# Gahan Wilson 1930-2019 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854 "2019-11-23T02:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/1 "2019-11-23T02:34:14Z")
Gahan Wilson, the great macabre cartoonist best known for his work in _Playboy_ and _National Lampoon_, has died. [Link](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/arts/gahan-wilson-dead.html) Wilson, along with Charles Addams and Edward Gorey, was a big hero of mine. Unlike the other two, who were vested in Old World/Victorian-era images of Dracula and Jack the Ripper-type horror, Wilson drew on American and postwar horror gags rooted in the atomic bomb and mutant viruses (although Dracula and Wolf Man archetypes popped up in his work as well). ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/2 "2019-11-23T02:47:10Z")
Nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/3 "2019-11-23T02:52:14Z")
☹ I love his work. RIP Mr. Wilson; you done good. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/4 "2019-11-23T02:55:33Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Nuts. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/5 "2019-11-23T02:57:59Z")
First Michael J. Pollard, and now Gahan Wilson. Dammit. ☹ I still frequently think of his cartoons. They were the only reason I read _Playboy_ as a teen. He died of complications of dementia. Fortunately for all of us, he was demented most of his life.\* \*Yes, I know that was in bad taste. I think he would have appreciated it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/6 "2019-11-23T03:04:01Z")
Three weeks ago I gave my [Gahan Wilson 50 years of Playboy Cartoons](https://www.amazon.com/Gahan-Wilson-years-Playboy-Cartoons/dp/1606992988) to my nephew, as I thought he would appreciate it and it was just sitting idle in my bookcase. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/7 "2019-11-23T03:14:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > First Michael J. Pollard, and now Gahan Wilson. Dammit. ☹ > > I still frequently think of his cartoons. They were the only reason I read _Playboy_ as a teen. > > He died of complications of dementia. Fortunately for all of us, he was demented most of his life.\* > > \ ***Yes, I know that was in bad taste. I think he would have appreciated it.** He would have. 🙂 I had an English teacher who adored Wilson’s stuff. He used to cut the cartoons out of the magazine to share around with our school newspaper staff. We all loved them, too. So perfectly twisted! I’m sorry he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/8 "2019-11-23T03:29:34Z")
Damn. Sad to see he’s gone, but equally sad that his brilliant mind was whittled away over a long period of time. Hopefully he had loving care through the long process. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/9 "2019-11-23T03:32:51Z")
[_Is Nothing Sacred?_](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UiZRvkBqTqE/SSAwNhqGpxI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/eo7VcRV-x6w/s1600/is+nothing+sacred.jpg) My favorite. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/10 "2019-11-23T03:37:15Z")
Wilson drew a monthly cartoon for _The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction_ from about 1965 to 1981, and occasionally after that. He also had a story in _Again, Dangerous Visions_; the title was a blot of ink. He also designed the original World Fantasy Award. He was a less subdued version of Charles Addams. Much of Addams’s work was subtle and there was nothing subtle about Wilson. A great cartoonist. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/11 "2019-11-23T03:49:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > First Michael J. Pollard, and now Gahan Wilson. Dammit. ☹ [It’s just one damned thing after another](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d4cf43b742f1bee7d1165aa677000e3c/tumblr_ocgtnhehdY1rsjpjwo1_500.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/12 "2019-11-23T04:24:47Z")
He just [painted what he saw](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1J3L4VEBXL.jpg)… His NUTS comic strip was what convinced me that all you need to be a writer/artist/cartoonist is to pay attention to what happens around you; now, and looking back on your childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/13 "2019-11-23T04:52:18Z")
I first encountered his cartoons in _F&SF_ many years before I saw my first _Playboy_. What a bonus it was to have a second source. Nobody seems to remember that he published a two novels, _Eddy Deco’s Last Caper: An Illustrated Mystery_ and _Everybody’s Favorite Duck_, and a collection of his sf stories, _The Cleft and Other Odd Tales_. I think the short stories are better. His humor, like a book of cartoons, should be taken in small doses. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/14 "2019-11-23T05:24:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I first encountered his cartoons in _F&SF_ many years before I saw my first _Playboy_. What a bonus it was to have a second source. > > Nobody seems to remember that he published a two novels, _Eddy Deco’s Last Caper: An Illustrated Mystery_ and _Everybody’s Favorite Duck_, and a collection of his sf stories, _The Cleft and Other Odd Tales_. I think the short stories are better. His humor, like a book of cartoons, should be taken in small doses. SDMB trivia time: _Everybody’s Favorite Duck_ was edited by our own **Ukulele Ike**. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/15 "2019-11-23T14:24:37Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Nuts. The definitive response. I remember those old Nat. Lampoon cartoons well. Recently reread a bunch of them. My goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/16 "2019-11-23T15:10:21Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > Nuts. [This](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1176155030l/598753._SX318_.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/17 "2019-11-23T16:49:29Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > SDMB trivia time: _Everybody’s Favorite Duck_ was edited by our own **Ukulele Ike**. Go Ike! I’ve got to sit you down and hear your stories sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/18 "2019-11-23T17:17:04Z")
For those of us of a certain age, and iconoclastic tastes, the transition from MAD Magazine in our early years, then to Cracked, and finally to National Lampoon in our sophisticated teen years, with Nuts especially it felt like Wilson was chronicling our lives. There was always a little feel of the risque to National Lampoon, maybe you didn’t want your mom to know you were reading it because of the occasional adult content. So in my case I never got the magazine myself, but relied on borrowing it second hand from my more rough friend, who’s parents didn’t seem to know about his adventurous streak. But as I remember, Nuts was essentially clean. Anywho, I remember finding Wilson’s books at our town library, which was a godsend, as bookstores were not around. Once when a new Wilson title was coming out I mustered up the courage to ask the stern grandmotherly librarian if it had come in. She surprised me by saying yes, and she had read it and mostly liked the comics in it. It just never occurred to me that stern small town grandmotherly librarians would have any shared experiences with teen boys with iconoclastic tastes. Kind of a Nuts moment, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/19 "2019-11-23T19:53:30Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > For those of us of a certain age, and iconoclastic tastes, the transition from MAD Magazine in our early years, then to Cracked, and finally to National Lampoon in our sophisticated teen years, with Nuts especially it felt like Wilson was chronicling our lives. > > There was always a little feel of the risque to National Lampoon, maybe you didn’t want your mom to know you were reading it because of the occasional adult content. So in my case I never got the magazine myself, but relied on borrowing it second hand from my more rough friend, who’s parents didn’t seem to know about his adventurous streak. But as I remember, Nuts was essentially clean. > > Anywho, I remember finding Wilson’s books at our town library, which was a godsend, as bookstores were not around. Once when a new Wilson title was coming out I mustered up the courage to ask the stern grandmotherly librarian if it had come in. She surprised me by saying yes, and she had read it and mostly liked the comics in it. It just never occurred to me that stern small town grandmotherly librarians would have any shared experiences with teen boys with iconoclastic tastes. Kind of a Nuts moment, if you ask me. We librarians will surprise you sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854/20 "2019-11-24T04:36:32Z")
He used to also draw for science fiction monthlies. I don’t remember which ones, but certainly remember his drawings…RIP [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gahan-wilson-1930-2019/843854.md?page=2)