About book Johnny, El Maníaco Homicida, Vol. 1 (2004)
(Since I cannot be bothered to write a review for each installment, this is an overview of the entire series. As such there will be spoilers, however incoherent.)Rating. 4.5My enjoyment of this series kind of disturbs me. But I guess my humor is much more dark than I would like to admit.Each installment includes a sort of foreword by the author. A tongue in cheek look at his cynical nature, dark sense of humor and apparently shitty life. All of them offer funny insights into Jhonen, his style as an artist, his sense of humor and his various philosophies. Whilst always taking a humorous look at society at large.The series centers around Johnny, also known as "Nny" once a possibly highly talented artist now turned psychopath and deranged serial killer. Nny oscillates between killing sprees and attempted suicide every couple of chapters or so. Each are devilishly humorous and satirical. He is aided (and I use the term loosely) by the voices in his head, represented by two seemingly sentient plastic figurines, Psycho- Doughboy aka D Boy and Mr Eff and, of course, Nail Bunny. A pet rabbit Nny once fed and then nailed to the wall. And later, Reverend Meat. Nail Bunny seems to act more as a conscious, which causes Nny to ponder some existential questions about himself, his life and what little he remembers about the time before his killing rampages. Mr Eff and D Boy seem to act on behalf of "Moose." A wall monster somehow imprisoned in Nny' house and held at bay by freshly coated blood on the walls. Although each has a different approach to "helping" their seemingly evil master. Whilst Nny seems to argue and actively dislike Reverend Meat. Even ignoring him in favor of Mr Samsa. A cockroach that Nny thinks is immortal because he keeps on killing him.Nny also manages to interact with the world he inhabits, albeit with extreme violence and somehow indifference at the same time. His most.......er gentle relationship is with his next door neighbor, Todd aka Squee. Squee is kind of like a very shy Butters, if he had even shittier parents, a somehow even worse life and constantly interacted with a serial killer that is. Nny seems to be genuinely concerned for Squee, even going so far as to actively protect him at certain moments. Nny attempts to form something of a mentor like relationship with Squee, teaching and looking out for him, although he scares the absolute shit out of him during all their encounters. Which hinders the process somewhat. =)The relationship between Squee and Nny is one of my favorites of the series. Showing Nny is still human (albeit just barely.) Plus Squee is freaking adorable. Seriously I want to adopt him, like now! I'd even take in Schmee, Squee's kind of creepy potentially evil sponge-like teddy bear. D'awww!Throughout the series, Nny learns about his purpose, meets the Devil, kills a man without it giving him any pleasure, gains an apprentice of sorts, tries to retain a girlfriend and interacts with parodies of Goths.But Johnny's quest isn't the only story we get. Each installment has a few random segments interspersed throughout. We get a few violent, seemingly random but funny self contained stories, a couple of Devi D's horrible dates, the ever arrogant Wobbly Headed Bob and of course everyone's favorite random bat shit insane character. Happy Noodle Boy.Although the series at first seems grotesque and ultra violent, it does form something of a coherent storyline, has a bit of social commentary, some philosophical musings and is all around absurdly funny.The art style can be kind of harsh, offering no color save for the title pages and the violence is shown in all it's black and white glory. But I quite enjoyed it and it's plot. Today we look at an American comic for a change, written by Mexican American comic book guru Jhonen Vasquez. This comic has a lot of things going for it with a slick art style, dark humor galore, and a unique feel. I also love the author's complete disdain for the average fans, similar to Evangelion. It actually adds another layer of comedy to the series. It was popular in the 90s with the Goth crowd, who liked it mostly for its buckets of gore and relentlessly dark tone. JTHM has some flaws to be sure and feels a bit dated to the 90s decade. However, if you want an American comic book that isn't about men in spandex fighting crime, you could definitely do worse than Good Ol' Johnny!
Do You like book Johnny, El Maníaco Homicida, Vol. 1 (2004)?
I absolutely loved this comic. I'm a big fan of Jhonen Vasquez so I was extremely excited when I found out that he had made a few comic books in addition to Invader Zim. Unfortunately, none of the local book stores carried but I was able to find it online. I read it in a day - it was amazing. I suppose that you have to be tolerant of gore and inner monologues and such to properly enjoy it, since I don't think the squeamish and optimistic would enjoy it as much. I loved reading Johnny's views on the world and found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said. It's definitely a memorable comic and I would recommend it to everyone.
—Choco
I love the silly, yet disturbing, theme of this comic series and some of the stories had me crying with laughter. The art style is beautifully iconic and fun to look at. The whole thing is gruesomely entertaining. My biggest complaint is that the book can get very irritating and at some points, near impossible to read due to annoyance. The dialogue will sometimes become repetitive, loud, and obnoxious, and lose all wit. Other than those more excruciating bits, if you can handle torture sequences and endless cruelty, this comic is truly a good casual read.
—funkymunkey123
