Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
This is a very special Why I Love Comics edition as I finally reveal what my first real indie
book was. Not only that but the book is now 14 years old and is probably one of the more
controversial, talked about and all around polarizing indie comics ever. I'm talking about none other then Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac!
I first read an issue of the book my freshman year of high school, not really knowing exactly what I was reading. My sense of humor varies depending on what I'm watching, reading or playing but I found myself laughing out loud on certain parts of the issue and soon found myself seeking out the "directors" cut of the entire series (which actually has a few things excluded from it).
Basically, we follow the story of a young man named Johnny, Nny for short. He's awkward, hates most people he comes into contact with and has to make sure a wall in the house he lives in is covered with blood so the demons can't escape.
It's horror and dark comedy all mixed into one and it never lets up on it's commentary from the beginning. We have one completely innocent tortured little character in Nny's neighbored, Squee (which Nny calls him for short as that's the sound he makes in their first meeting). He's a cute little kid who doesn't exactly have the best parents in the world. Nny ends up protecting him on an occasion where it seems that he's grown kind of fond of the little guy.
We follow Nny through the book as he tries to find love, argues with dough boys, speaks with god and the devil, heaven being rather boring and hell being full of bagels and awesome trenchcoats. He becomes more and more unstable as the series continues and things finally start to balance out in the last issue as he makes a decision that honestly gives you thoughts of a sequel that never seemed to happen. It was rather open ended but still fun nonetheless.
Of course we had breaks in the main story with the madness that was Happy Noodle Boy who was a nonsensical man who lived in an apparently very normal world where he obviously didn't fit in. He was the comic inside the comic as Johnny wrote for him as well as drew him.
Jhonen's writing was oddly human in a bizarre world filled with slightly Lovecraftian ideas and a lot of things rang true. Whether it was Johnny going off on a rant on what he hated about humanity or poor little squee dealing with his parents, things truly kept you guessing as to what would happen next.
One of the more complex and interesting conversations I've ever read in a comic takes place when Nny is in hell as he discusses things with the devil who decides to appear in a very unique body to torture our lead. When Nny meets someone who apparently admires him, things take an even weirder tone as he actually does something slightly heroic which just further explains the way his mind works.
The book had dark humor but was incredibly funny, had moments of drama and even a bit of action in it but all in all I highly recommend it for those who don't have a weak stomach, who enjoy horror and dark comedy and like little extra's added in to make you like the experience even more.
That's something else about the director's cut, the back has a lot of extra content filled with Johnen's absurd notes and looks back at what the character was when he first created him. Really it's a great little book that's easy to read and might make you laugh out loud at moments if you don't mind the gore, language or just absurdity.
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching dvd's, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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