Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

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Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (German about Johnny, the serial killer or Johnny, the gunman ) is a comic series written by Jhonen Vasquez . The first strips, published in the Gothic magazine Carpe Noctem , were later expanded into a 7-volume comic series. The comic has a pronounced black humor , but also expresses clear social criticism in many places. The excessive depictions of violence are also characteristic of the series.

Characters

Johnny C.

Johnny C., also known as Nny , is the main character in the story. He is around 20 years old and extremely thin. As his name suggests, he is both a mass murderer and a serial killer. His problem is that he doesn't get along with the world and the way it treats him. He's actually a nice young man as he has a very good relationship with Squee (although he scares him a lot) and at times it seems like he stops killing until the plot turns extreme and the reader thanks Cynicism makes you smile. However, he is often laughed at by other people because he is different, especially because he is so thin. His response to this is to kill her. However, in order to appease the monster behind the wall , he sometimes kills innocent people on the grounds that sooner or later they would disappoint him. His psychosis is also illustrated by his three inner voices, Doughboy, Mr Fuck and Nailbunny. At the end the fourth voice is added, Reverend Meat. Little is known about his past, but the director's cut of the comic mentions that his parents were murdered.

Squee

Squee, actually Todd , is Johnny's neighbor for around 10 years. He's an easy child to be scared of. His only friend appears to be his talking bear Shmee , whose voice only Squee can hear. Todd's parents don't seem too interested in their son. The mother barely remembers his name and tells him that she is about to ignore him. His father sees his life ruined by his marriage and child, which he tries not to hide from Squee. Squee also got a single comic series called Squee .

Devi

Devi was a short-term caregiver for Johnny. She worked in a bookstore, where she and Johnny talked a lot. After about 3 months, Devi invited Johnny out on a date. It was a happy day, but Johnny was afraid of the fact that this day would also end. He wanted to make the moment infinite, that is, he wanted to kill Devi. Devi narrowly escaped him, but since that experience she is almost a psychological wreck. Her relationship with boys, which was disturbed from the start, took a dramatic turn. Although Johnny apologized to her with sensitive words over the phone, she yelled at him and hung up.

There's another comic book she appears in, which is I Feel Sick

Drawing style

Jhonen's drawing style is rather gloomy. The colors are black and white, and large areas of ink are shaded. The very fine lines are also striking, such as the wooden floor planks, which are individually drawn with a wooden pattern. As usual in comics, the facial expressions are very exaggerated, but there is no unnatural movement of the characters. In many pictures you can also find comments about when Vasquez finished drawing, what he was thinking or nonsense. Most of the figures are very thin and wear Gothic-style clothing.

Supporting characters

Jimmy

Jimmy is a big fan of Johnny and calls himself "Darkness". He worships him and wants to help him kill. Hoping that Johnny would take him on as a student, he made him unusual weapons. Later, however, Johnny kills him in his basement with the weapons he made when he finds out that Jimmy raped and murdered a girl.

Tess

Tess was the girlfriend of one of Johnny's victims. But after this was killed and chopped up, first by Johnny and then by the monster in the wall, she was very happy about it. Like all characters in the series, she also has a trauma, namely that she never had long-term friends (also because her parents often moved) and now hooks up with everyone she meets, no matter how lousy they may be.

Devi's girlfriend

Devi has a good friend who wants to help her reintegrate into life, for example by calling Johnny to clear things up. This phone call only unsettles her because she has to overhear Johnny being shot. She always has a small rubber toy with her that makes squeaking noises. This is also available to buy from the publisher's website.

Johnny's voices

The Doughboys

The Doughboys are former advertising displays in the shape of two pigs who represent the dichotomous wickedness within Johnnys. In the course of the comic, however, the monster behind the wall takes more and more possession of them, which allows them to move freely.

Psychodoughboy

Psychodoughboy, aka D-Boy , is the voice in Johnny who tries to drive him into suicide, which she often succeeds in. He has no need to live alone, and when "Die Wand" takes him back, he is very, very happy.

Mr. Fuck

Mr. Fuck, aka Mr. Eff , is the voice of Johnny, who repeatedly drags him into acts of blood and violence. He hates D-Boy just as he hates him. His greatest wish is to be able to move independently of his master, in the Directors Cut it is referred to as a kind of " Pinocchio complex".

Nailbunny

The only voice of reason in his head. Johnny had bought this rabbit from a pet store years ago. However, after feeding it once, he nailed it to the wall. It later tries to fight the other voices and prevent Johnny from suicide.

Reverend Meat

He is the voice who, after the dissolution of the Doughboys, puts his often denied physical urges back to the fore. Significant for this is the inscription "Obey" (obey), which adorns his upper part. Reverend Meat tries to make Johnny feel after he tries (unsuccessfully) to get "cold as a cockroach".

The House

The house reflects Johnny's psyche. Just like its inside, it's crumbled, broken and dirty. When a door preacher wants to engage in a conversation with Johnny and tries to talk to him about God and Heaven, Johnny points to the inside of his apartment and sardonically asks him: “Does this look like heaven?” One can see a broken one Lamp, the blood-smeared wall and a rope.

It can also, especially through the wall, be seen as Johnny's psychosis in which he is practically trapped. The wall thus represents the evil instinct through which he became a murderer. It would also fit that, as he himself says, he has no idea how he got into the house or what has taken hold of him. Incorrect is the fact that others can see this house and wall too. Ultimately, the house can thus remain a point for speculation as no one knows exactly what it is.

The wall

Behind a wall in Johnny's house is the home of a monster made up mostly of tentacles. The wall always has to be painted with fresh blood, otherwise it will become transparent and the monster will come to light, which actually happens once. It can be seen as an urge that is satisfied by the blood. And if that doesn't happen, Johnny will go nuts.

Lower floors

The lower floors form a torture cellar in which Johnny tortures his victims. There are many old or obscure machines there, such as an iron maiden or a device in which one is locked up for the purpose of bursting one's head. There are also a lot of black humor posters with the inscriptions “To the petting zoo” and “If you can read this, you are probably not dead”. Johnny notices that the floors were in the house before he even lived. He also dug a tunnel to Squee so he wouldn't have to break through the window every time.

Setting

The story takes place in a typical American city that is full of people who want something bad for Johnny. Most of the story takes place in and around Johnny's house, or once in heaven and in hell .