Review of JTHM by Jhonen Vasquez
"Black has never been so dark"
- 25 Aug. 2004
Where can you start with this? Jhonen Vasquez has proven himself to be a formidable presence in the alternative comic market and with good reason. His work is both terrifying and hilarious...trust me, it's possible.
The surreal, dark and exceptionally twisted Johnny inhabits a small world in his mind that has been skewed by something in his past - what it is we don't know and as insensitive people, we don't much care. Because of this Johnny has developed a nasty habit of torturing and killing the majority of people he comes into contact with - people who kick his chair at the cinema, people who 'gotta have a smoke' and any person that could actually love him. Scratch that; it's people in general.
The only person exempt from his onslaught is Squee, his highly-traumatised-only-weighs-as-much-as-a-cheeseburger-neighbour, who despite Johnny's efforts to watch out for him always ends up psychologically scarring him. Tragic, no? Not only that, but Johnny is often suicidal, but even this is funny - 'It's such a beautiful night...I think I'll kill myself.' or when he attempts to commit suicide, fails and then is rescued from his depression by a dioreahha [sic] advert on TV.
The artwork is a dense geometrical black and white labyrinth, with the panels not in conventional rows and columns, all the more adding to the insanity that is Johnny. Also, what makes the artwork so alluring is the way the panels are drawn in the style of camera angles as opposed to traditional forward-facing comic characters.
The stories are a mixture of horrific levels of violence and Johnny's insightful soliloquies where he tries to justify his actions, the main one being that there is a 'thing' behind his wall and if he doesn't keep the wall wet with blood the 'thing' will get out and do more damage than Johnny ever could.
Whilst this could be a recipe for a bad blood-soaked comic that's only good for lighting the fire, Vasquez has an explosive sense of humour that makes you burst out laughing even when disembowelling his one and only fan. Vasquez has created a complete universe of death, torture and Frooty Pops that is perfect to curl up with on a Sunday afternoon. No, really, it'll make you smile!
18 of 19 people found this review helpful
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