Still Funny After All These Years

One of his most famous cartoons

Gahan Wilson, 89, died on Thursday. In the 1970's and 1980's he was at the top of the cartoon profession, on par with Gary Larson (The Far Side), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury).

His drawings and humor were distinctive; he would take an ordinary subject--driving a car, a grandmother in her living room--and insert a macabre and humorous twist. Unlike other cartoonists who often mail it in, Gahan Wilson's single-panel creations were always imaginative.

After learning about his passing, I perused a couple of volumes that I had not looked at this century (!). They were still funny after all these years.