§ Gahan Wilson, one of the greatest cartooning masters of the macabre, passed away at age 89 last week, as reported by his stepson Paul Winters.
“The world has lost a legend,” Winters said. “One of the very best cartoonists to ever pick up a pen and paper has passed on.” Wilson gained fame with his offbeat drawings in magazines like Playboy, The New Yorker and National Lampoon. One drawing featured a man deliriously happy as he is being strapped into the electric chair and saying, “Gee, it’s just like in the movies.”
Wilson was famed for his New Yorker cartoons, and they posted their own remembrance.
Wilson, who died on Thursday, at the age of eighty-nine, excelled at depicting the extraordinary. Although he habitually delved into that dark funny corner that we associate with Charles Addams, his style was singular. He liked to depict ordinary folks encountering some kind of anxious terror, or experiencing the unthinkable in mundane places. It’s a man at a pizza counter hovering over an entire pizza—the man’s mouth the same oval shape, the same size, as the whole pie. It’s fishermen on a calm lake, with one about to be murdered by the other, who is removing a human mask to reveal his true monster self. Wilson’s art is both the heart-thumping you feel when you dare look under the bed and the relieved inner laugh you let loose after he’s scared the pants off of you.
Although best known for his single panel cartoons and illustrations, Wilson dabbled in comics – he did at least a few Classics Illustrateds, one based on Edgar Allen Poe and one on Ambrose Bierce.
I have a nice Gahan Wilson story. He appeared a few years back at the Big Apple Con and I stopped by to pay respects to a master. We struck up a conversation, and however it came up he started talking about a show of Goya’s final works that was up at the Frick. “They are really dark and amazing and you should go see them!” he urged me. I think when a great cartoonist tells you to do something, you should do it, so I went to see the show and it was, indeed, breathtaking.
Anyway, thank you, Gahan, for the laughs, chills and kindness.
§ Over the weekend Vulture posted a ton of Baby Yoda gifs, only to have Giphy remove them. Outrage! Vulture then did the only sensible thing and had illustrator Martin Gee recreate these Hallmark moments. But then it turned out the gifs were restored!
ComicBook received a statement from a GIPHY spokesperson who provided an explanation for the reason why the Baby Yoda GIFs were deleted. “Last week, there was some confusion around certain content uploaded to GIPHY and we temporarily removed these GIFs while we reviewed the situation,” GIPHY’s spokesperson stated. “We apologize to both Disney and Vulture for any inconvenience, and we are happy to report that the GIFs are once again live on GIPHY.” WHEW. That was a close one.
Translation: the shadow of the long arm of the Disney empire fell over these moments. But I guess it was either fair use or Disney realizes that The Mandalorian is the biggest selling point for Disney+ and it’s free advertising after all.
Countdown to Baby Yoda burnout in 5, 4, 3…
§ Regina, no! Don’t do it! Alan Moore should watch TV series, says Regina King
“Of course I do, of course I do,” King told RadioTimes.com. “To have the co-sign from Dave Gibbons makes all the difference, but you know, to have Alan watch it? Even greater.
“I would be so curious to hear his thoughts, you know,” she added. “But I respect his position 100 per cent. As a human being, I would want someone to respect my position, even if you don’t agree with it. And I can’t say that I don’t agree with his position. I just respect it, it’s not actually about an agree or disagree thing.”
§ I’m sure our Studio Coffee Run team will have more to say about this but Channing Tatum wants to make a Maxx tv show, based on the Sam Kieth comic. Poor Channing Tatum! He really wants to get in on this comic book thing and no one wants to allow it! First it was the Gambit movie, which was kicked around for years and would seem to be dead while Marvel figures out how to handle mutants. Please, will someone let Channing Tatum’s dream come true?
