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Fat Cop
Upholding crime and corruption, one fast food joint at a time. FATCOP never passes up a possible grift, a chance to use excessive force, or a pit stop at any chain restaurant he passes. He chafes when forced to take a new partner, Pete Rick, to keep him on the up and up. Even when he lucks into a heroic deed, he manages to do so repulsively. But when FATCOP uncovers a child slave ring operating out of the local Trader Joe’s, he may have met his match on the reprehensibility scale. If he’s not careful, it might be a transformative experience that causes him to reconsider his role as a loving partner and father. Well, up to a point, anyway ― sometimes a fat cop is just a FATCOP. Johnny Ryan returns to his lowbrow humor roots following his cult classic and violent fantasy series, Prison Pit . Ping-ponging his antihero through an ever-escalating and cascading series of violent, scatological, and wildly imaginative absurdities (most but not all of FATCOP’s own making), Ryan’s brilliance as a visual and verbal gag writer shines on every page of this master class in physical humor and comics storytelling. FATCOP is as hilarious as it is profane, and a welcome return to long-form comics by the cartoonist and animation veteran Johnny Ryan. Black-and-white illustrations with spot color
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2024
60 people want to read
About the author
Johnny Ryan
96 books82 followersJohn F. Ryan IV (born November 30, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American comics creator, writer, and animator. In a throwback to the days of underground comix, Ryan's oeuvre is generally an attempt to be as shocking and politically incorrect as possible.
Ryan started his career self-publishing Angry Youth Comix, a series of eleven mini-comic issues from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he began showing his work to Peter Bagge, creator of Hate comics, who introduced the material to Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics. In 2001, Fantagraphics began publishing volume 2 of the series.
Among Ryan's creations there are the comic strip Blecky Yuckerella and the comic book series Prison Pit.
In animation, Ryan has worked as story editor for the Looney Tuness and co-created the Nickelodeon show Pig Goat Banana Cricket with Dave Cooper. Ryan and Cooper have collaborated on a number of comics as well, usually under the pen name 'Hector Mumbly'.
Ryan's illustrations have appeared in MAD, LA Weekly, National Geographic Kids, Hustler Magazine, The Stranger, and elsewhere. Ryan has also done work for clients such as Nobleworks greetings cards, Rhino Records, and Fox TV. His comics have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese and French.
Ryan started his career self-publishing Angry Youth Comix, a series of eleven mini-comic issues from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he began showing his work to Peter Bagge, creator of Hate comics, who introduced the material to Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics. In 2001, Fantagraphics began publishing volume 2 of the series.
Among Ryan's creations there are the comic strip Blecky Yuckerella and the comic book series Prison Pit.
In animation, Ryan has worked as story editor for the Looney Tuness and co-created the Nickelodeon show Pig Goat Banana Cricket with Dave Cooper. Ryan and Cooper have collaborated on a number of comics as well, usually under the pen name 'Hector Mumbly'.
Ryan's illustrations have appeared in MAD, LA Weekly, National Geographic Kids, Hustler Magazine, The Stranger, and elsewhere. Ryan has also done work for clients such as Nobleworks greetings cards, Rhino Records, and Fox TV. His comics have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese and French.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 19, 2024
A fat cop takes on a underground children's trafficking ring in his local Trader Joe's.
If you've read any Johnny Ryan before, you know what you're in for here. Sex, depravity, gore, mayhem, content too hot for Instagram. I'm really surprised that this kind of stuff is published by Fantagraphics and not relegated to self-publishing on the dark webs.
After 188 pages, it's a bit of a relief to come to the end. My brain can only take so much of this perverse rot.
It's an odd comparison, but I kept thinking the 12 panel layout, some of the panel design and character design reminds me of Seth's sketchbook comics like Wimbledon Green.
If you've read any Johnny Ryan before, you know what you're in for here. Sex, depravity, gore, mayhem, content too hot for Instagram. I'm really surprised that this kind of stuff is published by Fantagraphics and not relegated to self-publishing on the dark webs.
After 188 pages, it's a bit of a relief to come to the end. My brain can only take so much of this perverse rot.
It's an odd comparison, but I kept thinking the 12 panel layout, some of the panel design and character design reminds me of Seth's sketchbook comics like Wimbledon Green.
February 22, 2024
In some sense, Fatcop has an inverted, twisted relationship with Salo. In another sense it’s like Twin Peaks. It’s also so vile and funny it’s hard to think about anything else. Next to Prison Pit, this is another JR masterpiece.
