Ahead of ‘Invincible’ Premiere “Thragg Mustache Rides” Becomes Most Googled Phrase Ever
Thragg art commissions are making some indie artists millionaires.
From a bush outside of Skybound Studios, I can now confirm that just days away from the latest season of Invincible, Google has been inundated with searches for, “Thragg Mustache Rides,” following the release of multiple trailers which heavily feature the new antagonist. Show creator and executive producer, Robert Kirkman, isn’t surprised at all that fans are loving the new big bad.
“Look at that mustache, even I want to ride it,” Kirkman said during an interview for the show. “When we created Thragg in the comics, I told Ryan [Ottley] that I wanted this guy to have the biggest mustache possible. He came back with a big twirly mustache that wasn’t hitting the mark. Then I told him to think of the most ridable mustache, then draw that. He then came back with the version of Thragg we all know today, and the rest is history.”
Ryan Ottley himself was pretty surprised by the character’s popularity.
“For a while, I was only getting commissions to draw Atom Eve’s feet,” Ottley said at a local comic convention, after drawing his third Thragg for the day. “Now all people want is Thragg. It’s exhilarating getting away from Eve and getting to draw more Thragg. It reinvigorated my love for drawing. I feel like a new man.”
Ottley isn’t the only one revitalized by the internet’s interest in Thragg. We spoke to freelance artists who’ve seen an uptick in commissions involving Thragg.
“I just graduated with my MFA and was going to have to move back in with my parents,” said Kerry Fulton (28), who’d been making just “okay money” taking furry commissions. “Then the Thragg commissions started rolling in and now I’m buying my parents a new house.”
“I’m doing nothing but mustache ride commissions now,” said Marcus Weldon (21), an artist who just paid down his student loans in full, from Thragg commissions. “It’s mostly Thragg. But I’ve had a few requests for Yosemite Sam and Monty from Rescue Rangers.”
“I’m being forced out of the scene,” said Gina Hudson (35), an artist who specializes in feet. “I was raking in commissions all over the place for feet. Now I can’t talk with a potential client without someone asking for a piece involving a mustache ride. I don’t mean to yuck others’ yums, but this is disgusting. I am a well-respected artist known for their foot fetish art.”
At press time Kirkman had phoned Ottley about a potential Thragg spinoff that explored the origins of Thragg and his mustache. The bush I hid in for this scoop was a well landscaped Scruff Bush.
