March 2020. Humanity suffers the first devastating effects of a pandemic and Simon Hanselmann starts posting on Instagram the greatest webcomic in history: critical zone (Fulgencio Pimentel).
After the worldwide success of El mal camino (2019), Hundreds of thousands of confined followers followed in real time through Instagram the creation of an irreverent comic about Covid-19, starring cult characters Megg, Mogg, Owl, Werewolf Jones and the rest of the gang.
Cover of 'Critical Zone', the comic about Covid-19 by Simon Hanselmann.
While showing the (unfortunate) ways of surviving the great health, political and social crisis that is overwhelming them, the author spices up topics such as cancellation culture, ferocious capitalism, informative paranoia with his usual acid humor and the referential battle between boomers, millennials and Zetas in a work that his own publisher describes as infamous and inconceivable.
Winner of the Eisner Award for Best Webcomic of 2021, this corrosive graphic novel has been interpreted as the quintessential Covid-19 comic, and now it is published in an uncensored version and with unpublished material. We take advantage of the launch of Critical Zone to chat with its author.
Personal photo of comic artist Simon Hanselmann.
CONDE NAST TRAVELER. Has the pandemic affected your creativity? How?
SIMON HANSELMANN. I think maybe I worked during the pandemic more than anyone in the world. I've always liked being stuck in my studio working non-stop, so the situation did not bother me at all, aside from the fear of widespread economic chaos and deaths and all that kind of stuff... Other than that, the pandemic was amazing! I worked like hell and was entertaining the world with comics, having barbecues and hanging out with my wife and rabbits. My wife and I had a baby in 2021, after which I took a six-month break but now I'm back, bursting with ideas, ready for the next series of lockdowns! Woooooooo!"
Inside pages of 'Critical Zone', by Simon Hanselmann.
CNT. Sometimes it has been said that creating your work was a kind of therapy for you. Do you think it can also serve as therapy for readers?
S.H. Yes, making art is a lot of fun for me, in fact it's very therapeutic. It is also undoubtedly therapeutic for certain readers, I have found fans crying in signing sessions, who have said the most beautiful things to me and also horrible things that have happened to them... Sometimes it's hard to accept such effusive praise and directness from strangers, especially when you hate yourself and are highly critical of your art. But I focus on how I felt about certain artists and musicians when I was a teenager, those intense feelings of camaraderie and solidarity. Art is very powerful.
Simon Hanselmann in a photo from his personal album.
CNT. What did you want to convey with this new book? Is the sense of humor the best weapon to live?
S.H. I just wanted to entertain people. Amuse, horrify, offend, embrace. The full range of human emotions. Humor is my option. I'm not sure my sense of humor is for everyone. Although not that it should be, it is impossible to please everyone. As long as you're entertained, that's all that really matters. hopefully at least a few thousand people will enjoy riding that same wavelength.
Los Angeles California.
CNT. You live in Los Angeles and have lived in London too. Please tell us what these two cities mean to you and your favorite places in each one.
S.H. Yes, my new little family escaped from Seattle and settled in the valleys of California, in the quiet desert. He traded endless rain for endless sunshine. I love it here, I can finally use my hammock and drive with the windows down. As for my favorite places, I'm still getting my bearings in California, most of the time I just leave the house to buy groceries or pick up food orders, but really I love sunsets and mountains, the landscape is very American here, you feel like you're in a sitcom.
Deer in Richmond Park, London.
I miss London so much, all the smells and sounds. I lived near Richmond Park and I really miss going to see the rutting deer and picnic in the gardens of Isabella Plantation when the bluebells are in bloom and the ducks quack. I also miss getting fucked in Dalston and doing noise shows and taking ketamine in Abney Park Cemetery.
CNT. Some of Megg and Mogg's settings are inspired by places where you have lived, such as your hometown of Launceston, a city that sometimes appears in your work portrayed in a somewhat nightmarish way.
S.H. I started drawing Megg and Mogg in London in 2008, with the double-decker buses in the background, then came the Melbourne train stations. Megg's childhood home is directly based on my now demolished childhood home in Launceston, Tasmania... It's all a little bit about the place, it's a big hodgepodge of memories and environments. I have a complicated relationship with Launceston. I love George Swamp and the peacocks, the walking trails…swimming in those pools. However, I grew up in the underbelly of the city, in the biker and criminal bars. For me, Launceston It's methadone, murderers and insanity. I could never go back.
Streets of Launceston, Tasmania.
CNT. Do you personally like to travel? What are your favorite destinations and why?
S.H. Yes, I love to travel. I grew up in Tasmania being very poor and traveling always seemed unimaginable, I never expected to visit so many places in my life. I love to smoke in airports and buy those little drinks for the trip and see movies on the plane. Some of my favorite destinations have been Iceland for its snowy black sand beaches, Finland for its forests and outdoor hot tubs, and the highlands of Scotland, with every surface covered in glistening moss. I guess most of all I like nature.
I also love Italy, my wife and I went in 2019 before everything got weird, we stayed near Montepulciano, In a storage. The air smelled of sage and it was lovely. One day I will travel again, I keep turning down offers from festivals and publishers, right now I'm focused on being with my daughter, I don't feel like it's the time yet...
George Falls Swamp in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
CNT. Do you think that traveling is capable of transforming us? In what sense?
S.H. Yes, definitely it opens you up to new experiences, new friends, new tastes and points of view. I feel that I am a better person for having seen more of the world and Humanity than what awaited me on my little lost island at the bottom of the globe.
Personal photo of cartoonist Simon Hanselmann.
CNT. I think you have a very good relationship with the Spanish publisher, Fulgencio Pimentel, can you tell us something about your trips to Spain? Has any Spanish landscape impacted you for any reason?
S.H. Fulgencio is my favorite of the many editors I have around the world. César and Berni are my brothers, I love them. I dream of moving to Spain, I love the countryside, the cities. I have so many wonderful memories of long trips with Fulgencio, of stopping at casinos in the middle of the night and pissing in the ocean. Lots of nights drinking and talking, those deep talks about life and death and love. The best kind of conversation there is, the one that fills you with a wave of emotion. We were going to go to Mallorca in April 2020, it is a pity that it was not possible, hopefully soon...