Editing Jack Cole (artist) (section)

===Death===
On August 13, 1958, Cole got in his Chevy station wagon, purchased a rifle, and fatally shot himself in the head. On the day he died, Cole mailed a suicide note explaining the reasons for his suicide to his wife Dorothy. The coroner deemed that letter too personal and did not enter it as evidence at the ensuing inquest. The only explanation Dorothy Cole publicly gave was "We had had an argument before." She subsequently remarried, and disappeared from public view. Cole also wrote a suicide note to his editor and father figure, [[Hugh Hefner]], which was printed in [[Art Spiegelman]]'s biography of Cole, ''Jack Cole & Plastic Man: Forms Stretched To Their Limits''. The note reads:
:"Dear Hef, When you read this I shall be dead. I cannot go on living with myself and hurting those dear to me. What I do has nothing to do with you." 
Gravett notes that while Cole owed Hefner money, his estate would cover this debt. Cole did not participate in the ''Playboy'' lifestyle, though the evening before his suicide, he did drink a substantial amount at a ''Playboy'' office party.<ref name=PaulGravett/>

The reason why the 43-year-old Cole killed himself remains one of the greatest mysteries in 20th century American cartooning, according to journalist [[Paul Gravett]].<ref name=PaulGravett>[[Gravett, Paul]] (August 31, 2008). [http://www.paulgravett.com/articles/article/jack_cole "Jack Cole: Stretched To His Limits"]. Paul Gravett. Reprinted from ''Comic Book Marketplace'' (2001). Retrieved September 24, 2018.</ref><ref>R. C. Harvey (2007), p. xx–xxi</ref> Cole was in the prime of a celebrated cartooning career, complete with praise for his sophisticated gag cartoons in ''Playboy'', and gaining increasing visibility for his newspaper strip ''Betsy and Me.'' [[R. C. Harvey]] described the suicide as "one of the most baffling events in the history of cartooning".<ref>Ho, Oliver (February 11, 2010). [https://www.popmatters.com/120702-borderland-speakeasy-3-needle-in-the-eye-2496164660.html "Borderland Speakeasy #3: Needle in the Eye"]. ''[[PopMatters]]''. Retrieved September 24, 2018.</ref>