This is the cartoon saga of a wayward golden statue of a local Nobel prize-winning author. When it is struck by lightning, it grows to hideous proportions and wreaks unintentional havoc on the hapless coastal town of Specific Groove.

The Colossus (aka COG) has amazing adventures battling dark forces that imperil the town, including swarms of menacing monarch butterflies, a giant rampaging crustacean, and an evil genius who steals COG's behemoth head and stashes it in the Mvsevm basement amidst countless art treasures.

COG History
The Colossus of Gold is a cartoon strip lampooning the vagaries of life in Pacific Grove, California.

The strip is unique, sometimes transcending pen and paper, and crossing into performance art. Snick Farkas ocassionally presents the enhanced cartoon—through the wonder of overhead projection—at Pacific Grove’s city council meetings (first and third Wednesdays of each month at 6:00 p.m., Pacific Grove City Hall, 300 Forest Avenue). Click here for council agendas and meeting dates. These meetings are recorded by AMP and shown on cable channel 26 at 2:00 p.m. on Sundays following the meetings. These presentations are put online (by a Friend of COG) at pacificgrove.tv and youtube.com.

The strip, created by Snick Farkas, a local artist and movie reviewer, first appeared in 1994 in the Pacific Grove Beacon. Local residents are featured as characters, and after the Beacon’s then-editor was eaten by a giant pilchard in episode 30, “Call Me Fishmeal,” Farkas was forced to find a new venue. The cartoon is now available on-line, and on the window of Gene's Barbershop at 610 Lighthouse Avenue. Copies are often emailed to Friends of COG. If you'd like to be included in these emails, please let us know by emailing.

The Colossus has dabbled in politics: COG’s attempt to run for Pacific Grove city council in 1996 ended when he was excluded from the ballot on a technicality. He has since made it his personal fight to earn equal rights for the reality-challenged.

The Colossus of Gold was inspired by the gold statue of John Steinbeck that fronts a small, rogue museum on P.G.’s Central Avenue. The fictional statue is struck by lightning, grows to hideous proportions, and wreaks havoc on the quasi-fictional town of Specific Groove.

COG’s adventures have touched on many hot local issues, including raccoon tolerance, taco vs. sandwich debates, Monarch butterfly worship, memorial proliferation, civic center expansion, economic revitalization, historic preservation, tidepool politics, intellectual freedom, aesthetic sensibilities, city employees’ salaries, zoning practices, ADA compliance, mold culture, and museum exhibit controversy.