Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez

            I’ll be blunt, Jhonen Vasquez’s work terrified me as a child, and one of the primary reasons why I first read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac when I was younger was because one of my favorite online authors had written some interesting stories based on the comic (and yes, I’m going to regress back to my 13-year-old self for a moment and link to one of said stories).  Over the years I’ve taken it back out and read it a few times here and there: my opinions about it kept changing, up until the last few times I’ve revisited it.  These days it’s not among my favorite comics, but its definitely one I pull out and relish when in a sour mood (misery loves company, after all).  I think the foreword by Rob Schrab (in the Director’s Cut) best summarizes why JtHM is loved so much, and it's cathartic nature has actually made it fairly pleasant to revisit.

For my generation, JtHM seems almost like…not a rite of passage, but certainly a part of becoming a teenager (and if not JtHM, then at least another one of Vasquez’s works): it seems to be that real first “dark and edgy” comic (or even piece of literature) you’re introduced to growing up, made all the more enticing through its parental shock factor in name alone.  Looking at it now, it seems like the next evolution of the underground Comix of the 1960s/70s: after the huge “dark anti-hero” stint most mainstream comics went through during the 80s, it doesn’t seem as severe, but the content itself is certainly inappropriate as far as the CCA standards (and even most parent standards) go.  Still, I find it hard to determine what age group it would be apropos to introduce JtHM to due to its wider audience range (hell, I first read it when I was 13 and wasn’t sure what to think of it then) – in the end, it seems more dependent on what your personal tastes are when it comes to levels of gore.

Any way, JtHM is a simultaneously noxious and cathartic read, loading up the reader with the filth and putrefaction that plagues Johnny and the world around him, all the while allowing the reader to expend it all and then some through Johnny’s insane rampaging throughout the comic.  I guess Johnny’s position as a “flusher” is apropos, both in a meta sense and in-universe.  Speaking of which, the appearance of a character similar to Johnny, Jimmy, was a great way for Vasquez to either poke fun at himself or the typical reader of JtHM (especially those who didn’t quite understand the reasoning behind Johnny’s character, and were more in it for the gore).  It initially made me uncomfortable, but in retrospect it was an interesting way to draw comparisons and fully frame Johnny’s moral code and boundaries, despite his typical insanity.

For people first being introduced to Jhonen Vasquez’s work, JtHM is the great divider between those who will either love or hate his work and the type of humor presented throughout.  Much like Transmetropolitan, it was initially a tough read, but it turns out to be one of the few comics I’ll come back to every so often.

Life's not that simple, Nny.  Trust me.