July 22, 2024
Johnny Ryan returns with a quaint, subtle, and endearing comic about a police officer looking out for his community. There's rampant corruption in his precinct along with a potential predator ring operating out of a Trader Joe's basement, so naturally a well-meaning cop is the only one fit to save the day.
Obviously this isn't quite that, since Fat Cop is pretty much as vile and grotesque and outrageous as you'd expect from a Johnny Ryan joint. It's bountiful in the application of crass humor, particularly with related to toilet/bodily function type jokes. And of course, body mutilation, rape, and murder are par for the course here too. If Ryan's previous output hasn't done it for you, this one won't either.
The sheer slapstick nature of Fat Cop does allow for some decent satire of American culture, particularly with respect to contemporary policing. Ryan's madcap approach lays bare the critique though I wouldn't say there's anything too novel about the discourse here. A lot of the satirical slant comes from the depiction of the titular character, Fat Cop, who is a repulsive, gluttonous and violent individual that seeks the easy path towards getting his arrests but also revels in the power imbalance afforded to him by his station. Things begin to look down for him when he's assigned a new partner who begins to hold him accountable, though it's quickly clear that this new partner is terrible in his own kind of way. The story has a frenetic pacing to it, but the culmination of it involves a thinly-veiled reference to the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory whereby a child sex trafficking ring is found at a local Trader Joe's.
Your tolerance towards crass humor is probably the barometer to be used when deciding whether or not this is for you. Ryan's longer works do struggle from the fact that he has to drag out a singular ridiculous premise for the duration of a graphic novel, and that is definitely felt here to a certain extent. But the visual gags here are a step up from Ryan's previous output, and I'd even argue that there is a semblance of more nuance here - difficult though it maybe to spot amidst the garish and juvenile artwork. Perhaps what I like more about this one compared to some of his other comics is that it feels more in line with typically genre piece and has a generally well-designed narrative structure. Sure, the jokes do get stale towards the end, but Fat Cop boasts sufficient variety in its application of crass jokes to sustain the page count well enough. Not necessarily one of his better comics, but it's entertaining nonetheless. Though how entertaining it is entirely subject to your taste with respect to this type of humor.
Obviously this isn't quite that, since Fat Cop is pretty much as vile and grotesque and outrageous as you'd expect from a Johnny Ryan joint. It's bountiful in the application of crass humor, particularly with related to toilet/bodily function type jokes. And of course, body mutilation, rape, and murder are par for the course here too. If Ryan's previous output hasn't done it for you, this one won't either.
The sheer slapstick nature of Fat Cop does allow for some decent satire of American culture, particularly with respect to contemporary policing. Ryan's madcap approach lays bare the critique though I wouldn't say there's anything too novel about the discourse here. A lot of the satirical slant comes from the depiction of the titular character, Fat Cop, who is a repulsive, gluttonous and violent individual that seeks the easy path towards getting his arrests but also revels in the power imbalance afforded to him by his station. Things begin to look down for him when he's assigned a new partner who begins to hold him accountable, though it's quickly clear that this new partner is terrible in his own kind of way. The story has a frenetic pacing to it, but the culmination of it involves a thinly-veiled reference to the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory whereby a child sex trafficking ring is found at a local Trader Joe's.
Your tolerance towards crass humor is probably the barometer to be used when deciding whether or not this is for you. Ryan's longer works do struggle from the fact that he has to drag out a singular ridiculous premise for the duration of a graphic novel, and that is definitely felt here to a certain extent. But the visual gags here are a step up from Ryan's previous output, and I'd even argue that there is a semblance of more nuance here - difficult though it maybe to spot amidst the garish and juvenile artwork. Perhaps what I like more about this one compared to some of his other comics is that it feels more in line with typically genre piece and has a generally well-designed narrative structure. Sure, the jokes do get stale towards the end, but Fat Cop boasts sufficient variety in its application of crass jokes to sustain the page count well enough. Not necessarily one of his better comics, but it's entertaining nonetheless. Though how entertaining it is entirely subject to your taste with respect to this type of humor.
September 10, 2024
Sure my library put me on some sort of list for taking this book out. Continuing to read all the Fantagraphics/Drawn and Quarterly stuff - this is a 2024 Fantagraphics release - and this was kind of a tough hang. Obviously crude stuff but also... just not very funny or thought provoking or anything, really?
April 17, 2025
Fat Cop is an absolute trainwreck—and I couldn’t look away. It’s a chaotic, overstuffed Big Mac of a story and somewhere in the mess, there might be a lesson about the absurdity of America, but honestly? Let’s just blame fast food and call it a day.
