Hepcats

Hepcats was an independent comic book self-published in the 1990s by artist Martin Wagner. It dealt with the lives of four college students, and was inspired by Wagner's own college experiences. It first began as a daily strip in The Daily Texan, the student newspaper at the University of Texas at Austin, in 1987. The characters were rendered as anthropomorphic animals, but in a human setting, and the book's highly detailed pen-and-ink artwork was its hallmark.

Though critically acclaimed with a cult following, the series was not a financial success, and this led to an erratic publishing schedule that frustrated readers. The series stalled after its 12th issue. An attempt to revive the series by Antarctic Press in 1996 failed, and Wagner later admitted in an interview he never should have agreed to it, saying, "...they [Antarctic] treated me very well and I treated them very badly in return. I wouldn't admit it at the time but I was burned out before I even started at AP."

Despite the tumultuous behind-the-scenes strife surrounding the series' publication problems, Hepcats is remembered by those who liked it best for its lush art, its sympathetic characters, and the sensitivity of its stories.