oat willie

oat willie

Austintatious, Inc 1987
Oat Willie was a comic character who became a mascot of Austin’s 1960s underground culture. The character had his debut -and early demise- in a 1968 comic strip for an Austin underground newspaper. Oat Willie’s creator, Gilbert Shelton, resurrected the character later that year to run him as a write-in candidate for Governor of Texas.

Supporters of Oat Willie’s campaign often met at a local head shop called Underground City Hall. After the failed gubernatorial campaign, the character remained popular among the head shop’s patrons. Underground City Hall later changed ownership and became known as Oat Willie’s.

Gilbert Shelton – 1, 18-21+, 22-23(a), 29-33+ • Kerry Awn – 2 • Marianne Wizard – 3-17+ • Jack Jackson (=”Jaxon”) – 3-17+ • Joe Brown – 18-21+, 29-33+ • Freddie • “Flash” Freeman – 22-23(t) • Charlie Loving – 24-28, 34+ • Lieuen Adkins – 34+ • Dale Wilkins – 35 • Micael Priest – 36

Pencils, Inks, Colors, Letters: Gilbert Shelton

2 – untitled • 3 – The Origin Of Oat Willie • 18 – The Return Of The Governor’s Words • 20 – Oat Willie And His Friends • 22 – Oat Willie Should Be Governor Of Texas • 24 – Nunzio, Narc 13 • 26 – Back To The Present… • 29 – Oat Willie’s Mid-Life Crisis • 34 – Oat Willie’s Fight Song • 35 – Oat Willie’s New Cordless Catalogue (ad) • 36 – Onward Thru The Eighties