FOR MATURE READERS
MR. SHOW WRITER'S SERIOCOMIC GRAPHIC NOVEL CONTINUES
May 2025
Summer 2025 sees the online release of a prologue chapter for the graphic novel, “The Dumbest Motherfucker Who Ever Lived” -- Book Two in writer/artist Eric Hoffman's epic satirical trilogy. "Let's get this out of the way, regarding the title-- This book is not an autobiography, and it isn't about any political figure. Beyond that, I can't give away anymore clues to the identity of The Dumbest," jokes Hoffman.
The bizarre characters in Hoffman’s universe have gone on to feature in a pilot for Adult Swim, hit shows at The Upright Citizens Brigade and Annoyance Theatre, a serialized podcast, and two self-published comic books, among other projects. Some of the funniest people today have been involved with the 'Hoff-verse', including Bob Odenkirk, Matt and Morgan Walsh, Bill Chott, Ed Furman, Betty Cahill, Jodi Lennon, Mo Collins, Rich Fulcher, Matt Besser, Gillian Vigman, Mike Monterastelli, musician David Adler, and many more. "It's been so much fun working on the various iterations. But I'm looking at this trilogy as the sort of final word on these characters. Which will come as some relief to my family," Hoffman quips.
The free graphic novel is published online by Pancyfancer Publishing at pancyfancer.com. For mature readers (language, violence, adult situations).
The bizarre characters in Hoffman’s universe have gone on to feature in a pilot for Adult Swim, hit shows at The Upright Citizens Brigade and Annoyance Theatre, a serialized podcast, and two self-published comic books, among other projects. Some of the funniest people today have been involved with the 'Hoff-verse', including Bob Odenkirk, Matt and Morgan Walsh, Bill Chott, Ed Furman, Betty Cahill, Jodi Lennon, Mo Collins, Rich Fulcher, Matt Besser, Gillian Vigman, Mike Monterastelli, musician David Adler, and many more. "It's been so much fun working on the various iterations. But I'm looking at this trilogy as the sort of final word on these characters. Which will come as some relief to my family," Hoffman quips.
The free graphic novel is published online by Pancyfancer Publishing at pancyfancer.com. For mature readers (language, violence, adult situations).
Hoffman: "Book Two begins with a prologue, featuring one of my favorite characters, The Pipe." The pipe-smoking eccentric detective was portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the 2012 Brainwarp podcast. Hoffman continues: "Each Book has its own genre, or several genres, really - I enjoy mixing them. So far, The Pipe has been a shadowy presence on the perimeter of the main story in Book One, which is based in the world of spies. He'll grow in importance as things continue. The art in this new segment is my version of a more classic comic book style. And there will be some surprises, including a character from the vaults that I haven't worked on in over forty years." Hoffman is hoping Chapter One, the next installment, will be ready sometime early 2026.
Writer/artist Scot Robinson is contributing to this segment, as well. "Scot is a huge part of this world and I couldn't imagine doing this without him. We first collaborated in Chicago at the Annoyance Theatre. He's done a couple of great pieces for the Prologue and I can't thank him enough."
Eric Hoffman is known for his work on HBO's groundbreaking sketch series Mr. Show, the Netflix follow-up series W/Bob and David, and the Netflix comedy-mystery film, Girlfriend's Day, which he co-wrote with Bob Odenkirk. Hoffman also co-authored and illustrated the McSweeney's humor bible, Comedy By The Numbers. Hoffman was a staff cartoonist at Barracuda Magazine and Laugh Factory Magazine.
Writer/artist Scot Robinson is contributing to this segment, as well. "Scot is a huge part of this world and I couldn't imagine doing this without him. We first collaborated in Chicago at the Annoyance Theatre. He's done a couple of great pieces for the Prologue and I can't thank him enough."
Eric Hoffman is known for his work on HBO's groundbreaking sketch series Mr. Show, the Netflix follow-up series W/Bob and David, and the Netflix comedy-mystery film, Girlfriend's Day, which he co-wrote with Bob Odenkirk. Hoffman also co-authored and illustrated the McSweeney's humor bible, Comedy By The Numbers. Hoffman was a staff cartoonist at Barracuda Magazine and Laugh Factory Magazine.
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SUPER-GRAPE character model sheet from the mid 1970s.
SUPER-GRAPE
"I'm probably a bit more surprised that we're talking about this character than anyone. Like a lot of kids, I created my own comics. I had a whole stable of books to rival any of the major labels. (laughs) Lt. Crumb, Capt. ConUS, and Super-Grape, among others. A friend of the family even wrote a 'people of interest' article about myself and Super-Grape for a newspaper. (see below) I hadn't done anything with SG since high school, but the time seemed right for a cameo in this trilogy. And he plays an important part in things later on."
"I'm probably a bit more surprised that we're talking about this character than anyone. Like a lot of kids, I created my own comics. I had a whole stable of books to rival any of the major labels. (laughs) Lt. Crumb, Capt. ConUS, and Super-Grape, among others. A friend of the family even wrote a 'people of interest' article about myself and Super-Grape for a newspaper. (see below) I hadn't done anything with SG since high school, but the time seemed right for a cameo in this trilogy. And he plays an important part in things later on."
GRAMPA WIGGLY by Scot Robinson. Color version.
| SPY CAR |
| THE PIPE TOY |
| WIGGLY TOY |
THE PIPE
"For anyone interested, The Pipe character came from a couple of inspirations. This is a few years ago. I was looking through a facsimile edition of Detective Comics #1, and couldn't help noticing almost every detective smoked a pipe. Except maybe the cowboy detective. He rolled his own. Of course, a pipe is a classic detective trope, I'm sure born of the popularity of characters like Sherlock Holmes. But that also seemed like a good name for a detective. And too I like these vengeful, ethereal detectives, like the Shadow, the Spectre - who are sometimes more mysterious than the cases they're solving."
"For anyone interested, The Pipe character came from a couple of inspirations. This is a few years ago. I was looking through a facsimile edition of Detective Comics #1, and couldn't help noticing almost every detective smoked a pipe. Except maybe the cowboy detective. He rolled his own. Of course, a pipe is a classic detective trope, I'm sure born of the popularity of characters like Sherlock Holmes. But that also seemed like a good name for a detective. And too I like these vengeful, ethereal detectives, like the Shadow, the Spectre - who are sometimes more mysterious than the cases they're solving."
SUPERMAN vs. SUPER-GRAPE
--Hoffman: "This is one from the vaults as they say. Mid-1970s I think. It looks like I was still working on my brush work."
