View source for Fetus-X

{{Short description|Alternative comic}}
{{Infobox Webcomic|<!-- Part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Webcomics]] -->
| title = Fetus-X
| image = [[Image:Fetusx fx082106painting.jpg|center|300px]]
| caption = Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow's ''Fetus-X'' comics often explore themes of the occult and romance.
| author = Eric Millikin; previously with Casey Sorrow
| url = http://www.fetusx.com/
| status = Inactive
| began = Late 1999
| ended = 
| genre = [[Horror fiction|Horror]], [[Comedy]], [[Romantic love|Romance]], [[Editorial cartoon|Political]]
| ratings = 
}}

'''''Fetus-X''''' was a weekly [[romantic love|romantic]] [[horror fiction|horror]] [[comic]] written and drawn by [[Eric Millikin]] and [[Casey Sorrow]]. Millikin is an American artist and former human anatomy lab [[embalmer]] and [[dissection]]ist.<ref name="webcomicsreview.com">Zabel, Joe (June 14, 2004). "[http://webcomicsreview.com/examiner/issue040614/millikin.html Cutting Up The Dead: An interview with Eric Millikin] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041010140037/http://webcomicsreview.com/examiner/issue040614/millikin.html |date=2004-10-10 }}". ''The Webcomics Examiner''</ref> Sorrow is an internationally known [[United States|American]] illustrator and printmaker.

''Fetus-X'' has been published in newspapers, books, and as a [[webcomic]] since late 1999.<ref name="StateNews">Bennet, Brandon (August 1, 2002). "[http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=11292 Guest appearance helps ‘Fetus-X’ move forward] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051212135750/http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=11292 |date=2005-12-12 }}". ''The State News''</ref> The first ''Fetus-X'' comics were drawn by artist Casey Sorrow, who later left to create the comic ''Feral Calf''. The storylines of ''Fetus-X'' generally revolve around Millikin's use of the [[occult]] in both romantic relationships and battles with various ghosts, demons, aliens, and monsters. The artwork is [[mixed media]], combining [[expressionist]] paintings with [[found objects]]. The text is often written in [[free verse]]. Early comics are in black and white, but after 2002 most are full color.

==History==
Millikin began drawing horror comics by age one-and-a-half, when he made crayon drawings of ghosts terrorizing him during toilet-training. By second grade, he was making teachers profane birthday cards showing his school burning down.<ref name="lansing">Breithaupt, Christy (July 26, 2006). "[http://hub.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/NOISE08/607260319/1104/HUB Dark visions: MSU grad's 'Fetus-X' comic earns national recognition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810134421/http://hub.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060726%2FNOISE08%2F607260319%2F1104%2FHUB |date=2006-08-10 }}". ''[[Lansing State Journal]]''</ref>

The first ''Fetus-X'' newspaper strips were published in spring 2000 in [[Michigan State University]]'s ''[[The State News]]''. Immediately there were problems with censorship, Catholic League protests, and threatened cancellation. 

After the [[Catholic League (U.S.)|Catholic League]] protested the comic and then MSU president [[M. Peter McPherson]] declared he wanted it banned, the comic strip was removed for being too controversial.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bennett|first=Brandon|title=Guest appearance helps 'Fetus-X' move forward|url=http://statenews.com/index.php/article/2002/08/guest_appearance_helps_0145fetusx0146_move_forward|newspaper=State News|date=1 August 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Castanier|first=Bill|title=Portrait of the artist as a playful grandfather|url=http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-8227-portrait-of-the-arti.html|newspaper=City Pulse|date=12 December 2012|access-date=30 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816024821/http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-8227-portrait-of-the-arti.html|archive-date=16 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the controversy over the comic, many people protested on both sides of the issue.

