By Josh Pettinger. Published by Fantagraphics. Hardcover, 160 pages, Colour, 2025. Meet Tedward — a blockhead with a heart of gold, and a talent for making bad situations worse. Tedward is, in many ways, the quintessential ‘lovable loser’ — an almost literal blockhead and mangenue in the grand tradition of Pee-Wee Herman, Candide, and Flakey Foont, affording his creator the perfect vehicle to indulge his brilliantly absurdist storytelling instincts. Tedward’s susceptibility to temptation, exploitation (capitalistic or sexual), and misplaced trust continually lands him in ridiculous and hilarious situations, be they scatological, orgiastic, violent, or mundane. His heart of gold never wavers through it all. Tedward is the latest collection from British-born Philadelphia cartoonist Josh Pettinger. A spiritual cousin to the humor of Simon Hanselmann and Daniel Clowes, Pettinger’s singularity of tone and style in these episodic comedies mark him as a master cartoonist just entering his prime. "Pettinger is an acidly dry British man who writes about old-fashioned block-heads and doomed romance. Dark, surreal and hilarious. Classic British comedy!" — Men's Health "A person can actually — gasp! — have FUN with this comic, just as it's fairly clear from the perspective of this critic that Pettinger himself had fun making it. Smartly done without being full of itself, humorous without resorting to lowest-common-denominator laughs, weird without being pretentiously so, Pettinger is really hitting that 'sweet spot' that lets you know he's firing on all cylinders." — Four Color Apocalypse "Subterranean vibes of the inexplicable — What's with Tedward's mother and her blood feud with Mrs. Raynor? Why does Tedward's and Judy's relationship escalate to such a ludicrous degree? — never quite bubble to the surface, but the distant sound of that rumbling below the ground keeps you turning the page." — The Comics Journal "There's humor, suspense, crime, and romance all contained within this compilation of Tedward stories. The artwork is phenomenal at every page turn and you really get a sense that Pettinger is engrossed in the work. " — Miami's Community Newspapers "There are a few names that represent the future of comics storytelling — one of them is Josh Pettinger. His work is fantastic." — Igort (author, How War Begins)
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