Rating: 
Summary: Not Just Your Average Gore Fest
Review: I must admit, my first glance through this book caused a feeling within me not unlike nausea. On further inspection, however, I found it contained a depth that should be appreciated. Jhonen Vasquez has created a character that is aware of himself and the cruelty surrounding him, and the character recognizes that he is part of a cycle of pain that people put themselves and others through. I was surprised that Johnny was not just another homicidal lunatic created for the stupid masses to enjoy. Some people may believe that Johnny is just another teen with angst, but the hyperbole in the comic illustrates how very serious and disheartening any type of angst can be. There are rotten things in the world, and no matter your views, angst is not as shallow as people would have others believe, and can often lead to a depression that requires years of psychiatric help. The comic has very evident morals, in that hypocracy and belittlement of others is working to turn mortals into mere piles of decay, and sometimes this process can be expedited by a whacko who may not be all that insane after all. Although I find Happy Noodle Boy tedious and sophomoric, I think it does its duty to illustrate the degeneration of Johnny's mind, as the floating bunny head points out later in the book when comparing an earlier piece of Johnny's work. The Artwork in this book is simply fabulous, particularly Jhonen's versatility in portraying Johnny's various expressions, which most artists either embellish too freely or, sadly, create an expression that understates the dire (or gleeful) situation. I very highly reccomend this book to anyone who appreciates a bit of truth subtly intertwined into a sinisterly graphic comedy.
Rating:
Summary: My new bible
Review: Wow. My friend actually gave me her JTHM num.3 to read saying that I would love it. And I did. It satisfied all my urges that I got if someone made me mad. I don't recomend this book for anyone that hates excessive violence or blood. Personally, I love it. I bought this awhile ago and have named this one of the best books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Murder, Mayhem, Meaning.
Review: J:tHM is one of my absolute favorite books, and certainly my favorite comic. Vasquez does a fabulous job of tying humor, commentary, and plot together while not taking himself too seriously. Not only does he mock the world at large, but himself as well. Not only the unenlightened masses that are frightened and appalled by his books, but his readers as well. Although many have condemned this book as a sickening violence-fest that peddles to the sophomoric urges of destruction found only in teenagers, it is a surprisingly insightful piece of literature.I wouldn't recommend this book to those who are offended by being confronted with reality. I also wouldn't recommend it to bloodlusting idiots, either. This is for people with intelligence who like laughing at others, and themselves. If I learned anything from this book, it was the importance of treating people with respect. Because you never know when the guy who sits in front of you in Chemistry could snap and rip your insides out with a rusty hook.
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK NOW!
Review: read this book. no more needs to be said. you will love this book if unless you look at the title of its "sequal" and dont at least smile.
Rating:
Summary: Jhonen Vasquez is a GOD
Review: I am a great fan of Jhonen Vasquez's work and on top of being a genius he is completely insane, as is much proved in this title. When I first picked up this book the only thing by him I was familiar with was the Invader Zim television series on Nickelodeon, now canceled to the horror of many fans. I went in totally blind and I was blown away. Johnny has an exquisite balance of dark humor and philosophy, neither outweighing the other. The violence, which may lead some people to doubt that this is a serious title, is, I believe, necessary to drive home the themes of this book; and, if you are anything like me, it will satisfy those mad cravings to maul the people you despise by allowing your inner demons to feast upon Johnny's beautiful carnage. The way Vasquez uses his artistic style, use of language, and the graphic violence amazed me with how effectively it put me into Johnny's state of mind, which is a frightening place to be- not only because of the violence, but the way he views the world. His pessimistic take on modern society struck a chord with me, because I agree with his views on the subject completely. It will shock you. Johnny is an absolutely brilliant man who happens to be criminally insane.
The book itself has great supplemental material- comic covers, early versions of Johnny, and a great foreword by someone whose name I can't recall just now. However, be gentle with it- in all of the copies of the books my friends have, the pages fall out by the dozen. But that's a trivial manner and should not affect your decision to buy the book.
Also, keep an eye out for Vasquez's comments in the margins- they kept me giggling the whole time.
This book is a must have for Jhonen Vasquez fans, modern philosophers, goths, and anyone who is looking for dark humor at its finest. I pity those lacking the intelligence to see how great Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is.
And just remember... no matter how much you deny it, there is a Johnny in all of us. Satisfy him and buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Interest
Review: A solid 2 1/2 stars. First of all, people expecting the wit and environment of Invader Zim, beware. Don't get me wrong, some sections are genuinely funny. The blood splatter is hilarious, but only for the first 5 pages. After that, I found it to be tedious and juvenile.
"nny"'s monologues often drag, turning into the standard-outsider's-angst-against-society speech. Most people will probably find themselves sighing and hope he ends his speech quickly, while admiring the pretty blood. Certainly a lot of astute social commentary is contained in these panels, but it gets old quickly. "Yes, the concept of a Taco Bell is screwy, but you keep repeating yourself." Raher than contributing to an intricate character study of nny, the author mounts a high horse. But i was a total fan of Nny's interaction with other characters. I thought the overly calm victim scene was best. Here a person is about to die, and has accepted it (though he does try to reason with Johnny), and this completely screws with nny. Unfortunately, Nny's interaction with his innervoices(represented by styrofoam and a decapitated bunny), were afflicted by a need to be too "socially aware" and weird for weirdness sake. The plot is nonexistant till midway through it, but nearly ruins the series with its outcome. Noodle boy was all the sections i found boring, conveniently compressed and regurgitated (I read maybe two and began glancing over them). The violence distinguishes it and brings real potential for hilarity, but this is often squandered by the repetition of an overly self-aware author. It might be worth a read, but not worth a purchase by the average reader (minus those who hate gore). If you found Zim funny, read Squee (good stuff). If that completely rocks your boat, JTHM might also be of interest (borrow a friend's). Otherwise be cautioned, it's only relation to Zim is the author's name not content or spirit.
