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Megg, Mogg & Owl #3
One More Year
The characters are imbued with far more pathos and depth than seems plausible given the stock comic premise — drugged-out, slacker roommates. One More Year continues to give substance to the characters and personalities of its protagonists in ways that never fail to surprise, delight, and horrify.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published June 20, 2017
About the author
Simon Hanselmann
75 books622 followersSimon Hanselmann is an Australian-born cartoonist best known for his Megg, Mogg, and Owl series. Hanselmann has been nominated four times for an Ignatz Award, four times for an Eisner Award, once for the Harvey Award and won Best Series at Angouleme 2018.
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July 2, 2017
One More Year is Simon Hanselmann’s latest Megg & Mogg collection, full of new subversive stoner comedy stories. Like the last one, Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam, One More Year is pretty decent though unfortunately doesn’t reach the heights of Megahex.
The thing is: three books in and the schtick is starting to feel stale. You know like how sometimes a sitcom becomes successful and then dips in quality - the characters become too well defined and don’t change, their catchphrases and storylines become overly familiar? That’s where Hanselmann’s Megg & Mogg is now.
Megg is still a basket case, Owl is still the group’s punching bag, and Werewolf Jones remains outrageous as fuck. They get stoned, they do childish, reckless, silly shit, repeat, etc. and the artwork is the same, book in, book out. But Hanselmann’s created something great with this title and still manages to be entertaining every so often.
WW Jones, that dirty bastard, had me genuinely laughing when he accidentally took viagra at the water park and was walking around with a huge boner that his banana hammock utterly failed to cover! And his birthday wish to take a “Boston Clanger” (a shit) on Owl’s pillow was ridiculously funny. That’s the level of humour but it works!
The comedy walks the line between hilarious and unpleasant when it comes to how the group treat Owl, kinda like the way Family Guy escalated the violence against Meg by Peter and co. Sometimes it’s just funny because Owl’s a bit of a creep too but other times it can be off-putting where you just feel sorry for him and hate Megg & Mogg for being so cruel.
The high school flashback was mildly interesting, as were the stories on the Zine Faire and the Ram Raids, but just as many stories failed to hit anywhere close to the target like when they got retail jobs and had a birthday dinner for Owl. There are also a large number of one or two pagers that are totally unmemorable and throwaway.
I don’t know how many more of these Hanselmann can crank out before they become boring but it feels like he’s starting to run out of ideas and ending the series and trying something new might not be a bad idea. One More Year, as the title suggests, is basically more of the same but there’s enough good stuff here to satisfy fans - just don’t expect too much. If you’ve yet to experience Hanselmann’s Megg & Mogg comics, check out Megahex instead for an excellent knee-slapper of a read.
The thing is: three books in and the schtick is starting to feel stale. You know like how sometimes a sitcom becomes successful and then dips in quality - the characters become too well defined and don’t change, their catchphrases and storylines become overly familiar? That’s where Hanselmann’s Megg & Mogg is now.
Megg is still a basket case, Owl is still the group’s punching bag, and Werewolf Jones remains outrageous as fuck. They get stoned, they do childish, reckless, silly shit, repeat, etc. and the artwork is the same, book in, book out. But Hanselmann’s created something great with this title and still manages to be entertaining every so often.
WW Jones, that dirty bastard, had me genuinely laughing when he accidentally took viagra at the water park and was walking around with a huge boner that his banana hammock utterly failed to cover! And his birthday wish to take a “Boston Clanger” (a shit) on Owl’s pillow was ridiculously funny. That’s the level of humour but it works!
The comedy walks the line between hilarious and unpleasant when it comes to how the group treat Owl, kinda like the way Family Guy escalated the violence against Meg by Peter and co. Sometimes it’s just funny because Owl’s a bit of a creep too but other times it can be off-putting where you just feel sorry for him and hate Megg & Mogg for being so cruel.
The high school flashback was mildly interesting, as were the stories on the Zine Faire and the Ram Raids, but just as many stories failed to hit anywhere close to the target like when they got retail jobs and had a birthday dinner for Owl. There are also a large number of one or two pagers that are totally unmemorable and throwaway.
