Comments on: Who designed the "Don't Panic" flying green guy from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Question: Who designed the "Don't Panic" flying green guy from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

waxpancake — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:23:46 -0800

Who designed the cute flying green "Don't Panic" mascot (seen here) from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and does the character have a name?

By: zamboni

zamboni — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:56:42 -0800

The Cosmic Cutie.

By: captainawesome

captainawesome — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:00:55 -0800

I've got a copy of HHG with that pic on the cover... illustrations are credited to Peter Cross. Can't say for sure, but some random Googling seems to confirm. And yeah, it's called the Cosmic Cutie. Douglas reportedly hated it. :-)

By: zamboni

zamboni — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:03:33 -0800

AKA Jeremy Pacman. This old Wikipedia page also suggests the artist is Peter Cross.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:35:03 -0800

The douglas adams fan newsgroup has some pullquotes about it.

Adams: "I HATE the little green blob and have spent years locked in arguments
with my publishers with me trying to get rid of the obscene little thing.
I've finally secured its demise with the new Ballantine editons of the
soft cover backlist."

By: knowles

knowles — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:19:02 -0800

i always knew it as the Great Green Arkleseizure.

By: Pronoiac

Pronoiac — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:48:48 -0800

knowles: That was a creation myth, if memory serves - some thought it sneezed out the universe, & lived in fear of the coming of the Great White Handkerchief.

By: HFSH

HFSH — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:04:23 -0800

Huh. I always considered it to be Eddy.

Eddies in the Space-time Continuum. "Ah," nodded Arthur, "Is he. Is he. ... " What?" said Ford. "Er, who," said Arthur, "is Eddy, then?"

By: cosmicbandito

cosmicbandito — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:49:31 -0800

ditto knowles. I assumed that if a cosmic being were going to use a handkerchief, it was probably going to need hands.

By: Skwirl

Skwirl — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:05:50 -0800

I asked Douglas Adams about it when he was promoting Mostly Harmless at Powell's in Portland. He said, with more than a little disdain in his voice, "the editors made me do it."

By: waxpancake

waxpancake — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:42:48 -0800

You guys are so awesome.