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Jun 01, 2017 Issue #60 - Father John Misty By Jeremy Nisen

We’ve sung the praises of Simon Hanselmann and his cringe-worthy creations, Meg and Mogg, before. In this latest edition we certainly get more of what drew us to Hanselmann’s stories in the first place-the exquisite, teeth-clenching art; the barrage of gross-out humor with scattered moments of poignancy and beauty; an oppressive backdrop that captures the soul-crushing pressure of just being alive. But we also get something new.

We’d submit that One More Year is not as straight-up funny as some of the past in the series. Don’t take that the wrong way: it’s still very funny, with plenty of classic Meg and Mogg cringe-comedy gold and pummeling of Owl. New bits too: Megg’s face not showing up in a photo booth because of her green skin (presumably), Werewolf Jones’ adventures at a waterpark, wearing a thong…while on Viagra. Home dentistry. Etc. But there’s more that shows Hanselmann’s growth as a creator. More character building than usual. A big slice about high school, about how the gang all met. Something of a foil for Megg in a bitchy witch that favors a pink witch’s hat. A small insight into some of Megg’s actual pain in the form of a mere text with her mom. Art that is more visually striking than ever, both beautiful and hand-in-front-of-face grotesque.

And that ending, man, is actually scary. Legit scary. Poor Werewolf Jones. (www.fantagraphics.com/onemoreyear)

Author rating: 8.5/10