I don’t know how many more of these Hanselmann can crank out before they become boring but it feels like he’s starting to run out of ideas and ending the series and trying something new might not be a bad idea. One More Year, as the title suggests, is basically more of the same but there’s enough good stuff here to satisfy fans - just don’t expect too much. If you’ve yet to experience Hanselmann’s Megg & Mogg comics, check out Megahex instead for an excellent knee-slapper of a read.
July 17, 2017
Okay, my rating may have something to do that I also finished today the masterpiece of the 2014 Nobel Prize winner, Patrick Modiano, Dora Bruder. One More Year is the fourth book I have read of Hanselmann, and it is a stoner comic, as were the others, with irresponsible gross-out humor, following the spiraling-out-of-control antics of roommates/friends, Megg, a witch, Mogg, a cat, Owl and others. They're all mean to Owl and this is part of the "fun." In the second book in this series that I read, it appeared Hanselmann was going to take this crazy drunken stoner thing in the direction of significance, beginning to deal with Megg's serious psychiatric issues, her spiraling depression. I thought: brilliant, he's making something that was merely trivial and silly into something important and significant.
After reading the third book I have read in this series, just out in June 2017, I can give you an update on Hanselmann's quest to make a meaningful statement about depression: Nope, he's decided not to go there. It's as if he heard from his stoner-oriented fans: We just want a stoner comic, dude. You're no Shakespeare, man! We want more excessive drinking! We want more vomit! And then he gives 'em what the people seem to want. Some great drawing, some still funny bits, some obvious line-crossing humor, but I say it's too much of the same thing. Not going anywhere new.
After reading the third book I have read in this series, just out in June 2017, I can give you an update on Hanselmann's quest to make a meaningful statement about depression: Nope, he's decided not to go there. It's as if he heard from his stoner-oriented fans: We just want a stoner comic, dude. You're no Shakespeare, man! We want more excessive drinking! We want more vomit! And then he gives 'em what the people seem to want. Some great drawing, some still funny bits, some obvious line-crossing humor, but I say it's too much of the same thing. Not going anywhere new.
September 15, 2017
Most of the negative or middling reviews of One More Year I've seen make two points: 1) that too many of the stories in this volume can be found elsewhere, and 2) that the "Megg, Mogg, and Owl" shtick of debauchery and victimization-as-comedy is growing old, and it's time for Hanselmann to turn his extraordinary talent to more serious material. The first point is fair; One More Year contains Life Zone and Worst Behavior in their entirety, and lots of the remaining stories are still up on Vice. But then again, those books are Hanselmann's best, and the former is hard to find. Having them contained in this spectacularly designed volume isn't such a hardship. As for the second point... don't worry, friends. "Megg, Mogg, and Owl" is over. "Xmas 2017" (RIP WWJ) is coming, and with it the new narrative "Megg's Coven," and all the unalloyed misery and consequences you crave. And who knows, maybe when Hanselmann moves into his blue period we'll all miss the days of Megahex, Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam, and One More Year, one of the most sustained runs of hilarity in recent comics history.
May 7, 2018
Some of the things this gang gets into is pretty off the wall
But on the other hand some parts give me some serious deja vu
Like I said exactly that yesterday
Good weird
But on the other hand some parts give me some serious deja vu
Like I said exactly that yesterday
Good weird
August 4, 2022
[edit Aug 4: added two more panels]
Saw this at the library. Liked what I saw at a glance. Thought: this will keep me distracted on the elliptical bike (too hot out for my usual daily walk.)
The two-word review (to match the star rating): No, thanks.
The drawings and colors are fine, and yes, there were a few funny moments: Owl, on his back in bed, slapping his wings to turn off the light; similarly, Owl clapping his wings rapidly in applause after a show ends (funny only because … my wife and I, as a "joke", do this too, clapping delicately and swiftly, palms together, fingers barely an inch apart.) Another good panel or two with Werewolf Jones at the pool, a prominent hard-on in his swimming trunks, having ingested a buffet of mystery pills including Viagra. A few other moments were funny too. Operative word: moments. That is, none of the stories were sufficiently funny (to me) to hold my interest throughout, and walk away thinking, ‘now that was a funny story.’
