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Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons
Gahan Wilson is among the most popular, widely-read, and beloved cartoonists in the history of the medium, whose career spans the second half of the 20th century, and all of the 21st. His work has been seen by millions―no, hundreds of millions―in the pages of Playboy, The New Yorker, Punch, The National Lampoon, and many other magazines; there is no telling, really, how many readers he has corrupted or comforted. He is revered for his playfully sinister take on childhood, adulthood, men, women, and monsters. His brand of humor makes you laugh until you cry. And it’s about time that a collection of his cartoons was published that did justice to his vast body of work. Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons features not only every cartoon Wilson drew for Playboy, but all his prose fiction that has appeared in that magazine as well, from his first story in the June 1962 issue, “Horror Trio,” to such classics as “Dracula Country” (September 1978). It also includes the text-and-art features he drew for Playboy, such as his look at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, his take on our country’s “pathology of violence,” and his appreciation of “transplant surgery.”
905 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
18 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Gahan Wilson
283 books50 followersGahan Wilson was an American author, cartoonist and illustrator known for his cartoons depicting horror-fantasy situations.
Wilson's cartoons and illustrations are drawn in a playfully grotesque style, and have a dark humor that is often compared to the work of The New Yorker cartoonist and Addams Family creator Charles Addams. But while both men sometimes feature vampires, graveyards and other traditional horror elements in their work, Addams's cartoons tended to be more gothic, reserved and old-fashioned, while Wilson's work is more contemporary, gross, and confrontational, featuring atomic mutants, subway monsters, and serial killers. It could be argued that Addams's work was probably meant to be funny without a lot of satirical intent, while Wilson often has a very specific point to make.
His cartoons and prose fiction have appeared regularly in Playboy, Collier's Weekly, The New Yorker and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. For the last he also wrote some movie and book reviews. He has been a movie review columnist for The Twilight Zone Magazine and a book critic for Realms of Fantasy magazine.
His comic strip Nuts, which appeared in National Lampoon, was a reaction against what he saw as the saccharine view of childhood in strips like Peanuts. His hero The Kid sees the world as a dark, dangerous and unfair place, but just occasionally a fun one too.
Wilson also wrote and illustrated a short story for Harlan Ellison's anthology Again, Dangerous Visions. The "title" is a black blob, and the story is about an ominous black blob that appears on the page, growing at an alarming rate, until... He has contributed short stories to other publications as well; "M1" and "The Zombie Butler" both appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and were reprinted in Gahan Wilson's Cracked Cosmos.
Additionally, Gahan Wilson created a computer game titled Gahan Wilson's The Ultimate Haunted House, in conjunction with Byron Preiss. The goal is to collect 13 keys in 13 hours from the 13 rooms of a house, by interacting in various ways with characters (such as a two-headed monster, a mad scientist, and a vampiress), objects, and the house itself.
He received the World Fantasy Convention Award in 1981, and the National Cartoonist Society's Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Gahan Wilson is the subject of a feature length documentary film, Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird, directed by Steven-Charles Jaffe.
Wilson's cartoons and illustrations are drawn in a playfully grotesque style, and have a dark humor that is often compared to the work of The New Yorker cartoonist and Addams Family creator Charles Addams. But while both men sometimes feature vampires, graveyards and other traditional horror elements in their work, Addams's cartoons tended to be more gothic, reserved and old-fashioned, while Wilson's work is more contemporary, gross, and confrontational, featuring atomic mutants, subway monsters, and serial killers. It could be argued that Addams's work was probably meant to be funny without a lot of satirical intent, while Wilson often has a very specific point to make.
His cartoons and prose fiction have appeared regularly in Playboy, Collier's Weekly, The New Yorker and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. For the last he also wrote some movie and book reviews. He has been a movie review columnist for The Twilight Zone Magazine and a book critic for Realms of Fantasy magazine.
His comic strip Nuts, which appeared in National Lampoon, was a reaction against what he saw as the saccharine view of childhood in strips like Peanuts. His hero The Kid sees the world as a dark, dangerous and unfair place, but just occasionally a fun one too.
