Crisis zone

Hanselmann (Seeds and Stems) trucks on with his gross-out dark stoner dramedy series Megahex. Here, the oddball cast contends with the Covid-19 pandemic and a world seemingly spiraling out of control. The lockdown quickly leads to desperation for the mentally ill and drug-addicted protagonists: perpetually high Megg dissociates from reality with the video game Animal Crossing, uptight Owl attempts to maintain order by threatening everyone around him at knifepoint, and nigh-sociopathic Werewolf Jones makes ends meet by becoming an online porn star, which eventually lands him a Netflix reality series called Anus King. Hanselmann's deranged approach to comedy maintains its edge, particularly in one extended parody of/homage to action films. The plotting is haphazard, though, and the frequent attempts to satirize "psychotic conservatives and unhinged uber-leftists" come off as a smug indie-comix approximation of South Park. This more political line is hammered home in Hanselmann's "director's commentary," which will pique the interest of devoted fans, but others will likely find the consistently terrible, misanthropic nature of the characters at odds with the series' climbing up on a soapbox, which renders the humor more didactic than suits the surreality of the series. It's an acquired taste. (Aug.)

In March 2020, a witch named Megg, a cat named Mogg, and their roommate Owl watch a report about the country entering lockdown due to COVID-19. While Megg worries whether this means a video game she's preordered will be delayed and Mogg spirals with anxiety, Owl sets about sanitizing every surface in their home--a futile effort, due to the imminent arrival of Werewolf Jones and his two sons, followed by drug-dealing wizard Mike, and Booger, who's a transgender bogeywoman. Soon, the cast of characters (all from Hanselmann's long-running "Megg, Mogg, and Owl" series) find themselves careening through a series of drug-fueled misadventures that involve raging house fires, multiple hostage situations, attempted murders, pregnancy scares, gunfights with vengeful bunny rabbits, and infidelity. All the while, they reckon with civil unrest, identity politics, a presidential election, homeschooling, cancel culture, and sudden notoriety following the premiere of a reality series about their lives. VERDICT Hanselmann (Seeds and Stems) proves the perfect author to capture American life in late 2020. His new volume escalates the depravity at a relentless pace and delivers both laugh-out-loud gags and genuine pathos, as his casts' self-absorbed and self-destructive behavior reveals a desperate need for stability and a sense of belonging in an increasingly fractured and contentious culture.