April 11, 2025
idk if yr not crying laffing when fatcop gets a boner from watching a menstruating rat gets its pussy ate this book may not be for you.. this shit is not serious it's so over the top offensive & in bad taste it's incredibly funny and it's also incredibly funny to give it one star cuz it's not moralizing enough. i love people! i really do. fatcop should hold yr pearl clutching hands and tell u none of this is real, not even him.. a plea to the innocent please dont waste yr precious time getting mad about dumb boner gags!! its fun juvenile trash and if its not for you thats fine but plz be forreal & lower your expectations a lil bit..
April 27, 2024
"We can either do this the easy way...or the hard way...whadda you wanna do, Fat Cop?"
"No...I think there's one other way..."
"What's that?"
"The Fat Cop way!"
A work of demented brilliance which takes dark and offensive humour to a whole new level of ridiculous depravity. Even better than the seminal Prison Pit!
"No...I think there's one other way..."
"What's that?"
"The Fat Cop way!"
A work of demented brilliance which takes dark and offensive humour to a whole new level of ridiculous depravity. Even better than the seminal Prison Pit!
July 7, 2024
I know I swore off looking at Johnny Ryan's deliberately offensive comix years ago, but I saw this at the library, produced by Fantagraphics, no less (!, which maybe means the comics industry gives him their stamp of approval). And yeah, I kinda went through it, not proud of myself. Juvenile, disgusting sex (which is to say rape played for laughs) and violence, dismemberment and so on, under the bottom (vs over the top) standards. What can justify my putting this in my hands? Well, Mall Cop is a story about a fat cop, and I saw that; maybe it was riffing off that? Maybe he's trying to reacher a broader audience, make things less offensive?
Nope.
Fat Cop is not Paul Blart. Maybe this could be construed in some sense as a critique of American policing, but don't you believe it. Ryan has no moral point to make. He only wants to go for the gags, until you gag. He'a nihilist, perfect for some aspects of the present moment. No rules. No lines t0 cross cuz there are no lines. He just wants you to try to justify his work on some artistic or moral grounds while he snickers into his greasy little fists as he takes the money and gets championed at comics conventions.
Fat Cop is supposed to be funny in the way Simon Hanselmann's Werewolf Jones is funny. Hanselmann calls his one comic Below Ambition, also trying to deliberately offend. He has one volume on Jones and his--in all ways--abusive relationship with his sons. But Hanselmann can at times be very funny and also make a deeper point about social issues, such as addiction and economic inequity and mental health, but Ryan will have none of that. And it's not okay in my book. First amendment, sure, go for broke. Johnny Ryan has one graphic novel he calls A New Low. But who cares how low he can go? Not me. I regret I sorta read it.
Nope.
Fat Cop is not Paul Blart. Maybe this could be construed in some sense as a critique of American policing, but don't you believe it. Ryan has no moral point to make. He only wants to go for the gags, until you gag. He'a nihilist, perfect for some aspects of the present moment. No rules. No lines t0 cross cuz there are no lines. He just wants you to try to justify his work on some artistic or moral grounds while he snickers into his greasy little fists as he takes the money and gets championed at comics conventions.
Fat Cop is supposed to be funny in the way Simon Hanselmann's Werewolf Jones is funny. Hanselmann calls his one comic Below Ambition, also trying to deliberately offend. He has one volume on Jones and his--in all ways--abusive relationship with his sons. But Hanselmann can at times be very funny and also make a deeper point about social issues, such as addiction and economic inequity and mental health, but Ryan will have none of that. And it's not okay in my book. First amendment, sure, go for broke. Johnny Ryan has one graphic novel he calls A New Low. But who cares how low he can go? Not me. I regret I sorta read it.
May 13, 2024
Murder, rape, necrophilia - all in a day’s work for Fatcop. But disaster strikes as Fatcop gets paired with a straight-shootin’ partner - however will he continue his heinous lifestyle? And what’s going on in the basement of Trader Joe’s!?
Johnny Ryan’s back with a new subtle, thoughtful and heart-warming comic in Fatcop. I was initially excited about this one as I loved the premise of an utterly corrupt scumbag cop character, especially as it was Johnny Ryan writing and drawing, so it’s a little disappointing to say that Fatcop was surprisingly boring.
