Comic Strip Review: Is Nothing Sacred? by Gahan Wilson
Gahan Wilson (1930-2019) was a cartoonist known for his macabre imagination and dark humor, though he also dipped into relatively mundane observational humor as well. His cartoons appeared in The New Yorker, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Playboy on a regular basis, as well as many other magazines and books. There are several collections of his work, the one I’m looking at today is from 1982.
The title cartoon twists a common saying by having it be a sincere question of people who appear to be worshipping “nothing.” The wraparound cover takes off from that cartoon by having characters from other entries also participate in worship. I should note here that I am again stretching the definition of “comic strip” as Mr. Wilson almost exclusively did single panel comics.
The first cartoon in this volume has a man in a lobster bib in a courtroom inhabited by giant lobsters. His (human) lawyer worries that the man won’t be able to get a fair trial. Later in the book, there’s a lobster sitting in a restaurant wearing a human bib. The last cartoon is of an unamused man watching two laughing men on the television, the caption indicating that this is one of those local news shows with enforced jollity that’s gone a little too far.
Some of the cartoons have the joke be obvious from the drawing itself, others rely on a combination of picture and caption, and a few look like ordinary scenes until you read the caption where the joke is.
One of the more interesting cartoons from the perspective of decades later is one of a disgruntled-looking baker decorating a wedding cake with two grooms on top, while a fellow baker tries to reassure him with “the world changes.” Remember, published in 1982!
You probably already know if you are a fan of Gahan Wilson’s art and humor style, but if you are somehow new to him, this is as good a start as any! Check out your local library or used book store.
