About the Author: Bob Penuelas

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Bob Penuelas was taught how to draw by his father at an early age. In his younger years he was heavily influenced by the satirical humor of MAD Magazine. Later in his early teens Bob learned to surf and soon combined his art with his love for surfing. At that time he was influenced by the art work of surf comic strip artist Rick Griffin that appeared in SURFER Magazine in the 1970's.

Bob began his career as a comic strip artist with the creation of the “Maynard and the Rat” strip for Surfer Magazine in 1980. Working on the strip with two other artists proved to be an unwieldy task and the strip had a series of inconsistent installments.

In 1985, while working solo on a “Maynard” strip, Bob introduced a dorky little character named Wilbur into the strip. There was a tremendous response from the readers and by 1986 Wilbur had totally eclipsed the “Maynard” strip. The title was changed to “Wilbur Kookmeyer” and Bob continued on as the sole writer and illustrator.

Penuelas’s proximity to the ocean encouraged him to become a part of the local surfing scene. His impressions of the southern California surf culture are a result of countless hours of surfing and diligently wasting time hanging out at the beach. Bob’s ongoing relationships with the surfing community, especially in the local surfboard industry, has continuously given him fresh ideas for his strip over the years. The driving force behind the strip is Bob’s ability to satirize the style and the people he knows so well.

While the Wilbur character focuses on the Southern California surfer, readers from anywhere in the surfing world can relate to the “kook”. During the twenty year run in Surfer Magazine the strip has gained an underground following among surfing enthusiasts. At the same time, the beauty of the strip is that even though the stories are wrapped in the surf culture, if you look below the surface the humor is still universal and can still be appreciated by readers who do not necessarily surf.