To be fair, I possibly don’t represent the bulls-eye of the target market for this stuff. Honestly, I’m not a devotee of 'poo' jokes; nor do I think of myself as having the credentials to critique humor that features vomit & various excreta from each and every portal of the body, splattering-the-walls ala Jackson Pollack; nor do I perk up when the thirtieth of innumerable drug references passes by, a train of them hitched a tad too close together for my graying, thinning, tastes.
Around p 150 I thought, why keep on? Well, it’s a quick read and maybe we’ll get to one of those poignant or otherwise relatively-"serious" stories that other reviewers alluded to (did they find such? I don't recall) … or something, anyway, more varied than the stuff so far. “Patience rewards …” and all that.
P 159. Werewolf Jones stabs his eyeball with a hypodermic needle. Well, that’s different alrighty! I applaud, sort of, the author’s bravery here. Still, call me old fashioned, but something about it didn’t sit especially well with me. Good thing the two page story that follows, Ignore all Messages, was for me the most interesting one in the entire book. It’s wordless. WJ on a Segway, scootering over a desert-like landscape, the beautifully painted sky going from dusk to dark, cacti oddly resembling sea anemones, Stonehenge-like rocks in the distance. The last few panels pulling in, we see WJ’s wounded eye pondering the distant moon.
More stuff like that and I’d be back. And have Megg tackle her depression in a serious way. I seem to remember other reviewers pining for more variety. Apparently there are quite a few volumes with these same characters. Perhaps one of those has more to offer than this one. Otherwise, I’m very unlikely to soldier on. I like the art a lot, but I need more.
Saw this at the library. Liked what I saw at a glance. Thought: this will keep me distracted on the elliptical bike (too hot out for my usual daily walk.)
The two-word review (to match the star rating): No, thanks.
The drawings and colors are fine, and yes, there were a few funny moments: Owl, on his back in bed, slapping his wings to turn off the light; similarly, Owl clapping his wings rapidly in applause after a show ends (funny only because … my wife and I, as a "joke", do this too, clapping delicately and swiftly, palms together, fingers barely an inch apart.) Another good panel or two with Werewolf Jones at the pool, a prominent hard-on in his swimming trunks, having ingested a buffet of mystery pills including Viagra. A few other moments were funny too. Operative word: moments. That is, none of the stories were sufficiently funny (to me) to hold my interest throughout, and walk away thinking, ‘now that was a funny story.’
To be fair, I possibly don’t represent the bulls-eye of the target market for this stuff. Honestly, I’m not a devotee of 'poo' jokes; nor do I think of myself as having the credentials to critique humor that features vomit & various excreta from each and every portal of the body, splattering-the-walls ala Jackson Pollack; nor do I perk up when the thirtieth of innumerable drug references passes by, a train of them hitched a tad too close together for my graying, thinning, tastes.
Around p 150 I thought, why keep on? Well, it’s a quick read and maybe we’ll get to one of those poignant or otherwise relatively-"serious" stories that other reviewers alluded to (did they find such? I don't recall) … or something, anyway, more varied than the stuff so far. “Patience rewards …” and all that.
P 159. Werewolf Jones stabs his eyeball with a hypodermic needle. Well, that’s different alrighty! I applaud, sort of, the author’s bravery here. Still, call me old fashioned, but something about it didn’t sit especially well with me. Good thing the two page story that follows, Ignore all Messages, was for me the most interesting one in the entire book. It’s wordless. WJ on a Segway, scootering over a desert-like landscape, the beautifully painted sky going from dusk to dark, cacti oddly resembling sea anemones, Stonehenge-like rocks in the distance. The last few panels pulling in, we see WJ’s wounded eye pondering the distant moon.