Wilson also wrote and illustrated a short story for Harlan Ellison's anthology Again, Dangerous Visions. The "title" is a black blob, and the story is about an ominous black blob that appears on the page, growing at an alarming rate, until... He has contributed short stories to other publications as well; "M1" and "The Zombie Butler" both appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and were reprinted in Gahan Wilson's Cracked Cosmos.
Additionally, Gahan Wilson created a computer game titled Gahan Wilson's The Ultimate Haunted House, in conjunction with Byron Preiss. The goal is to collect 13 keys in 13 hours from the 13 rooms of a house, by interacting in various ways with characters (such as a two-headed monster, a mad scientist, and a vampiress), objects, and the house itself.
He received the World Fantasy Convention Award in 1981, and the National Cartoonist Society's Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Gahan Wilson is the subject of a feature length documentary film, Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird, directed by Steven-Charles Jaffe.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 3, 2014
Have you ever read any of Gahan Wilson's cartoons? If you haven't...I can't really give you a good insight. He's sort of like....a pre-Far Side, but not exactly.
There's an odd, twisted, creepy side to these...and I like many of them.
Really.
These are worth tracking down. Used book store, library, Amazon....local book store, whatever.
Now be aware many of these are dated (This is volume 1 and they start at 1957. Still, I think you'll get most of them.
Really.
Enjoy...but maybe with the lights on and the number of a good psychiatrist handy. Oh and not alone, though after a few of these you may not actually trust your spouse...or your kids...or your doctor....or yourself....
There's an odd, twisted, creepy side to these...and I like many of them.
Really.
These are worth tracking down. Used book store, library, Amazon....local book store, whatever.
Now be aware many of these are dated (This is volume 1 and they start at 1957. Still, I think you'll get most of them.
Really.
Enjoy...but maybe with the lights on and the number of a good psychiatrist handy. Oh and not alone, though after a few of these you may not actually trust your spouse...or your kids...or your doctor....or yourself....
March 21, 2020
The greatest collection of single-panel funnies ever published. One of the best books I've ever read. Laugh out loud funny!
May 11, 2015
All Wilson's Playboy cartoons (as of the book's publication, anyway) plus his short fiction for the magazine and an essay or two, plus a biography and interview, in this handsome three-volume boxed set. Wilson occasionally recycles a gag (once, surprisingly, within a year of its first appearance), but for the most part his macabre originality is on full display here in this massive collection of usually very funny cartoons. Quite possibly essential for any fan of cartooning.
October 10, 2011
This belongs on every cartoon fan's shelf.
In addition to hundreds of beautifully reproduced cartoons, we also get several short stories and a wonderful travelogue of Transylvania, plus a nice retrospective and delightful interview.
It all adds up to a helluva a package. Now if only we could get all of Gahan Wilson's New Yorker cartoons in a single collection!
In addition to hundreds of beautifully reproduced cartoons, we also get several short stories and a wonderful travelogue of Transylvania, plus a nice retrospective and delightful interview.
It all adds up to a helluva a package. Now if only we could get all of Gahan Wilson's New Yorker cartoons in a single collection!
February 15, 2013
This guy is crazy. And he's funny. This set is a complete collection of his cartoons for Playboy magazine for 50 years. If you like Gahan Wilson, this is an essential addition to your collection.
July 7, 2022
Let's be honest, I don't think many people "read" Playboy for anything but the pictures. Sure they had some good articles regarding all kinds of different interesting topics... but everyone knew what the real attraction was. But even with that being the case, there was something else that would usually catch a reader's eye. It was humorous, very quick, and usually weird or interesting. It was the comics sprinkled throughout the magazine. And while I didn't know exactly who drew which comic strip, I did remember the monster's that Gahan Wilson drew - the very few times I had access to Playboy.
This was very cool to read. If you like comic strips like the far side, Wilson's style is similar yet... a bit darker I would say. And what's cool about the book, besides the funny strips of course, is that it serves as a bit of a defacto walk through the events that were happening around the US at the time of their printing. Politics, science breakthroughs, technology concerns, and plenty of monster's all get explored through Wilson's curious eye.
This was definitely a fun read, and a dense one at that! Recommended for fans of one panel comic strips.
This was very cool to read. If you like comic strips like the far side, Wilson's style is similar yet... a bit darker I would say. And what's cool about the book, besides the funny strips of course, is that it serves as a bit of a defacto walk through the events that were happening around the US at the time of their printing. Politics, science breakthroughs, technology concerns, and plenty of monster's all get explored through Wilson's curious eye.