Those who were against the comic protested on religious grounds. One said, "As a [[born-again Christian]], I just wanted to notify the writers of “Fetus-X” that the comic strip [is] very offensive. ... I pray that one day you will come to know the power of the cross."<ref>{{cite news|last=Lattimore |first=Latoya |title=Cartoonists need to show respect |url=http://www.statenews.com/editions/052200/op_ltr2.html |newspaper=The State News |date=18 May 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020107125540/http://www.statenews.com/editions/052200/op_ltr2.html |archive-date=January 7, 2002 }}</ref> Another warned, "Do you remember what happened when they said, 'not even God can sink the ''[[Titanic]]''?' There are certain things you just don’t joke about. ... keep your blasphemy to yourself."<ref>{{cite news|last=Strank |first=Jody |title=Concern regarding "Fetus X" cartoon |url=http://www.statenews.com/editions/052400/op_ltr2.html |newspaper=The State News |date=24 May 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020107132543/http://www.statenews.com/editions/052400/op_ltr2.html |archive-date=January 7, 2002 }}</ref>

Those in favor of the comic said that "I would not hesitate to liken 'Fetus-X' to the [[Black Sabbath]] of comic strips ... It is the courage, imagination and talent of both the band and the strip that will set them apart from the other flavors of the week and earn them both places in artistic history."<ref>{{cite news|last=Birchmeier |first=Zak |title="Fetus-X" provides SN with originality |url=http://www.statenews.com/editions/082400/op_ltr5.html |newspaper=The State News |date=24 August 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051203085759/http://www.statenews.com/editions/082400/op_ltr5.html |archive-date=December 3, 2005 }}</ref> And: "It's frustrating to see the ultimate goal of [[political correctness]] gain precedence over the basic principle that Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin have the artistic right to their own opinions."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hoxworth |first=Kim |title=Strip controversy bothers SN reader |url=http://www.statenews.com/editions/083000/op_ltr4.html |newspaper=The State News |date=30 August 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020226033356/http://www.statenews.com/editions/083000/op_ltr4.html |archive-date=February 26, 2002 }}</ref>

After six months, ''The State News'' cancelled the comic strip despite support from some readers.<ref name="StateNews"/> It continues to be published on the web and in many college newspapers and in alternative newspapers such as Detroit's ''[[Metro Times]]''<ref name="metrotimes">Millikin, Eric (April 13, 2005). "[http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=7565 Holy Shit, the Pope is Dead]" ''[[Metro Times]]''</ref> and the ''[[Cambridge University Reporter|University Reporter]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Millikin|first1=Eric|last2=Sorrow|first2=Casey|title=The Neglected Opportunity|newspaper=University Reporter|date=Sep 2001|page=12}}</ref>

In the fall of 2002, ''Fetus-X'' became part of the subscription-based online [[alternative comics]] anthology [[Serializer]], a spin-off of the successful webcomics site [[Modern Tales]]. Other comics on Serializer included ''[[Achewood|Achewood Sunday Edition]]'', ''[[Sam Henderson|The Magic Whistle]]'', and ''[[Lauren Weinstein (comic book artist)|Little Laurie Sprinkles]]''.<ref name="comicon">Hart, Tom and Joey Manley (Oct. 21, 2002). "[http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001184;p=1 Modern Tales And Tom Hart Launch Serializer.Net Today] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605164821/http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic%3Bf%3D8%3Bt%3D001184%3Bp%3D1 |date=2011-06-05 }}".</ref> In the fall of 2005 ''Fetus-X'' became a free comic on [[Webcomics Nation]].

In June 2006, Millikin was interviewed in the book ''[[Attitude: The New Subversive Cartoonists|Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists]],'' edited by award-winning syndicated editorial cartoonist [[Ted Rall]]. ''Attitude 3'' also includes other webcomics such as ''[[Cat and Girl]]'', ''[[Dinosaur Comics]]'', ''[[Diesel Sweeties]]'', and ''[[The Perry Bible Fellowship]]''.<ref name="attitude">Rall, Ted (2006). ''[[Attitude: The New Subversive Cartoonists|Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists]]'', New York: Nantier, Beall, Minoustchine. {{ISBN|1-56163-465-4}}.</ref>

