A. Wyatt Mann

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About

A. Wyatt Mann is the pen name of the political cartoonist Nick Bougas, best known for his drawings depicting white supremacist and racist sentiments. Online, Mann’s drawings have gained a cult following on communities such as 4chan’s /pol/ (Politically Incorrect) and Stormfront, typically being used as exploitables.

History

The original illustrations were drawn in the late 80’s and early 90’s, though is unknown where they were published. The pen name A. Wyatt Mann is a pun for “a white man”, in reference to the drawings’ themes of white supremacy.

Online History

A section for Mann’s drawings was created on the white supremacist website Resist.com, which was founded by the founder of the neo-nazi white supremacist organization WAR (White Aryan Resistance) Tom Metzger. At some point, Mann’s drawings started being posted on 4chan, mainly on the boards /b/ and /pol/, where they gained a cult following.^[2] In 2009, users from /pol/ stated editing cartoons from the political artist Ben Garrison by using illustrations from Mann in order to try and frame Garrison as a white supremacist (shown bellow, left). On April 16th, 2011, a page for Mann was created on Encyclopedia Dramatica.^[9] On December 2nd, 2013, a user named Ozzy Bon Halen on the white supremacist forum The Beer Barrel submitted a thread to the site comparing real life pictures with Mann drawings.^[6]

Identitiy

Over the years, /pol/ and other white supremacist communities tried to find Mann’s true identity, with the following being the two most likely cadidates: Wyatt Kaldenberg, odinist former white supremacist and advocate for Tom Metzger’s WAR; and Nick Bougas, film director (who directed the film The Goddess Bunny) and artist with a similar style as Mann. Kaldenberg denied being Mann, first in a Facebook post on February 20th, 2014,^[3] and later in a Google+ post from September 10th, 2014 where he pointed to Bougas.^[8] On July 11th, 2014, a /pol/ thread announced that Mann was Bougas, inspiring a series of “appreciation threads” to him in the following days.^[7] On February 5th, 2015, BuzzFeed’s editor Joseph Bernstein submitted an article which explains the history of the Happy Merchant face and points to Bougas as being its creator.^[4]

Related Memes

Due to their racist nature, various pieces of Mann’s work have inspired exploitables and parodies, some of them associated with 4chan culture.

Happy Merchantis the nickname given to a cartoon portraying a male Jew based on anti-Semitic views, giving it characterizations such as greed, manipulation, and the need for world domination. The original drawing promoted a world without Jews and blacks.

“Around Blacks Never Relax”is a catchphrase associated with a Mann drawing depicting an Afro-American man with a knife in his hands. The drawing has inspired a series of exploitable images.

“Bix Nood”is a term used to refer to African-Americans, coming from a Mann ilustration despicting a black man speaking gibberish through a cellphone.

“Gas The Kikes, Race War Now” is a catchphrase used to instigate a violent uproar against other groups or races, mainly Jews. The phrase, mostly used ironically, has been used as a phrasal template on /pol/ (Gas The X, Y War Now)

“Smelly, Dumb, Beaner Scum” is a catchphrase associated with a Mann drawing despicting an stereotypical Mexican. The drawing and catchphrase have inspired various derivates.

Electric Jew is a term used to refer to television, criticising the apparent Jewish dominance on the media. The term has also been associated with one of Mann’s drawings, which has been often parodied.