Crisis Zone

by Simon Hanselmann

Overview

In March 2020, as the planet began to enter lockdown, acclaimed cartoonist Simon Hanselmann decided that what the world needed most was free, easily accessible entertainment, so he set out to make the greatest webcomic ever created! The result is also certain to be one of the most acclaimed and eagerly anticipated graphic novels of 2021.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continued to escalate far beyond any reasonable expectations, Crisis Zone escalated right alongside, in real time, with daily posts on Instagram. Crisis Zone's battle mission was to amuse the masses: no matter how horrible and bleak everything seemed, at least Werewolf Jones wasn’t in your house! Over the course of 2020, Crisis Zone has amassed unprecedented amounts of new fans to the Megg and Mogg universe and is presented here, unabridged and uncensored, with a slew of added pages and scenes deleted from the webcomic, as well as an extensive “Director’s Commentary” from Hanselmann himself.

Watch Megg attempt to bury herself in a digital world of escapism! See Mogg fall down the rabbit hole of paranoia and conspiracy theories! Experience Owl's metamorphosis from timid and uptight worrywort to a no-holds-barred, asskicking leader and back again! Witness Werewolf Jones's journey from reluctant erotic performer, to viral TikTok stardom, to Netflix sensation! Bouncing rapidly between comedy, horror, action, and relational soap-operatics, Crisis Zone refuses to take the pedal off the gas as we all hurtle towards unknown destinations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683964445
Publisher:	Fantagraphics Books
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Series:	Megg, Mogg and Owl
Pages:	292
Sales rank:	243,617
Product dimensions:	10.90(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Simon Hanselmann hails from Tasmania but resides with his family in Los Angeles, CA.  His bestselling New York Times series Megg, Mogg and Owl has been translated into thirteen languages, nominated for multiple Ignatz and Eisner awards, and won Best Series at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2018.

Editorial Reviews

08/09/2021

Hanselmann (Seeds and Stems) trucks on with his gross-out dark stoner dramedy series Megahex. Here, the oddball cast contends with the Covid-19 pandemic and a world seemingly spiraling out of control. The lockdown quickly leads to desperation for the mentally ill and drug-addicted protagonists: perpetually high Megg dissociates from reality with the video game Animal Crossing, uptight Owl attempts to maintain order by threatening everyone around him at knifepoint, and nigh-sociopathic Werewolf Jones makes ends meet by becoming an online porn star, which eventually lands him a Netflix reality series called Anus King. Hanselmann’s deranged approach to comedy maintains its edge, particularly in one extended parody of/homage to action films. The plotting is haphazard, though, and the frequent attempts to satirize “psychotic conservatives and unhinged uber-leftists” come off as a smug indie-comix approximation of South Park. This more political line is hammered home in Hanselmann’s “director’s commentary,” which will pique the interest of devoted fans, but others will likely find the consistently terrible, misanthropic nature of the characters at odds with the series’ climbing up on a soapbox, which renders the humor more didactic than suits the surreality of the series. It’s an acquired taste. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Born of generosity and desperation, Crisis Zone is the first great work of pandemic fiction."

The New York Times Book Review - Ed Park

"This unhinged Instagram comic perfectly captures the horrors of 2020."

Input Magazine

"In the deluxe and beautifully designed Fantagraphics edition, Crisis Zone ends up looking like a children’s book produced in an institution for the criminally insane. … Assuming we have a future ahead of us, Crisis Zone will be the keepsake to remind us what we became in [2020]."

Forbes

"Hanselmann walks a razor-thin line of misery and hilarity in Crisis Zone. … this is arguably his biggest, strangest, and best work so far."

Forces of Geek

"From characters trying to escape the anxiety and pressures of pandemic life through the wonders of cyberspace, to becoming unexpected viral celebrities online, Crisis Zone blends comedy with biting satire."

CBR

"Ultimately, Crisis Zone is a sensitive, sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing account of last year: a story about what it’s like to have terrible friends during a pandemic, and a reflection on how economic and political hopelessness collided to make that situation even worse."

Los Angeles Review of Books

"A delightfully bonkers read. If you're ever interested in revisiting that atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and lockdown ennui with the benefit of hindsight, it's captured perfectly in Crisis Zone."

Entertainment Weekly

"Hanselmann is one of the most gifted cartoonists alive."

The A.V. Club

"With equal parts twisted whimsy, reluctant introspection and emotionally-resonant tragicomedy, Crisis Zone at its core provides a stirring example of what a modern-day humorist can achieve when allowed total control of their own work with only one goal in mind: to entertain. A riveting if not offbeat (and somewhat grotesque) tale of woe, Hanselmann’s sardonic, take-no-prisoners commentary on modern isolation represents a new milestone in the comics medium for the totality of its bold approach."

Screen Rant

"Crisis Zone weaves in elements of action, comedy, horror, and soap-operatics in this tale that goes full speed ahead straight from the beginning."

Seattle Review of Books

"Astoundingly well-crafted and punishingly heartfelt."

Vulture

★ 06/01/2021

In March 2020, a witch named Megg, a cat named Mogg, and their roommate Owl watch a report about the country entering lockdown due to COVID-19. While Megg worries whether this means a video game she's preordered will be delayed and Mogg spirals with anxiety, Owl sets about sanitizing every surface in their home—a futile effort, due to the imminent arrival of Werewolf Jones and his two sons, followed by drug-dealing wizard Mike, and Booger, who's a transgender bogeywoman. Soon, the cast of characters (all from Hanselmann's long-running "Megg, Mogg, and Owl" series) find themselves careening through a series of drug-fueled misadventures that involve raging house fires, multiple hostage situations, attempted murders, pregnancy scares, gunfights with vengeful bunny rabbits, and infidelity. All the while, they reckon with civil unrest, identity politics, a presidential election, homeschooling, cancel culture, and sudden notoriety following the premiere of a reality series about their lives. VERDICT Hanselmann (Seeds and Stems) proves the perfect author to capture American life in late 2020. His new volume escalates the depravity at a relentless pace and delivers both laugh-out-loud gags and genuine pathos, as his casts' self-absorbed and self-destructive behavior reveals a desperate need for stability and a sense of belonging in an increasingly fractured and contentious culture.

Library Journal