After being offline due to a server crash, Serializer relaunched in October 2006, under the editorship of Eric Millikin.<ref name="Comixpedia Roundtable">Xerexes, Xaviar (Dec. 2006). "[http://comixtalk.com/index.php?q=2006_Roundtable The Comixpedia End of 2006 Roundtable]".</ref><ref name="PW Beat">MacDonald, Heidi (Oct. 12, 2006). "[http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2006/10/12/serializernet-returns/ Serializer.net returns] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130131220625/http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2006/10/12/serializernet-returns/ |date=2013-01-31 }}".</ref> ''Fetus-X'' was among the comics on the relaunched serializer, along with Joey Comeau and artist Emily Horne's ''[[A Softer World]]'', Matt Bors's ''[[Idiot Box (webcomic)|Idiot Box]]'', and Spike Trotman's ''[[Templar, Arizona]]''.<ref name="Bors Blog">Bors, Matt (Oct. 24, 2006). "[http://www.mattbors.com/2006/10/serializernet_24.html Serializer.net] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820233953/http://www.mattbors.com/2006/10/serializernet_24.html |date=2008-08-20 }}".</ref>

==Characters and plot==
Typical plots of ''Fetus-X'' comics involved the title character Fetus-X interacting with a [[lab rabbit]] named Bunny. Fetus-X was a psychic zombie fetus floating in a jar of [[formaldehyde]] who may or may not be Millikin's missing conjoined twin or his clone from an alternate timeline or dimension.<ref>{{Cite news|title=A&E Top 10s: From the Cliché to the Controversial|last=Simins|first=Elizabeth|date=December 10, 2008|work=Columbia Spectator}}</ref>

==Critical reaction==
In their review of serializer.net, ''[[The Comics Journal]]'' wrote: "It's a pleasure to see strips like ... ''Fetus-X'' use the newspaper format for far more daring, entertainingly perverse work ... [''Fetus-X''] would be perfectly at home at a good alternative weekly or a great college paper."<ref name="TCJ">Wood, Mariko (March 2003). "Download: Good Comics and Baud Web Comics". ''[[The Comics Journal]]'', No. 251, p. 38.</ref> In their review of ''Attitude 3'', the [[American Library Association]]'s [[Booklist]] wrote that "the visual style of Eric Millikin’s ''Fetus-X'' 'crosses [[Edvard Munch]] with an incipient victim of high-school suicide.'" <ref name="booklist">Flagg, Gordon (August 2006). "Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists". ''[[Booklist]]'', p. 23.</ref>

Since 2000, ''Fetus-X'' has been the target of protest campaigns organized by the [[Catholic League (U.S.)|Catholic League]] for its "blasphemous treatment of Jesus".<ref name="CatholicLeague">"[http://www.catholicleague.org/catalyst/2000_catalyst/1100_catalyst.htm#MICHIGAN%20STATE%20PRESIDENT%20ACTS%20PRESIDENTIAL Michigan State President Acts Presidential] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710142219/http://www.catholicleague.org/catalyst/2000_catalyst/1100_catalyst.htm#MICHIGAN%20STATE%20PRESIDENT%20ACTS%20PRESIDENTIAL |date=2007-07-10 }}". (November 2000). ''Catalyst Journal of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights''</ref> "This particular comic is offensive to Catholics and Christians," Catholic League spokesman Patrick Scully said in August 2002. "It completely ridicules the Catholic faith and is not funny."<ref name="StateNews"/> The ''[[Hartford Advocate]]'' has called Millikin a "borderline sociopath."<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.ctnow.com/custom/nmm/hartfordadvocate/hce-hta-0201-ht06comics06.artfeb01,0,3994240.story | title =Stand-Up Comics| accessdate =2007-03-19 | last = Bisbort| first = Alan | work =Hartford Advocate|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223190648/http://www.ctnow.com/custom/nmm/hartfordadvocate/hce-hta-0201-ht06comics06.artfeb01,0,3994240.story|archive-date=2007-02-23}}</ref>

