Teddy Bear’s picnic finale
What happens at the end of the teddy bear’s picnic? Everyone goes home, of course. The parade begins with two bears carrying a pole with the picnic rug as sling, carrying left over food and possibly a bear. Next a bear kicks the empty beer barrel along because you should never leave your rubbish behind. Another bear carries boxes of glass – presumably the glasses they drank from. Next comes a bear with a basket. Looks like only bread is left! Then a bear with a spiky doo and shades skateboards followed by a parental bear in a frilly apron and hat, leading a string of children bear by the paw. Finally a piglet-sized bear struggles to keep up.
The backstory behind these bear-able silly illos
Ian Gunn, creator of these silly illos (illustrations), was an award-winning artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Cancer took him too soon. But his legacy includes numerous illustrations for zines, books and even school textbooks.
We’ve published a veritable museum of Ian’s Silly Illos here. Many of these illustrations are available for sale.
Victoria’s science fiction convention, Continuum, occasionally presents the Ian Gunn Memorial Award recognising the ‘unsung heroes’ of fandom. Recipients work in obscurity for years without recognition. This award commemorates Ian’s selfless efforts to reach out to others, encouraging others and thereby building the science fiction community.
K’rin Pender-Gunn, Ian’s widow, gave Dark Matter Zine permission to republish Ian’s artwork. Thanks, K’rin!