More stuff like that and I’d be back. And have Megg tackle her depression in a serious way. I seem to remember other reviewers pining for more variety. Apparently there are quite a few volumes with these same characters. Perhaps one of those has more to offer than this one. Otherwise, I’m very unlikely to soldier on. I like the art a lot, but I need more.
June 23, 2024
What started out as a crass stoner comic has somehow become deeply profound—the tragicomic reality of the rock-bottom—for addiction, mental illness, and existential emptiness. As hilarious as it is revolting and heartbreaking.
May 14, 2022
After absolutely loving my first read from Simon Hanselman I knew I had to read everything they put out because it was just that good. This one isn’t quite on the same level but it’s still really great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It did come pretty close but it was missing that little extra something. I truly don’t think anyone can beat him when it comes to weird ass, crude graphic novels. My issue was that the story was slightly confusing, it wasn’t seamless and kind of felt really randomly thrown together. It was a minor issue though and I do still highly recommend it. The artwork more than makes up for any issues I had, it’s both stunning and hilarious at once and I adored it!
September 29, 2022
This was my first time reading Mogg, Megg & Owl after binge reading their adventures november last year, I was really depressed back then and I remember devouring those stories. This has a been a recovery year for the most part, so it was weird to read this book in a good state of mind, not feeling somehow an equal to these characters. I'm glad Simon Hanselmann's dark humor is still highly effective on me, his comedic timing and approach to situational comedy is irresistible, there's plenty of references to pop culture (Friends, How I met Your Mother and Simpsons to name a few). Though those nods to the mainstream are expertly subverted and corrupted when juxtaposed with these characters everyday. Drugs, sex and violence are as part of their lives as the inevitable reverberations of such a lifestyle. That's what makes Haselmann's work really stand out to me, how he manages to weave this intricate web of satire, dark humor and honest observations on depression, self-destructive behavior and addiction. The accuracy of some of his depictions is almost painful, using his anthropomorphic characters and humor Simon confronts the reader with some of the problems we, as a society, so desperately try to avoid. Admittedly the balance between all these factors are not always even, in Bad Gateway we get a slower pace, a book veering into quiet, crude ruminations, while Megahex is built on a solid base of psychedelic fun. One More Year hits a perfect balance, a smartly funny and thoroughly sincere book, one of Hanselmann's best. A perfect treat.
August 9, 2017
Megg, Mogg, Owl, Werewolf Jones ... they're all back. There are drugs, booze, mayhem, inappropriate sexual situations. God help me, I'm reminded of my early adulthood. I never did or witnessed anything THIS heinous, but I'm reminded of it nonetheless. Just something about that time of life when you're sharing low rent apartments, barely able to afford food, and struggling to keep a foothold in the working world ...
Simon Hanselmann is some kind of comics genius in that he's able to convince us to care about these characters. Werewolf Jones is a menace to himself and others, but it does liven things up when he's around. Owl is a stick-in-the-mud who needs to learn to relax and be more comfortable with himself, but you do feel for him. Much of the humor is of the disbelieving, "I can't believe they just went there, " variety. It would be terrifying in real life, but it's fun to read about. These are well-realized characters, and I, for one, don't regret spending time with them. Not for the faint of heart, but otherwise recommended!
Simon Hanselmann is some kind of comics genius in that he's able to convince us to care about these characters. Werewolf Jones is a menace to himself and others, but it does liven things up when he's around. Owl is a stick-in-the-mud who needs to learn to relax and be more comfortable with himself, but you do feel for him. Much of the humor is of the disbelieving, "I can't believe they just went there, " variety. It would be terrifying in real life, but it's fun to read about. These are well-realized characters, and I, for one, don't regret spending time with them. Not for the faint of heart, but otherwise recommended!
July 9, 2017
Simon Hanselmann's latest is a compilation of material previously published in Life Zone, Worst Behaviour, and Vice. The four main characters do drugs, vomit and behave poorly just like the previous two books. I did still laugh occasionally, but the outrageousness is finally wearing thin. One can only read that Werewolf Jones, Megg and Mogg are dicks to Owl in a finite set of variations. At this point, Hanselmann is beating a dead, maggoty dog. He needs to do something else for awhile so that everyone can complain that he used to do better comics like these.
