Seeds and Stems

By Simon Hanselmann. Published by Fantagraphics. 

Softcover, 360 pages, B&W and Colour, 2020.

A spectacular omnibus of never-before-collected Megg, Mogg & Owl short comics, and more!

In 2016, Hanselmann began producing Xeroxed zines starring the depressive Megg (a green-skinned witch), her abusive boyfriend Mogg (an actual cat), their submissive roommate Owl (a vaguely humanoid owl), and the self-destructively hedonistic Werewolf Jones (half human, half wolf) in print runs of 300 to 500 copies, with hand-painted covers, custom stamps and hologram security stickers. Seeds and Stems collects all of these out-of-print, self-published stories produced by the artist between 2016-2019, along with a generous smattering of rarities from various anthologies and magazines. Megg and Mogg and friends explore the worlds of lucid dreaming, banking scams, cinema, mixed drinks, alien invasions, and budget vasectomies in this varied collection of rare and often experimental adventures, designed and curated entirely by the artist.

"One of the most gifted cartoonists alive." — The A.V. Club

"Hilarious, upsetting, and thoroughly brilliant, this collection proves once and for all that there's not another living cartoonist as brazenly funny or unflinchingly weird or insightful about mental illness as Hanselmann." — Library Journal

"If you like your comedy black, profane and outrageous, you've probably already encountered Hanselmann's twisted tales of Meg, Mogg, Owl and Werewolf Jones or should want to soon." — Forbes

"These are simultaneously some of the meanest and most tender comics you will ever read." — Seattle Weekly

"Megg, Mogg, and Owl is a soap opera. It's a sitcom. It's a black comedy about drug addiction. ... There's a voyeuristic quality to it—like watching a car crash. But it's also hard not to root for this out-of-control crew. I want them to win." — Portland Mercury