Synopses & Reviews
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 , , , , 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. When Gahan Wilson walked into Hugh Hefner's office in 1957, he sat down as Hefner was on the phone, gently rejecting a submission to his new gentlemen's magazine: "I think it's very well-written and I liked it very much," Hefner reportedly said, "but it's anti-sin. And I'm afraid we're pro-sin." Wilson knew, at that moment, that he had found a kindred spirit and a potential home for his cartoons. And indeed he had; Wilson appeared in every issue of from the December 1957 issue to today. It has been one of the most fruitful, successful, and long-lived relationships between a contributor and a magazine, ever. features not only every cartoon Wilson drew for , 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 , 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." Wilson's notoriously black sense of comedy is on display throughout the book, leaving no sacred cow unturned (an image curiously absent in the book), ridiculing everything from state sponsored executions to the sober precincts of the nouveau rich, from teenage dating to police line-ups, with scalding and hilarious satirical jabs. Although Wilson is known as an artist who relishes the creepy side of modern life, this three-volume set truly demonstrates the depth and breadth of his range--from illustrating private angst we never knew we had (when you eat a steak, just whom are you eating?) to the ironic and deadpan take on horrifying public issues (ecological disaster, nuclear destruction anyone?). Gahan Wilson has been peeling back the troubling layers of modern life with his incongruously playful and unnerving cartoons, assailing our deepest fears and our most inane follies. This three-volume set is a testament to one of the funniest--and wickedly disturbing--cartoonists alive.
Review
Gahan Wilson's macabre illustrations and wicked sense of humor have made a lasting impression.It's a testament, not only to Wilson's genius (the material never flags or gets rote, no matter what the decade) but also to Fantagraphics skill in presenting this material in such a stellar fashion. Really, it was the best retrospective collection of the year. -- Chris Mautner
Review
"Starred Review. Along with the centerfolds and the interviews, is famous for Gahan Wilson's cartoons, 50 year's worth of which are aptly mounted on -size pages in this boxed set. Glowing introductions by proprietor Hugh M. Hefner and Wilson's latter-day friend and writing partner Neil Gaiman, the five Wilson short stories has also published over the years, and a sterling profile of and interview with the artist by editor Gary Groth accompany the cartoons.... Hefner knew great cartooning when he saw it, and the satirical undercurrent coursing through Wilson's work amused him as much as Wilson's eldritch comic irony, which is wilder than but otherwise of a piece, especially in quality, with that of Wilson's greatest peer, Charles Addams. And doubtless Hefner admired, along with the rest of Wilson's ardent following, the flamboyant, wiggly line with which Wilson limns the hideous figures that people his panels." Booklist
Review
As a physical object Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoonscannot be praised highly enough. ...[F]or all their morbidity and ghoulishness, Wilson"s cartoons affirm the value of cherishing life. As inhuman as his characters often are, Wilson is a deeply humane cartoonist. -- Jeet Heer
Review
Like Charles Addams, to whom he is often compared, Wilson is a master of the macabre.Starred Review. Few cartoonists ever had as lavish a tribute as a three-volume-slipcased collection, but few are as deserving as Wilson. Collecting 50 years worth of his monthly single page gag cartoons from Playboy, it's a definitive overview of a remarkable talent and viewpoint.Norman Rockwell"s evil twin.Twisting pop-culture icons to dark-witted ends, Wilson places his characters in a world of terror and understatement. ... [T]he incidental commentary here about human selfishness and shortsightedness squeezed between the B-movie monsters and little green men feels timeless, as does the remarkably high level of quality Wilson has maintained over the years. ... [Grade] A.Fantagraphics sets a high standard for quality in all of their products, and this collection does not disappoint. ... It's just amazing...this is a product with a real 'wow' factor. ... If you're an admirer of Wilson's work like I am then this will be a must-have, something you'll want to look at again and again. -- Matt Staggs
Review
The work is tremendous and witty and, as always with an excellent retrospective, it offers the reader an excellent chance to walk back in time through decades of experiences, memories, turbulences and triumphs, and just plain old human oddities. What"s truly amazing is how, for more than 50 years, Wilson rarely misses a witty beat. -- John Hogan
Review
Most of [Wilson's] cartoons appeared in Playboy, where he has been in every issue for the past three decades. ' Now Fantagraphics has lovingly and exhaustively collected these, so if Miss January leaves you cold, you can pick up this wondrous, three-volume set and tuck in. -- Laurel Maury
Review
This incredible boxed set of three gorgeous hardcovers celebrates one of art's funniest and most disturbing cartoonists. ... Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoonsis the most comprehensive and attractive Wilson book ever produced. -- Rick Klaw
Synopsis
This edition of Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons is a special signed, numbered, limited slipcased edition.
Synopsis
A special signed and numbered limited edition: three slipcased volumes. Includes a beautifully designed booklet featuring reproductions of Wilson's hand-drawn Christmas cards to Hugh Hefner throughout the years he worked for . Each is signed by the artist.
About the Author
In his ninth decade as a human being and his sixth as a master cartoonist, Gahan Wilson (born dead in 1930) continues to produce cartoons for a variety of magazines including Playboy and The New Yorker.