Crisis Zone #[nn]

Simon Hanselmann's Crisis Zone arrives from Fantagraphics as a gloriously chaotic vision, with every inch of the cover packed with the artist's unmistakable cast of grotesque and endearing characters — a panicked owl-masked figure at the center, a green witch with a tall black hat, a fish-scaled creature in sunglasses, a mustachioed man in a red party hat, scattered syringes, pills, and a tiny laptop labeled "BABY," all erupting against a massive wall of fire. The sheer density of Hanselmann's world here — cat-headed figures, a red sports car, a burning house, and debris strewn across a wooden deck — feels like a fever dream snapshot of contemporary anxiety rendered in his distinctly vibrant, unsettling style. Entirely conceived, drawn, and colored by Hanselmann himself, this 2021 Fantagraphics volume is an ambitious, singular work that rewards a long, careful look even before you've opened a single page.