October 11, 2019
Jei kas per klaidą nežinote Simon Hanselmann "Megg, Mogg and Owl" - tai truputį "slice of life", truputį "stoner comedy", vietomis kiek depresyvus komiksas apie raganą, kuri gyvena su savo vaikinu katinu ir šiek tiek labiau atsakingu butoku Pelėda. Didžiąją dalį laiko jie praleidžia tiesiog vartodami narkotikus, įsiveldami į (dažniausiai nelabai malonias) situacijas su kitais draugais, pavyzdžiui, deleriu ir visišku degradu Werewolf Jones:
Be daugybės juokingų dalykų yra ir ta nevilties atmosfera - o kaip jaučiasi žmonės, kurie nedirba, beveik niekur neina, gyvena iš pašalpų, leidžia dienas žiūrėdami televizorių ir ieškodami įvairių narkotikų, kad pasijustų geriau.
Kas nežino Megg, Mogg and Owl komiksų, gali jų pasižiūrėti čia: https://www.vice.com/en_us/topic/Simo...
Be daugybės juokingų dalykų yra ir ta nevilties atmosfera - o kaip jaučiasi žmonės, kurie nedirba, beveik niekur neina, gyvena iš pašalpų, leidžia dienas žiūrėdami televizorių ir ieškodami įvairių narkotikų, kad pasijustų geriau.
Kas nežino Megg, Mogg and Owl komiksų, gali jų pasižiūrėti čia: https://www.vice.com/en_us/topic/Simo...
February 16, 2021
With One More Year, Simon Hanselmann has reached the peak of his vision and his characters are given true pathos. The illustrations have improved just a notch as well and we can see Hanselmann as an artist has developed a great deal over the last four years (especially given that this collection contains some older material, which, to be honest, I am happy just to have in one place). It also deserves to be said that, as disgusting and depressing as this book is, it is very funny as well. Highly recommended.
September 16, 2017
If you've read Life Zone, Worst Behaviour, Dome, and followed SH's work on Vice then you've seen a big portion of this material. Some of the self published mini comics work is in here too. That doesn't diminish how bonkers, unhinged, gross and entertaining this book is. But it was mostly a re-read for me.
March 17, 2020
skojig men lite mycket knark och spyor ändå
March 1, 2019
ReRead 1 March 2019
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I had my doubts on whether this installation of Simon Hanselmann's MegaHex could offer the reader anything new. It can, and it does.
MegaHex centers on Megg, a young stoner witch just drifting through life with her talking pet cat, Mogg, as well as various friends such as Owl and Werewolf Jones. The majority of storylines center on the ennui these characters feel towards their 20-something (30-something?) lives, accomplishing little but mustering up even less to plan for the future. Concurrently, most of the storylines center on the physical and emotional abuse of Owl, who, although still a slacker and an ass, is more of a morally responsible person than the rest of his friends, giving them reason to be absolutely horrible to him.
I am a huge fan of the MegaHex series and, in picking up this volume and reading the first story, speculated on whether or not we would get more beyond the constant and deplorable abuse of Owl. Not that one needs more than that in a Megahex collection: equal parts shock scatology and existential insight, Megahex is a fun ride with moments of deep introspection. The fact that Hanselmann can dig so deeply into the immobility of depression, the hopelessness of joblessness, the cynicism against basic human decency, is, at turns, surprising and incredibly welcome in this cruel world he's created.
And so it should have been no surprise that, once again, Hanselmann offers up more than the wrapping suggests. There's plenty of Owl abuse, plenty of drug use, plenty of absolutely vile words shared between so-called "friends", but so too is there a deep, deep analysis of character and the dynamics between. It's easy to think of Werewolf Jones as a deadbeat dad with psychopathic/sociopahtic tendencies, because . . . he's a deadbeat dad with psychopathic/sociopathic tendencies. And it's to forget that there are other sides to his character, because his abuse of Owl and the world around him is just so relentless. But in one particular storyline, he and Megg are alone, playing music together. And there's a sweetness. A kind care and concern that you rarely see from either character. And it's nice: as nice as MegaHex can be, at least.
