Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

By Alex De-Gruchy
November 30, 2005

Okay, first off - if you're the type of person who is easily offended by fictional violence or gore for the sake of simple entertainment, then (a) you really need to lighten up, and (b) you're gonna hate Johnny The Homicidal Maniac: Director's Cut. You see, Johnny - the star of the book - is...well...a homicidal maniac, and many people meet a grisly end (or at least suffer some horrific torture) at his hands during the course of this story.

This seven issue collection is a twisted tale from writer/artist Jhonen Vasquez - a book full of sick humour, acts of appalling (cartoon) violence, macabre and interesting characters, philosophy on life, death and the human condition, and one dead bunny nailed to a wall. It's also the funniest, laugh-out-loud comic book that I've ever read.

Plot

Each issue of JTHM is not structured like a typical comic book - there isn't 22 pages of ongoing, structured story that leads smoothly from one issue to the next. Instead, an issue is split up into shorter scenes, from single splash pages to six page stories that may or may not tie into the ongoing plot of the book. In fact, a genuine plot doesn't actually appear until the second issue, as the short scenes begin to concentrate more on where Johnny is going with his life and how the characters around him - including Nailbunny (the speaking dead bunny I mentioned earlier); a girl named Devi who makes the unfortunate decision of going on a date with Johnny; and Psycho-Doughboy and Mr. Eff (two seemingly-sentient styrofoam figures in Johnny's house) - figure into it.

Johnny knows there is something wrong with him, but he doesn't know what to do about it. He knows his sanity is in doubt with the things he has done, and things get more complicated as it seems he is being manipulated by three conflicting voices in the forms of Nailbunny, Psycho-Doughboy and Mr.Eff. Each character has their own agenda and whenever the opportunity arises they attempt to twist Johnny into doing what they want. Things get stranger and stranger as Johnny visits both Heaven and Hell, and some kind of multi-tentacled monster from another dimension bursts through a wall of his house. Sound weird? It is. But read the book and it makes sense (kind of). And hey, if it doesn't? Well, as I said it's a damn funny book anyway, so at least you'll have a few laughs.

Characterisation

The star of the book is Johnny, a guy who is clearly quite, quite insane. However, as the story progresses we see that behind all the murdering and torturing he is actually a very intelligent individual who is struggling to discover just what is wrong with him. He hates the dawning feeling that he is being manipulated by external forces and so is losing control of his life (oh, but he's still crazy through all of this, don't worry about that). Johnny's journey takes him to Heaven and Hell, but he still can't seem to find the answers or the peace he seeks, until he comes to a conclusion near the end of the story about what he must do to achieve his goal.

Obviously, this isn't a normal story, so the weird and sometimes abstract nature of it - as well as the unhinged personality of the main character himself - deserves a fitting supporting cast. As mentioned, there's a talking bunny corpse nailed to a wall (nailed by Johnny himself, obviously), whose voice seems to be the most reasonable in Johnny's world. Then there's Psycho-Doughboy and Mr. Eff, two styrofoam figures who have been granted sentience by some initially-unknown force who are at odds with each other as each one attempts to manipulate Johnny's vulnerable mental state for their own purposes.

Small islands of sanity amidst characters and motivations such as these can be found in the form of individuals such as Squee, a young boy who lives next door to Johnny, and two girls named Tess and Devi who again are unlucky enough to become involved in the life of a homicidal maniac. Every supporting character in the story brings something unique to the whole thing, and it proves that this isn't a book that simply relies on its protagonist to drive the story forward.

Art

Vasquez certainly has his own distinctive, unique style which is one of the highlights of the book and which is constantly entertaining to look at throughout every issue, whether you give a damn about the story or not. His sharp, jagged lines and angular characters can be a little jarring at first if you're somebody who is used to realistically-drawn comics or musclebound superheroes, but Vasquez's talent shines as he demonstrates just how many expressions and characteristics he can give the figures in his story.

The art is black and white, and to be honest - which usually isn't the case with other black and white comics - is hard to imagine in colour. The heavy use of black and silhouettes for the characters and environments, as well as being in tune with the mood of the story, is also a big part of the overall style of the art. Colour would be of no benefit to something that works so well as it is.

Overall

Johnny The Homicidal Maniac is easily the funniest comic book I've ever read. Some people might consider the humour too dark or twisted, but in my opinion they'll simply be missing out. It's far from a simple comedy - the emerging plot and character motivations are complex and often deliberately vague, leaving the reader's imagination go to work. This is by no means lazy writing, as it invites more thought and attention from the reader. The "Director's Cut" portion of the book's title is a worthwhile description, as there are several extras included after the story has finished. These extras include character biographies, issue rundowns and early sketches and comic strips of Johnny himself, all provided by Jhonen Vasquez. JTHM definitely isn't a story for everyone's tastes, however anyone who is looking for something different and has a good sense of humour should consider it.

Publisher: Slave Labor Graphics
Writing & Art: Jhonen Vasquez
Collects Johnny the Homicidal Maniac Issues #1-7