Megahex (Megg, Mogg and Owl) - Hardcover

Hanselmann, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1606997432 ISBN 13: 9781606997437

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books, 2014

Synopsis

Megg is a depressed, drug-addicted witch. Mogg is her black cat. Their friend, Owl, is an anthropomorphized owl. They hang out a lot with Werewolf Jones. This may sound like a pure stoner comedy, but it transcends the genre: these characters struggle unsuccessfully to come to grips with their depression, drug use, sexuality, poverty, lack of work, lack of ambition, and their complex feelings about each other in ways that have made Megg and Mogg sensations on Hanselmann’s GirlMountain tumblr. This is the first collection of Hanselmann’s work, freed from its cumbersome Internet prison, and sure to be one of the most talked about graphic novels of 2014, featuring all of the “classic†Megg and Mogg episodes from the past five years as well as over 70 pages of all-new material.

About this title

About the Author:

Born 1981, Launceston, Tasmania. Simon Hanselmann's New York Times Best-Selling Megg, Mogg and Owl series has been translated into thirteen languages, nominated for multiple Ignatz and Eisner awards, and won Best Series at the Angouleme International Comics Festival in 2018. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife and a rotating cast of small animals.

Review:

“For a series about slackers, these books are remarkably emotionally visceral and intense.”
- High-Low

“Simon's the real deal, for sure. He Captures that stoner stay-at-home life so accurately that I actually find his comics really depressing and thank God I don't ever have to hang out with anybody like that ever again.”
- Daniel Clowes

“Megahex... is an existential stoner tale that is part Furry Freak Brothers, part Beavis and Butt-Head, and part Jean Paul Sartre (with some Jackass thrown in for good measure).... It would be easy to dismiss Megahex as another stoner comic. But there’s so much lurking beneath the seemingly superficial surfaces -- questions about friendship, loyalty, love, drug addiction, sexual identity, and hopelessness. There are plenty of hysterical Darwin Award-worthy situations in Megahex, but that’s not likely to be your takeaway. And what you’ll leave with is far scarier than any spook house frights; the fear of looking deeply at yourself in the mirror and finding a monster (or nothing) in your place.”
- Gareth Branwyn, Boing Boing

“The strips are intricately drawn and painstakingly watercoloured, while the narratives are a gloomy insight into the lives of suburban down-and-outs. Reading... Hanselmann evokes conflicting emotions; the characters are hilarious, yet moments of desperation and true sadness emerge from the bong smoke.”
- William Stanforth, Broadsheet

“Featuring old-school underground comix, but with the style and serial nature of even older-school Sunday newspaper comics strips, Megahex is the sort of comic that could only gestate on the Internet, and only find final, full expression in book form from a publisher like Fantagraphics. [Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]”
- J. Caleb Mozzocco, Las Vegas Weekly

“Profane though it is, the narrative of three 20-something roommates casually tormenting each other mixes an intelligent understanding of depression and anhedonia with its crudeness.”
- Hillary Brown, Paste

“The story is depressing as often as it is funny, a cautionary tale that’s at its best when Hanselmann spreads his writing wings, extending beyond a gag strip into an honest exploration of his deeply flawed leads.”
- Publishers Weekly

“The best way to describe these comics to anyone who hasn’t read them is simply to say they feel complete, with everything precisely in its right place, as if Hanselmann’s tiny panels really were just little windows into a strange universe of post-college weirdos, slackers, and psychotics who just happen to be talking animals. ... Buy this because it deserves to sell a million copies.”
- Tim O'Neil, The A.V. Club

“[Megahex] adds up to a definitely non-heteronormative and often hilarious, and sometimes touching, reading experience.”
- Robert Kirby, The Comics Journal

“Megg and Mogg are unforgettable leads, and Owl and Jones are the perfect foils, and Hanselmann’s art pops off the page thanks to his gorgeous use of colour. Hanselmann is a consummate artist and writer.”
- Lee Henderson (The Road Narrows as You Go), The Globe and Mail

About this edition

• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1606997432
• ISBN 13: 9781606997437
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200