The stories in One More Year take place during the events of the first MegaHex collection, so there are no big surprises regarding plot points. You know what's going to happen. The question then becomes, "How can this have gone on for so long?" I won't spoil a goddamn thing for you, because all of it is absolutely worth reading, but seeing the abuse Owl suffers at the hands of his friends, you have to wonder why, at each turn, he hasn't yet left. And the book knows you'll ask, because Owl, in time, asks himself the same question.
One More Year's interest lies in how these characters became friends and why they've stayed despite all the horribleness. Complacency? Unrequited love? A longer piece in the center flashes back to their high school years, and it's an origin story that's simultaneously predictable and devastating in that predictability. You don't want these characters to be together. You want better for them. And yet . . .
I admit I'm an unabashed fan when it comes to Simon Hanselmann's book, so take that into consideration after having read this review. Nevertheless, I believe his work remains as strong as ever. Witty, insightful, pitch-black dark. One More Year is damn good. And I highly recommend it.
---
I had my doubts on whether this installation of Simon Hanselmann's MegaHex could offer the reader anything new. It can, and it does.
MegaHex centers on Megg, a young stoner witch just drifting through life with her talking pet cat, Mogg, as well as various friends such as Owl and Werewolf Jones. The majority of storylines center on the ennui these characters feel towards their 20-something (30-something?) lives, accomplishing little but mustering up even less to plan for the future. Concurrently, most of the storylines center on the physical and emotional abuse of Owl, who, although still a slacker and an ass, is more of a morally responsible person than the rest of his friends, giving them reason to be absolutely horrible to him.
I am a huge fan of the MegaHex series and, in picking up this volume and reading the first story, speculated on whether or not we would get more beyond the constant and deplorable abuse of Owl. Not that one needs more than that in a Megahex collection: equal parts shock scatology and existential insight, Megahex is a fun ride with moments of deep introspection. The fact that Hanselmann can dig so deeply into the immobility of depression, the hopelessness of joblessness, the cynicism against basic human decency, is, at turns, surprising and incredibly welcome in this cruel world he's created.
And so it should have been no surprise that, once again, Hanselmann offers up more than the wrapping suggests. There's plenty of Owl abuse, plenty of drug use, plenty of absolutely vile words shared between so-called "friends", but so too is there a deep, deep analysis of character and the dynamics between. It's easy to think of Werewolf Jones as a deadbeat dad with psychopathic/sociopahtic tendencies, because . . . he's a deadbeat dad with psychopathic/sociopathic tendencies. And it's to forget that there are other sides to his character, because his abuse of Owl and the world around him is just so relentless. But in one particular storyline, he and Megg are alone, playing music together. And there's a sweetness. A kind care and concern that you rarely see from either character. And it's nice: as nice as MegaHex can be, at least.
The stories in One More Year take place during the events of the first MegaHex collection, so there are no big surprises regarding plot points. You know what's going to happen. The question then becomes, "How can this have gone on for so long?" I won't spoil a goddamn thing for you, because all of it is absolutely worth reading, but seeing the abuse Owl suffers at the hands of his friends, you have to wonder why, at each turn, he hasn't yet left. And the book knows you'll ask, because Owl, in time, asks himself the same question.
One More Year's interest lies in how these characters became friends and why they've stayed despite all the horribleness. Complacency? Unrequited love? A longer piece in the center flashes back to their high school years, and it's an origin story that's simultaneously predictable and devastating in that predictability. You don't want these characters to be together. You want better for them. And yet . . .
I admit I'm an unabashed fan when it comes to Simon Hanselmann's book, so take that into consideration after having read this review. Nevertheless, I believe his work remains as strong as ever. Witty, insightful, pitch-black dark. One More Year is damn good. And I highly recommend it.