This was definitely a fun read, and a dense one at that! Recommended for fans of one panel comic strips.
January 27, 2025
When I was a kid I went to the local barbershop every Saturday to get my hair cut because
A: that was the style
B: my father also went along for his weekly haircut
C: it was a good place to read the barber's collection of comics and other periodicals.
As soon as my age reached double digits (or thereabouts) I finally got up sufficient gumption to bring a Playboy or two into the barberchair along with my usual Batman or Spiderman or whatever and would pretend to read the jokes and the articles while really looking for and at the obvious,
... and Gahan Wilson.
Now I wear a ponytail, my father is long dead, the bunnies have become grandmothers and more (or less) but Gahan Wilson's work is ageless.
A: that was the style
B: my father also went along for his weekly haircut
C: it was a good place to read the barber's collection of comics and other periodicals.
As soon as my age reached double digits (or thereabouts) I finally got up sufficient gumption to bring a Playboy or two into the barberchair along with my usual Batman or Spiderman or whatever and would pretend to read the jokes and the articles while really looking for and at the obvious,
... and Gahan Wilson.
Now I wear a ponytail, my father is long dead, the bunnies have become grandmothers and more (or less) but Gahan Wilson's work is ageless.
September 25, 2022
Fascinating
Graham Wilson's cartoons are fabulous, but you already know that or you wouldn't be looking at this book. I was particularly impressed by what an excellent draughtsman he is. The book also contains short stories he's written, a story about his trip to Transylvania and an interview.
Graham Wilson's cartoons are fabulous, but you already know that or you wouldn't be looking at this book. I was particularly impressed by what an excellent draughtsman he is. The book also contains short stories he's written, a story about his trip to Transylvania and an interview.
April 10, 2024
Eccentricities Required…
Classic Gahan Wilson cartoons as always, and fun to read of his short stories at the end of the book. Funny and macabre, weird and over the top. It’s comparable to Charles Addams. Only Addams is more subtle than blatant like Wilson. Strongly recommended.
Classic Gahan Wilson cartoons as always, and fun to read of his short stories at the end of the book. Funny and macabre, weird and over the top. It’s comparable to Charles Addams. Only Addams is more subtle than blatant like Wilson. Strongly recommended.
April 25, 2018
Not my taste.
November 26, 2024
Una verdadera maravilla.
January 18, 2010
A wonderful, gorgeous, brilliant, macabre, and funny collection. Three hardcover volumes in slipcase, more than a thousand beautifully reproduced cartoons, almost all in vibrant color. Also contains several short stories and one travel piece (to Romania and Transylvania, on the trail of the historical Dracula), as well as a biographical article and a long interview. Worth every penny, although if you buy through Amazon, you can get a substantial discount. Neil Gaiman's intro to Vol. 2 rightly says, "The world is a better place for having this book in it." Gahan Wilson is a fantastic (in all senses) cartoonist. Comparable companion volumes for all his non-Playboy work would be equally welcome.
March 21, 2010
Gahan Wilson is one of my all-time heroes and this jaw-dropping collection of 50 years of his work in Playboy is an absolute joy. Beyond the fantabulousness of Wilson's content is the presentation. Fantagraphics has outdone themselves, courtesy of gifted designer Jacob Covey. The sturdy slipcase, with its Plexiglas window against which any one of the photo portrait back covers of the three volumes can be displayed, is a thing of beauty. The die-cut covers and chapter inserts add to the fun and beyond the treasure trove of cartoons themselves is a wealth of bonus material. This is THE cartoon collection of the new millennium so far.
January 1, 2010
This incredible boxed set of three gorgeous hardcovers celebrates one of art's funniest and most disturbing cartoonists. Printed on archival-quality paper in both color and black & white, the handsome set includes not only all the legendary artist's cartoons, prose fiction and text-and-art features from Playboy, but also many of his strips from The New Yorker, Punch, The National Lampoon, and many other magazines. Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons is the most comprehensive and attractive Wilson book ever produced.
June 6, 2015
OMG! G for Graham
December 6, 2010
this was SO GOOD!! more than macabre humor. absurdist.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews