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{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Short description|American author, cartoonist and illustrator (1930–2019)}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Gahan Wilson
| image = Gahan Wilson (445627398).jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Wilson at the World Horror Convention in 2007
| birth_name = Gahan Allen Wilson
| birth_date = {{birth date |1930|2|18|}}
| birth_place = [[Evanston, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|11|21|1930|2|18}}
| death_place = [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], U.S.
| movement = 
| awards = 
| patrons = 
| imagesize = 
| field = [[Cartoonist]]
| training = 
| works = 
| spouse = {{Marriage|Nancy Dee Midyette|1966|2019|end= died}}
}}

'''Gahan Allen Wilson'''<ref name="nyt"/> (February 18, 1930 – November 21, 2019) was an American author, [[cartoonist]] and illustrator known for his cartoons depicting horror-fantasy situations.

==Biography==
Wilson was born in [[Evanston, Illinois]], and was inspired by the work of the satiric ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' and ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' cartoonists, and 1950s science fiction films. His cartoons and prose fiction appeared regularly in ''[[Playboy]]'', ''[[Collier's Weekly|Collier's]]'' and ''[[The New Yorker]]'' for nearly 50 years. He was a regular contributor to the ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' humor magazine. He published cartoons and film reviews for ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]''. From 1992 through end of publication, he prepared all the front covers for the annual book ''Passport to World Band Radio''.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Wilson was a movie review columnist for ''[[The Twilight Zone Magazine]]'' and a book critic for ''[[Realms of Fantasy]]'' magazine.

Wilson wrote and illustrated a short story for [[Harlan Ellison]]'s [[anthology]] ''[[Again, Dangerous Visions]]'' (1972). He also contributed short stories to other publications; including "M1" and "The Zombie Butler" both of which appeared in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' and were reprinted in ''Gahan Wilson's Cracked Cosmos'' (1975).{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
In 1975 he designed a small trophy, a bust of [[H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Lovecraft]], to be given to winners of the [[World Fantasy Award]]; the bust was retired following the 2015 awards amid complaints about Lovecraft's history of racism. A new statuette designed by [[Vincent Villafranca]] depicting a tree in front of a full moon was released in 2017.

Wilson created a computer game, ''Gahan Wilson's [[The Ultimate Haunted House]]'', with [[Byron Preiss]]. He wrote the 1992 animated short ''Diner''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312624/|title=Gahan Wilson's Diner|date=July 31, 1992|access-date=April 26, 2018|via=www.imdb.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209063249/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312624/|archive-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=IMDb not a viable source|date=November 2019}}

In 2009, Fantagraphics Books released ''Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons'', a slipcased, three-volume collection of Wilson's cartoons and short stories for that magazine. A collection of his work, ''Fifty Years of Gahan Wilson'', was published in 2010.

==Awards==
In 2005, Wilson was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the World Fantasy Awards.<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|author=World Fantasy Convention |year=2010 |title=Award Winners and Nominees |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html/ |access-date=February 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201074405/http://worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html |archive-date=December 1, 2010 }}</ref> He received the [[World Fantasy Convention Award]] (in the form of the bust of [[H. P. Lovecraft]] that he had designed as the award trophy in 1975) in 1981. He also received the [[National Cartoonists Society]]'s Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Wilson is the subject of a feature-length documentary film, ''Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird'', directed by [[Steven-Charles Jaffe]].

He was an influence on later alternative cartoonists, including [[Gary Larson]], [[John Callahan (cartoonist)|John Callahan]] and [[Bill Plympton]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

==Personal life==
Wilson was married to author Nancy Winters (née Nancy Dee Midyette) from 1966 until her death in March 2019.<ref>[http://www.tcj.com/gahan-wilson/ Gehr, Richard. ''The Comics Journal'', April 27, 2011.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705135402/http://www.tcj.com/gahan-wilson/ |date=July 5, 2011 }}</ref><ref name=VerySad>[http://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2019/03/03/gahan-wilson-is-suffering-from-advanced-dementia/ Gahan Wilson is Suffering from Advanced Dementia], by D.D. Degg, at ''The Daily Cartoonist''; published March 3, 2019; retrieved March 3, 2019</ref>

In 2019, Wilson's stepson Paul Winters announced that Wilson was suffering from advanced [[dementia]].<ref name=VerySad/> Wilson died from complications of dementia on November 21, 2019, in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gahan Wilson, Vividly Macabre Cartoonist, Dies at 89|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/arts/gahan-wilson-dead.html|work=The New York Times|date=November 22, 2019|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Farrell |first1=Paul |title=Gahan Wilson Dies: Famed Cartoonist Passes Away at 89 |url=https://heavy.com/news/2019/11/gahan-wilson-dead/ |website=Heavy.com |access-date=November 22, 2019 |language=en |date=November 22, 2019}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
*''Gahan Wilson's Graveside Manner'' (1965)
*''The Man in the Cannibal Pot'' (1967)
*''I Paint What I See'' (1971)
*''●'' (1972) in Harlan Ellison (Ed.), ''Again, Dangerous Visions 2'', Signet, New York, 1972
*''Playboy's Gahan Wilson'' (i) (1973)
*''Gahan Wilson's Cracked Cosmos'' (1975)
*''The Weird World of Gahan Wilson'' (1975)
*''And Then We'll Get Him!'' (1978)
*''Nuts'' (strip collection) (1979)
*''Playboy's Gahan Wilson'' (ii) (1980)
*''Is ''Nothing'' Sacred?'' (1982) {{ISBN|978-0-312-43707-7}}
*''Gahan Wilson's America'' (1985)
*''Eddy Deco's Last Caper'' (1987)
*''[[Everybody's Favorite Duck]]'' (1988)
*''[[A Night in the Lonesome October]]'' (1993) (illustrated by Gahan Wilson; written by [[Roger Zelazny]])
*''Classics Illustrated: Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven and Other Poems'' (1990)
*''Still Weird'' (1994)
*''The Big Book of Weirdos'' (1995)
*''Even Weirder'' (1996)
*''The Big Book of Freaks'' (1996)
*''The Cleft and Other Odd Tales'' (1998) (stories and illustrations by Gahan Wilson)
*''Gravediggers' Party'' (2002)
*''Monster Party'' (2003)
*''The Best of Gahan Wilson'' (2004)
*''Pop Art'' (2007) (illustrated by Gahan Wilson; written by [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joe Hill]]. 52 hard covers signed by Mr. Hill, limited edition lettered from A to Z.  Rare.)
*''Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons'' (2010) (slipcased three-volume set containing all of Wilson's cartoons for Playboy)
*''Nuts: A Graphic Novel by Gahan Wilson'' (2011) (collects his entire ''Nuts'' comic strip, Fantagraphics)
*''Gahan Wilson Sunday Comics'' (2013) (Publication Date: September 7, 2013)
*''Gahan Wilson's Out There'' (2016) (collects material 1964–1981 from Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)

===Children's fantasy===
* [[Matthew Looney]] series written by [[Jerome Beatty Jr.]], illustrated by Gahan Wilson:
** ''Matthew Looney's Voyage to the Earth'' (1961)
** ''Matthew Looney's Invasion of the Earth'' (1965)
** ''Matthew Looney in the Outback'' (1969)
** ''Matthew Looney and the Space Pirates'' (1972)
** ''Maria Looney on the Red Planet'' (1977)
** ''Maria Looney and the Cosmic Circus'' (1978)
** ''Maria Looney and the Remarkable Robot'' (1978)
* ''Bob Fulton's Amazing Soda-pop Stretcher: An International Spy Story'' (1963) written by Jerome Beatty Jr., illustrated by Gahan Wilson<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beatty |first1=Jerome |last2=Wilson |first2=Gahan |date=1963 |title=Bob Fulton's Amazing Soda-pop Stretcher: An International Spy Story |location=New York |publisher=W.R. Scott |oclc=2291036}}</ref>
* ''Harry, the Fat Bear Spy'' (1973)
* ''Harry and the Sea Serpent'' (1976)
* ''Granny's Fish Story'' (1975)
* ''The Bang Bang Family'' (1974)
* ''[[Spooky Stories for a Dark and Stormy Night]]'' (1994)
* ''Didn't Didn't Do It'' (2007) written by [[Bradford Morrow]], illustrated by Gahan Wilson

===Books edited by Gahan Wilson===
* ''Gahan Wilson's Favorite Tales of Horror'' (1976)
* ''The First [[World Fantasy Award]]s'' (1977)

==See also==
*[[Charles Addams]]
*[[Robert Crumb]]
*[[Edward Gorey]]
*[[Gary Larson]]
*[[Lorin Morgan-Richards]]
*[[Angus Oblong]]
*[[Shel Silverstein]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
Some bibliographical information derived from ''[[The Encyclopedia of Fantasy]]'' ed. [[John Clute]] and [[John Grant (science fiction writer)|John Grant]].

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |first=Dale Andrew |last=White |title="Little, Wrinkled and Green": an interview with macabre cartoonist Gahan Wilson |asin=B004WTUMGC |publisher=Twin Rivers Press |date=April 16, 2011 |type=ebook}}
*Wiater, Stanley. "Gahan Wilson: Overheard In Appreciation". In Boston, MA: The Lovecraft Society of New England (eds). ''NecronomiCon: The Cthulhu Mythos Convention Aug 20–22, 1993'' (convention souvenir book), pp.&nbsp;13–16.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/wilson_gahan.htm Lambiek: Gahan Wilson]
* [https://archive.org/details/FirstWorldFantasyConvention1975 Audio recording] of Mr. Wilson as moderator and participant in panel discussion at the First World Fantasy Convention in 1975.
* {{LCAuth|n79043976|Gahan Wilson|55|}}
* {{Isfdb Name|1560}}
* {{Discogs artist|Gahan Wilson}}
* {{imdb name|0933431}}

{{Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}
{{World Fantasy Award Best Artist}}
{{World Fantasy Award Life Achievement}}
{{World Fantasy Convention Award}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Gahan}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American artists]]
[[Category:American comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:American children's book illustrators]]
[[Category:Artists from Evanston, Illinois]]
[[Category:Deaths from dementia in Arizona]]
[[Category:Horror artists]]
[[Category:Speculative fiction editors]]
[[Category:National Lampoon people]]
[[Category:Playboy cartoonists]]
[[Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:The New Yorker cartoonists]]
[[Category:World Fantasy Award–winning artists]]
[[Category:American weird fiction writers]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]