Book Number: 04
Book Title: Johnny the Homicial Maniac
Author: Jhonen Vasquez
Publisher: July 1997 by SLG Publishing
Category: Comic
Binding: Paperback, 168 pages
Date of completion: 12th December, 2008.
Short description / Book summary (www.goodreads.com): Mayhem and violence rule in this collection of issues one through seven of Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, as well as material seen before only in Carpe Noctem magazine. Dark and disturbingly funny, JTHM follows the adventures of Johnny (you can call him Nny), who lives with a pair of styrofoam doughboys that encourage his madness, a wall that constantly needs a fresh coat of blood, and--oh, yeah--his victims in various states of torture. Join Nny as he frightens the little boy next door (Todd, known to fans of Vasquez's work as Squee), thirsts for Cherry Brain Freezies, attempts suicide, draws Happy Noodle Boy, and tries to uncover the meaning of his homicidal existence.
My Thoughts: By far, the best book and comic I have read to date. This was, so to mention, definately not an easy find. After almost a year of looking for the entire collection of JTHM I have finally managed to get my hands on it (Cant tell you where from though ::grins::).
Stuffed with mind boggling intellectual symbolism and a shamelessly honest reveiling of the truth is seen in every page, every illustration and every word that is carefully pinned in its pages. JHTM is breadthtaking and cannot even be described in a few paragraphs of hopeless reproductions of the excellently intellectual, humourous and dark pages of Vasquez's work.
Whipped with fitting characters and obvious subliminal messages, the comic is read and re-read with the same ferver and curiosity to know more as done the first time. The excellent graphics are chaotic, haphazard and charmign and Johnny's character comes alive and becomes a part of your realm with every word you read in each thought bubble.
Very contemporary and filled with meaning for our time, JHTM is an awakening call to all those asleep in their matrix of a world. The comic is ruthlessly and crudely outright and adapts the tone of voice to shake up a belief system. A satire on everything human beings have come to accept in the modern world.
The characters have been introduced, their lives briefly spelled out and the volume has successfully created a hunger to know more. Small graphical detailing like the writing on Johnny's doormat or the sign on the Taco shop window adds dark sarcasm and humour to the narrative, which talks not only of the impleasant sides to human nature but also of issues such as media commercialization, murder and subculture. Not for the faint of heart, but an incredible catch for those with a sick sense of humour and who want an experience that just wont leave you.
Absolutely brilliant.
Characters: NNY, Squee, Shmee, Wobbly-headed bob, Happy Noodle Boy, Nailbunny, The Dear Dairy...
My rating of the book: *****
Next read: The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
No comments:
Post a Comment