December 25, 2021
I bought this book for my brother for Christmas so no one tell him I read it before gifting! I never thought I would buy a Simon Hanselmann book considering it’s described as just like suburban young adult stoners and their drug adventures. BUT I’m out here reading Simon’s Instagram posts on the daily of his comic strips and I got sucked in, I really had to buy something to support the artist because I consume a lot of his work.
To be fair, I read a decent amount of these stories on Instagram that are in this book, but the ones that were not on Instagram were pretty good too - but is it weird to say I might enjoy reading these 10 pictures at a time in an Instagram post?? Reading by myself did give me more of the vibe I didn’t want - of just looking in on these kind of morally bankrupt characters and the absolutely depressing, f’ed up lives they’re living, and making me feel really sad and angry over themselves and their interpersonal relationships. On Instagram I read these sometimes super heavy stories much slower and dispersed with really funny comments in between, which makes the very upsetting content much easier to consume. Seeing the actual sizes of the panels, like seeing how the book layout is actually supposed to look rather than just Instagram slideshows, is enough of a reason to own the physical book rather than seeing it on Instagram I feel like. The full page panels are really incredible and Simon’s coloring and style is just beautiful. I think the art and storytelling and character building in particular is seriously paramount, but the actual stories make me sad so I don’t love reading them hahaha
I would say great book for people who love stoner comedy, but if that’s not your jam, still a good book and interesting read.
To be fair, I read a decent amount of these stories on Instagram that are in this book, but the ones that were not on Instagram were pretty good too - but is it weird to say I might enjoy reading these 10 pictures at a time in an Instagram post?? Reading by myself did give me more of the vibe I didn’t want - of just looking in on these kind of morally bankrupt characters and the absolutely depressing, f’ed up lives they’re living, and making me feel really sad and angry over themselves and their interpersonal relationships. On Instagram I read these sometimes super heavy stories much slower and dispersed with really funny comments in between, which makes the very upsetting content much easier to consume. Seeing the actual sizes of the panels, like seeing how the book layout is actually supposed to look rather than just Instagram slideshows, is enough of a reason to own the physical book rather than seeing it on Instagram I feel like. The full page panels are really incredible and Simon’s coloring and style is just beautiful. I think the art and storytelling and character building in particular is seriously paramount, but the actual stories make me sad so I don’t love reading them hahaha
I would say great book for people who love stoner comedy, but if that’s not your jam, still a good book and interesting read.
August 3, 2022
Charmingly disgusting
December 21, 2018
I love you so much, Megg and Mogg. I cherish every page I get to spend with these broken, depressing, drugged-up and surprisingly-in-their-mid-thirties no-goodniks. =)
Forreal, though, this volume starts to take the illusion of hijinks out of the characters. Like...they're all old enough that their lives are effectively thrown away, Werewolf Jones is revealed to be an almost overbearingly tragic character, Megg and Mogg keep themselves drugged-up to avoid dealing with their collapsed relationship, Owl is destined to abandon them (as these events are pre-Megahex's ending) and the reason he stays so long is so damn human...like, jeez.
I mean, 90% of the time, it's things like Werewolf Jones accidentally taking viagra while he's wearing a thong at a kids' water park, but when it wants to be bleak, this book is bleak.
Forreal, though, this volume starts to take the illusion of hijinks out of the characters. Like...they're all old enough that their lives are effectively thrown away, Werewolf Jones is revealed to be an almost overbearingly tragic character, Megg and Mogg keep themselves drugged-up to avoid dealing with their collapsed relationship, Owl is destined to abandon them (as these events are pre-Megahex's ending) and the reason he stays so long is so damn human...like, jeez.
I mean, 90% of the time, it's things like Werewolf Jones accidentally taking viagra while he's wearing a thong at a kids' water park, but when it wants to be bleak, this book is bleak.
Shelved as 'read-in-2018'
April 23, 2018Why should a bunch of depressed slackers slogging through empty lives be sort of vaguely comforting? Maybe because we've all been there, at least a little bit, but it's also a testament to the magic of Simon Hanselmann's writing, and his ability to dance between hilarity and crushing horribleness at will, or best, when he pulls off both simultaneously.