''Fetus-X'' was named one of the best webcomics of 2004 by ''[[The Webcomics Examiner]]'', who called it "one of the sharpest political commentaries available. In an era where presidents are treated as messiahs, and questioning the fatherland’s foreign policies is socially unacceptable, Eric shows how necessary it is to yell at the top of your lungs about the madness of it all."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webcomicsreview.com/?p=20 |title=The Best Webcomics of 2004 |accessdate=2007-03-18 |work=The Webcomics Examiner |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106205248/http://webcomicsreview.com/?p=20 |archive-date=2007-01-06 }}</ref>

In 2006, ''Fetus-X'' was nominated for multiple [[Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards]] including Outstanding Comic, Outstanding Single Panel Comic, and Outstanding Romantic Comic. It (referred to as "''Foetus-X''") was later disqualified for not meeting the Award's defined genre criteria for romance comics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comixpedia.com/zorticfinal_wcca_voting_begins |title=Final WCCA Voting Begins! |accessdate=2007-02-16 |last=Mekkes |first=Mark |date=2006-07-21 |format=blog post |work=Comixpedia |publisher=Xavier Xerexes |quote=after extensive review, it has been determined by the WCCA Committee that Foetus-X's nomination for "Outstanding Romance Comic" does not comply with the Outstanding Romance Comic category's genre criteria |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212023050/http://www.comixpedia.com/zorticfinal_wcca_voting_begins |archive-date=2007-02-12 }}</ref> In 2007, ''Fetus-X'' was again nominated for multiple Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards including Outstanding Romantic Comic. It was not disqualified from the romance category in 2007.

''Fetus-X'' was used along with ''[[Penny Arcade (webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'', ''[[American Elf]]'' and ''[[Questionable Content]]'' as an example of comics using the web to create "an explosion of diverse genres and styles" in [[Scott McCloud]]'s 2006 book ''[[Making Comics]]''.<ref name="makingcomics">McCloud, Scott (2006). ''[[Making Comics]]'', New York: Harper Collins Publishers. {{ISBN|0-06-078094-0}}, p. 227.</ref>

==Side projects==
Eric Millikin has won awards for his illustrations for major newspapers such as ''[[The Detroit News]]''.<ref name="DetroitNews">"News is honored by sports editors". (February 28, 2003). ''The Detroit News'', p. 1H.</ref> Casey Sorrow's illustrations have appeared in publications like ''[[The New York Times]].''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/books/review/another-insane-devotion-by-peter-trachtenberg.html|title='Another Insane Devotion,' by Peter Trachtenberg|last=Mcdonald|first=Jennifer B.|date=2012-12-28|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-04-07}}</ref> ''Feral Calf'' is a comic by former ''Fetus-X'' artist Casey Sorrow. It is about feral fish people doing strange things to each other and was hosted on [[Webcomics Nation]]. Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow also created the holiday [[Monkey Day]] (celebrated December 14) as an opportunity to educate the public about monkeys, as a holiday that supports evolution rather than religious themes, and an excuse to throw monkey-themed costume parties.<ref name="HourWeekly">McKenzie, Charlie "[http://www.hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=7928 Holiday monkey business] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013131425/http://hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=7928 |date=2007-10-13 }}". (December 8, 2005). ''Hour (Montreal, Quebec)''</ref><ref name="lacitybeat">"{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070415031643/http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=2980&IssueNum=131 A toast to Bubbles]}}". (December 8, 2005). ''Los Angeles City Beat''</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fetusx.com Official website]
*[http://www.serializer.net Serializer]
*[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/caseysorrow/feral/series.php Feral Calf]

[[Category:2000s webcomics]]
[[Category:American webcomics]]
[[Category:Horror webcomics]]
[[Category:Political webcomics]]
[[Category:Romance webcomics]]
[[Category:Webcomics in print]]

[[fr:Fetus-X]]