The book is occasionally funny, like when supercop Pete Rick (P. Rick, geddit?) tries to get Fatcop to quit by making him work out until he soils himself, or when Fatcop makes love to a garbage pile. But the book is so consistently and gratuitously over-the-top gross that the unrelenting vulgarity becomes not as funny, until it’s not at all, and more than a little dull.
I would’ve preferred if Ryan had stuck to having Fatcop deal with real world things so I found the supernatural tangents pointless and silly more than anything. The storyline veers off from the supercop partner to what’s under Trader Joe’s and the absurdity goes off a cliff. But it’s just too much by then - you can’t have every other page be a blowjob/mutilation scene and then expect that doing more of that provides any kind of payoff to a story.
It’s imaginative and original at least - Johnny Ryan’s comics never seem derivative of anything, other than his own work - and the jokes sometimes hit. Generally though, Fatcop gets overwhelmed and bogged down in too much gross-out humour to be all that entertaining or satisfying a narrative. Definitely not among Ryan’s better comics.
Johnny Ryan’s back with a new subtle, thoughtful and heart-warming comic in Fatcop. I was initially excited about this one as I loved the premise of an utterly corrupt scumbag cop character, especially as it was Johnny Ryan writing and drawing, so it’s a little disappointing to say that Fatcop was surprisingly boring.
The book is occasionally funny, like when supercop Pete Rick (P. Rick, geddit?) tries to get Fatcop to quit by making him work out until he soils himself, or when Fatcop makes love to a garbage pile. But the book is so consistently and gratuitously over-the-top gross that the unrelenting vulgarity becomes not as funny, until it’s not at all, and more than a little dull.
I would’ve preferred if Ryan had stuck to having Fatcop deal with real world things so I found the supernatural tangents pointless and silly more than anything. The storyline veers off from the supercop partner to what’s under Trader Joe’s and the absurdity goes off a cliff. But it’s just too much by then - you can’t have every other page be a blowjob/mutilation scene and then expect that doing more of that provides any kind of payoff to a story.
It’s imaginative and original at least - Johnny Ryan’s comics never seem derivative of anything, other than his own work - and the jokes sometimes hit. Generally though, Fatcop gets overwhelmed and bogged down in too much gross-out humour to be all that entertaining or satisfying a narrative. Definitely not among Ryan’s better comics.
August 15, 2024
I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but I kind of enjoyed "Fatcop." Johnny Ryan has dialed back his usual racial vulgarity and instead focuses on sexual violence and grotesque gore, all wrapped up in a detective mystery narrative.
This book is disgusting, and it’s something I can’t openly admit to enjoying, but I can definitely share my thoughts here online. If you liked works like "Ed the Happy Clown" or Winshluss’s "Pinocchio," you might find some value here. While "Fatcop" doesn’t quite measure up to those titles, it fits into the same grotesque category. The difference is that the jokes here often land with poor taste.
this book feels like junk food for the mind—indulgent and entertaining, but not something you’d want to brag about.
This book is disgusting, and it’s something I can’t openly admit to enjoying, but I can definitely share my thoughts here online. If you liked works like "Ed the Happy Clown" or Winshluss’s "Pinocchio," you might find some value here. While "Fatcop" doesn’t quite measure up to those titles, it fits into the same grotesque category. The difference is that the jokes here often land with poor taste.
this book feels like junk food for the mind—indulgent and entertaining, but not something you’d want to brag about.
March 14, 2025
A nauseating stream-of-consciousness that, every time it tries to get horny, gets worse. If childlike black-and-white cartoon effluvia is your jam, this is the book for you. I suspect it's brilliant, but I just can't. An extra star b/c ACAB, and I loved Prison Pit... though perhaps I didn't actually enjoy reading PP, but enjoy remembering reading.
Praise from the back cover: "Impossible to pigeonhole, always a step ahead of the reader, its intellectual reach goes well beyond outrageousness and toward the agony of modern America and its desire for self-destruction." Feels accurate.
Praise from the back cover: "Impossible to pigeonhole, always a step ahead of the reader, its intellectual reach goes well beyond outrageousness and toward the agony of modern America and its desire for self-destruction." Feels accurate.
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November 26, 2025Do I need to share with the world that I read Johnny Ryan comics? I should probably keep that to myself.
Maybe I've grown up and gotten dull and stupid, but I used to enjoy Johnny Ryan's comics before. I think I like his shorter material bettter versus the long-form stuff. Can it be that it's also gotten less clever and just gorier?
I want to mention the book podcast "Apology" which has an episode with Johnny Ryan as a guest. He speaks eloquently on Freud, Nietzche, Joyce, Pynchon, others. Sorry if I found that surprising.