Rating:
Summary: MMMOOOOOO!I fling PEAS!
Review: A friend purchashed this book for me for my birthday, from here at amazon from my wishlist as a matter of fact.I am a long time fan of Jhonen Vasquez's works.
This D.C. of JtHM is great, though its missing the "Meanwhiles"(JCV put those in the d.c. of SQUEE!), it makes up for that in old sketches, early comics skits of NNY,random comic strips, and an interview or 2, plus explinations of what was going through Jhonen's head while painting the covers for each comic of JtHM, what he was trying to capture.
This is a MUST BUY for any Jhonen fan out there.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't have asked for anything better....
Review: This book is the best book I've ever seen. This is just my opinion...it changed my life forever and I personally thank Jhonen C. Vasquez for expressing himself....Working himself night and day to finish his idea...and it was worth every second. Thanks to him, I am now on the right track. Johnny is a demented soul; he tourtures people, mutilates them, and murders them...but then again, he was driven to madness in his childhood. He trys to desparately find answers though his clouded and insane mind. He has a floating bunny head as a friend. You grow to love this homicidal maniac, it's also a tear jerker. I think any reader'll love this book, it may even change your life. It did for me.....thank you again Jhonen. ~Rachael
Rating:
Summary: Paradoxes of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
Review: This is truly the greatest book I've read since the experimental novel "House of Leaves". JTHM is also the intellectual equivilent of said experimental novel. The book follows the misadventures of Johnny C., the main character, who, in between horrendous stints of tourture and periodical bombings of "cool" coffee cafes, writes in his die-ary, draws his own comic, Happy Noodle Boy, and discusses his philosophical musings with the severed, floating head of "Nailbunny", a rabbit that Johnny nailed to the wall of his house three years ago. It is undeniable that this is an excessively violent book. But the people that gave it scathing reviews because of this violence are missing the point. This is not a novel about how murdering innocent people (but we could hardly call them that, could we?) is cool, or a novel trying to glorify the gothic life style. This is an amazingly complex character study of one person's madness, and his search to become full of cold purpose (like the roach, Mr.Samsa, whom Johnny is convinced is immortal) through his all too human desires. This is the paradox of Johnny C. he is too tragically human to truly be devoid of all emotion. Take Happy Noodle Boy, for example. In it, the title character travels to the city park each day and spouts nonsensical ravings at the passers-by unlucky enough to be there that day. The strips always end with some nameless person that Noodle Boy angered shooting him in the head. Noodle Boy is a simple metaphor for Johnny himself. Johnny wants to be normal, but his insanity keeps him from the mainstream. He feels as if they want to destroy him. So he strikes first. And last. and if there is time, he strikes in-between. I could go on for hours about the exploration of metaphysical philosophy in the book alone. But I digress. All I will say is that unless you are completely clueless, or are easily offended by anything (there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the book, folks, albiet in comic form, too) then this is one intellectual (and hilariously funny) trip you don't want to miss.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting...
Review: This has GOT to be one of the weirdest, most violent, horrific "graphic novels" I've ever read...it's just excellent. As an obsessive fan of Nickelodeon's rarely played series, Invader Zim, Johnny (or Nny for short) is another one of Jhonen Vasquez's gems. Fans of Zim will immediately recognize the bug-eyed and amazingly skinny and expressive characters, but don't buy it thinking it contains the same clean and "wholesome" art as Zim. The crowded panels, confusing texture techniques, and foul language employed by Vasquez in the comic is a wholly different world from the little green alien and his hyperactive but lovable robot sidekick, Gir. However, don't let that turn you away from the hilarious one-liners and Happy Noodle boy, who is something words can't quite explain. If you don't mind meat hooks, the animated slaughter of human beings, and the beautifully wrought expressions of the insane, then this book's for you. I love Vasquez's art style, and you really get to see a side of him you will never see on Zim. After reading the fifth and seventh issues of Nny, I had to get the rest. It's just, well, interesting! As far as the comic itself is concerned, Nny lives a solitary life with his pet cockroach, psycho Doughboys, and his scrawled drawings of Happy Noodle Boy (yes, Nny has a character within the comic that he draws himself). He has several misadventures with his #1 fan Jimmy, his neighbor Squee, and goes on a single date with Devi (which you'll just have to read about to find out what happens). The series is worth buying if you love Zim and crave more of Vasquez's work, but if you like the color and appeal of Zim more than sketchy black-and-white drawings, try Devi's own series, I Feel Sick. I've seen pictures from it and it doesn't seem quite as violent as Johnny, but just as funny. You'll just have to see for yourself. Long live Vasquez and his comic creations!!
|
