Bombay Boomerang, Jove, Avon and Harlequin Books from the 1940s through the 1990s. His main inspirations were the classic episodes of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon and the line work of illustrator Noel Sickles. He made illustrations for romance and wild west paperbacks, including book series like The Hardy Boys.

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In 1955, Wilson began his production as a cover painter for Dell Comics. His main output was for titles about Stone Age/jungle heroes like Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan; Tarzan of the Apes; Turok, Son of Stone; and Korak, Son of Tarzan. Among his many other credits are adventure, sci-fi and mystery comic books like The Phantom, The Twilight Zone, Mighty Samson, Star Trek, Dark Shadows, Space Family Robinson, and many others.