Meags Fitzgerald

{{Infobox artist

| name = Meags Fitzgerald

| image = Meags Fitzgerald - SILQ2018.jpg

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| caption = Meags Fitzgerald in 2018

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| birth_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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| other_names = HercuSleaze

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| website = [http://www.meagsfitzgerald.com/ www.meagsfitzgerald.com]

}}

Meags Fitzgerald is a Canadian drag king,{{Cite magazine|last=Nolfi|first=Joey|date=2021-10-05|title='Call Me Mother casts queens, kings, and nonbinary stars in wild new drag competition'|url=https://ew.com/tv/call-me-mother-cast-reveal/|access-date=2022-09-26|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926124652/https://ew.com/tv/call-me-mother-cast-reveal/ |archive-date=2022-09-26 |language=en-US}} illustrator and cartoonist.{{cite web

|last=Rude

|first=Mey Valdivia

|title = Drawn to Comics: Meags Fitzgerald Explores Bisexuality, Celibacy and Make Believe in "Long Red Hair"

|date = 2015-10-13

|url = http://www.autostraddle.com/drawn-to-comics-meags-fitzgerald-explores-bisexuality-celibacy-and-make-believe-in-long-red-hair-311297/

|website = Autostraddle

|access-date = 2016-07-12

}}

Career

Fitzgerald earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary in 2009 and a certificate in design from NSCAD University in Halifax in 2012. She worked mainly as an illustrator, graphic novelist and comedic improviser {{cite news

|last = Nemetz

|first = Andrea

|title = Tribute to vanishing instant-photobooths

|date = 2014-08-13

|url = http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1229204-tribute-to-vanishing-instant-photobooths

|newspaper = The Chronicle Herald

|access-date = 2016-07-07

}} before becoming a drag king.

Fitzgerald published Photobooth: A Biography in 2014, a non-fiction graphic novel detailing her interest in chemical photobooths. The book won the 2015 Doug Wright Spotlight Award.{{cite web|last = Balser|first = Erin|title = Graphic novels win big at Doug Wright Awards|url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/graphic-novels-win-big-at-doug-wright-awards-1.3068588|date = 2015-05-10|website = CBC|access-date = 2016-07-07}} She followed it in 2015 with the autobiographical graphic novel Long Red Hair.

{{cite news

|last = Collins

|first = Sean

|title = Review: New comics by Meags Fitzgerald, Bill Griffith and Adrian Tomine

|date = 2015-10-16

|url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-new-comics-by-meags-fitzgerald-bill-griffith-and-adrian-tomine/article26846398/

|newspaper = The Globe and Mail

|access-date = 2016-07-07

}}

In 2019, she was nominated for the Prism Prize Award for directing a music video for Rich Aucoin's song The Middle.{{cite news

|last = Thorne

|first = Tara

|title = Rich Aucoin and Classified nominated for Prism Prize

|date = 2019-02-21

|url = https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/rich-aucoin-and-classified-nominated-for-prism-prize/Content?oid=20681146

|newspaper = The Coast

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210513152844/https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/rich-aucoin-and-classified-nominated-for-prism-prize/Content?oid=20681146

|access-date = 2021-05-13

|archive-date = 2021-05-13

}}

Fitzgerald's drag king pseudonym is HercuSleaze (pronouns he/him). He was a contestant on the first season of the reality TV competition Call Me Mother.{{Cite web|last=Griwkowsky|first=Fish|date=2021-10-20|title='OUTtv's Call Me Mother stars local drag queen Felicia Bonée'|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/television/outtvs-call-me-mother-stars-local-drag-queen-felicia-bonee|access-date=2022-03-06|website=Edmonton Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126232902/https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/television/outtvs-call-me-mother-stars-local-drag-queen-felicia-bonee |archive-date=2022-01-26 |language=en-US}} In 2022 HercuSleaze performed at Fierté Montréal's Superstars show to a crowd of 30,000 people, making him one of the first drag kings to perform to an audience of this size.{{cite news

|last = QMI

|first = Agence

|title = Fierté Montréal: Rita Baga à l'animation de "Drag Superstars"

|date = 2022-07-19

|url = https://www.journaldequebec.com/2022/07/19/fierte-montreal-rita-baga-a-lanimation-de-drag-superstars

|newspaper = Le Journal de Quebec

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220722024414/https://www.journaldequebec.com/2022/07/19/fierte-montreal-rita-baga-a-lanimation-de-drag-superstars

|access-date = 2022-07-22

|archive-date = 2022-07-22

}}

Fitzgerald identifies as queer.