Oh, and incidentally
Oh, and incidentally
July 20, 2017
an annoying amount of this is old material (Life Zone & Worst Behavior in their entirety) but it's still great
October 26, 2017
Just not my type of graphic novel. Too much debauchery for me.
August 7, 2018
Every Megg&Mogg comic leaves me sore and tender, mentally, that is. I can't look away
April 24, 2019
The Megg, Mogg and Owl books always fill me with a weird depression, but I love them anyway.
October 6, 2019
the humor has a tendency to cross the line, but overall it’s a fun series of strips and the art is beautiful. mogg is so cute!
October 5, 2023
I read the main megg mogg series (megahex, bad gateway, amsterdam, and one more year) in very quick succession. im choosing to review this one because i remember the title sticks out as being what this whole series is about to me: being stuck in a drug haze of perpetually ignoring your trauma and just getting high all the time and not moving on with life. It gets really dark but Hanselmann always finds ways to make the reader laugh. the series as a whole is super addictive hence why i read it fast.
The colored painting strips are absolutely gorgeous when depicting nature all the way down to dingy apartment rooms. I can tell Hanselmann is inspired by that PNW scenery
The colored painting strips are absolutely gorgeous when depicting nature all the way down to dingy apartment rooms. I can tell Hanselmann is inspired by that PNW scenery
June 19, 2024
Have been reading Megg, Mogg and Owl for a little while, and I am always conflicted on how to rate it. Simon Hanselmann's story and fantastic artwork is raw, hard to read/look at, even disgusting at times, but it is also important in a sense, especially taking into account the creator's interviews. The characters are all horrible but all of them are going through it, and it is painful to watch their life together, even WWJ, who I hate with every fiber of my being!
With all that, I still very much enjoy reading these, I want to see the protagonists getting better and I wonder if that will ever happen. The last thing I can definitely say it is not everyone's cup of tea.
With all that, I still very much enjoy reading these, I want to see the protagonists getting better and I wonder if that will ever happen. The last thing I can definitely say it is not everyone's cup of tea.
August 29, 2017
Same brand of Megg & Mogg weirdness, with some extra Booger backstory and WW Jones' kids to make things just a little extra disturbing. Loses a star because the last book I read had the Werewolf Jones cliffhanger, which not only wasn't addressed, that whole story is reprinted in this book. So now I've been cliffhanged twice! I loved the publication of this book, the cover art is amazing and the full page art on the inside is pretty fantastic. If you were going to purchase any of the books, this would be the one to buy.
February 18, 2020
One More Year is noticeably evolved in its daring, deranged storytelling. The scenarios are amped up in their depressive, manic drug and drinking binging, and the pressures on the group, fissures in their relationships, and general psychological breakdowns are better illustrated in the tales and literally. This period of Hanselmann’s Megg cartoons is also some of his most beautiful. Certain pages and many panels are really calming and unsettling. Very pretty colors. I still laugh a’plenty. Good comix. Nice comix.
April 21, 2023
Weird weird weird, but kinda good weird? This was my first time reading anything by Hanselmann. I was at the book store, loved the art, read a couple of pages I resonated with and ended up buying it. I’m not a big fan of poop/vomit jokes but besides that it was entertaining. I’m not sure if it was funny though. At least not funny enough for me. Sometimes I thought it was gonna take a deeper turn but it didn’t which maybe is part of it’s charm. I didn’t like it as much as I expected but reading other reviews I decided to give another of his books a chance.
March 4, 2020
Actually read all the published Fantagraphics collections up to this point, but only gonna count it once. I really appreciate that even though this series is far too crass for my library to ever put in the physical collection, it's available digitally through Hoopla. I think Hanselmann is an excellent artist and storyteller, but I just get really bogged down in the subject matter. Excellent depictions of the cycles of mental illness and addiction leading to self harm and stagnation in a humorous context, but it just gets so heavy after a while. Recommended if that's your bag, just keep in mind it is utterly filthy.
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