Maybe I've grown up and gotten dull and stupid, but I used to enjoy Johnny Ryan's comics before. I think I like his shorter material bettter versus the long-form stuff. Can it be that it's also gotten less clever and just gorier?
I want to mention the book podcast "Apology" which has an episode with Johnny Ryan as a guest. He speaks eloquently on Freud, Nietzche, Joyce, Pynchon, others. Sorry if I found that surprising.
September 2, 2024
Why is Johhny Ryan? Yeah, yeah, I've read Prison Pit, that was insane and fun enough, mostly thanks to outlandish designs. But it's the year 2024 and he's still doing the same shtick except, with this, there are no cool designs, it's just grossout gag after grossout gag and none of it is offensive or shocking, it's just... excess in the name of excess. The fact that it attempts to have some semblance of a plot is even worse.
April 24, 2024
Still trying to understand what I just read
I am still trying to decipher if what I just read was a brilliant critique on our society or depraved garbage or a delightful blend of both. I don’t have the answer but I know I will be thinking of FATCOP and Trader Joe’s for a long time to come.
I am still trying to decipher if what I just read was a brilliant critique on our society or depraved garbage or a delightful blend of both. I don’t have the answer but I know I will be thinking of FATCOP and Trader Joe’s for a long time to come.
July 28, 2024
3.5 stars
Absurd and puerile and vile, but also often hilarious if the gratuitous parts aren’t too off-putting. Intentionally provocative and gross, but often imaginatively and amusingly so. This is the sort of outrageous alt comix fare that will never be a mainstay in my reading list, but is nonetheless interesting and fun to dip into on occasion.
Absurd and puerile and vile, but also often hilarious if the gratuitous parts aren’t too off-putting. Intentionally provocative and gross, but often imaginatively and amusingly so. This is the sort of outrageous alt comix fare that will never be a mainstay in my reading list, but is nonetheless interesting and fun to dip into on occasion.
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September 13, 2025I think this is a geniunely insightful and important book for understanding the times we live in. But I think narratively, the phonix-marie subplot was a weakness- I think removing her would've lent the whole thing a more true-detective/lovecraftian/pynchonian bent of unobservable/ahistorical/atemporal evil- more true to the subjective experience of american life.
April 13, 2024
I didn’t read all of this but the parts I did were lowbrow, vulgar, and satirical in an underground comix way. The book is very much a satire on police corruption and brutality in an over the top gorefest style reminiscent of punk culture or Paul Verhoeven movies. Great stuff.
ACAB
ACAB
Read
July 11, 2024A black comedy written in exceptionally bad taste, Fat Cop goes to increasingly disgusting, shocking, and often funny places. There are a lot of very obscure references that I really appreciate.
RIP Ray Combs.
RIP Ray Combs.
September 26, 2024
Hands down the most disgusting, depraved, violent, awful graphic novel I’ve ever read… and I loved every minute. If you’re easily offended or don’t appreciate sarcasm and satire do not even consider this.
January 13, 2025
Somehow more depraved and with vulgarity less justified than Ryan's Prison Pitt. Not sure I could recommend this to anyone. There is little merit here and I would be embarrassed if my kids knew I was reading this.
March 7, 2024
3.5/5
Utterly deranged, as expected!
Utterly deranged, as expected!
March 18, 2024
Fucking deranged.
March 29, 2024
Nearly Perfect; One SubQuanta Below Chocolate Shakes & Pears
If only The Art work were a little more stylized & he’d gotten a professional letterer to do The text… ( ? )
If only The Art work were a little more stylized & he’d gotten a professional letterer to do The text… ( ? )
April 19, 2024
super disturbing. I've read Prison Pit and didn't realize it was the same author until the first bit, haha.
May 8, 2024
Offensive, crass, and disgusting to the point of utter absurdity. Johnny Ryan is one of our most important living cartoonists.
May 9, 2024
This book was an absolute nightmare. I loved it.
May 15, 2024
Unhinged and pretty hilarious. I hope I’m never given the opportunity to recommend it.
May 23, 2024
I feel dirty.
May 29, 2024
Best book of the year. A satanic orgy of dicks and diarrhea and constant bloodletting. The most vile thing I've ever read
August 16, 2024
Disgusting, entertaining, vile, and childish.
Worth a glance. much like a car crash, you just can’t stop looking at the carnage.
Worth a glance. much like a car crash, you just can’t stop looking at the carnage.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews