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: CRISIS ZONE, coming from Fantagraphics this August.
Set in the colorful NSFW world of the bestselling Megg, Mogg, and Owl series, CRISIS ZONE was born amidst the uncertainty of the Covid-19 crisis. As the pandemic continued to escalate far beyond any reasonable expectations, CRISIS ZONE escalated right along with it — in real-time, with daily posts on Instagram. Its battle mission was to amuse the masses: after all, no matter how horrible and bleak everything seemed, at least Werewolf Jones wasn’t in your house! Over the course of 2020, CRISIS ZONE 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, ass-kicking leader and back again! Witness Werewolf Jones’s journey from a 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.
“Crisis Zone is (I’m told) the ultimate piece of pandemic art,” said Hanselmann. “You won’t find a better record of what went down in 2020. Nominated for the Harvey Award and Cartoonist Studio Prize and winner of the Eisner Award for the best webcomic. Snubbed by the Pulitzer. Clowns! Big mistake!”
Fantagraphics will publish the hilarious, off-the-wall comic on August 17, 2021.
Source: Press Release by Fantagraphics
