Line #49 ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac


1	[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ezgif_2_832291383a.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:1000:Why are people so... unpleasant?]]
3
4	->''"Dear Die-ary. Today I stuffed some dolls full of dead rats I put in the blender. I'm beginning to wonder if, maybe, there really '''is''' something wrong with me."''
5
6	Six years before ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', artist Creator/JhonenVasquez unleashed his unique brand of BlackComedy and over-the-top nihilism upon an unsuspecting world in his very first comic series, ''Johnny, The Homicidal Maniac''.
7
8	Johnny C. (Nny for short) is a serial killer with various psychological disorders who does bizarre and often nasty things to bizarre and often nasty people. He often has long, serious, intellectual monologues about the state of society, only to end them with non-sequiturs like "Tuesday is UFO day." When not doing that, Nny likes to draw a comic strip about a deranged, foul-mouthed stick figure named "Happy Noodle Boy." His only friends (if you can call them that) are Todd "Squee" Casil, the meek kid next door whom he unintentionally scares shitless, and Nailbunny, a dead rabbit nailed to the wall who is actually Nny's voice of ''reason''.
9
10	Beginning as a segment in the art journal magazine ''Carpe Noctem'', it later spawned a reasonably successful seven-book series published through Creator/SlaveLaborGraphics, giving Vasquez a modicum of fame in the underground comic world. All seven books would later be compiled and reprinted as ''[=JtHM=]: The Director's Cut''. There were also a number of spin-offs, including ''ComicBook/{{Squee}}'', a four-book series which later was also collected and reprinted with filler from all eleven books in a separate section; ''ComicBook/IFeelSick'', which starred Johnny's ex-girlfriend and almost-victim Devi; and ''Fillerbunny'', a [[StylisticSuck deliberately half-assed]] trio of books spun off from some ''Squee'' filler.
11
12	In 2013, there was [[http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2013/03/03/eccc-vasquez-mahfood-bring-their-comics-to-life-with-titmouse/ talk of a film adaptation]].
13	----
14	!!''Johnny the Homicidal Maniac'' provides examples of:
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16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:#-L]]
19	* AbusiveParents: While Squee's mother simply doesn't care about him one bit, his father actively despises him and blames him for ruining his life. Apparently, they also tell him to get kidnapped.
20	* AllJustADream: After [[spoiler:Johnny's suicide and trip to Hell]], Johnny contemplates whether or not it was all just a dream. After all, the [[spoiler:universe ending with his death and being rebuilt with his resurrection]]? Moving Doughboys? A couple of escaped victims roaming his increasingly-labyrinthine house until they encounter and beat the snot from him? Said victims appearing free, without memory, and unharmed after he wakes up? Sure, he knows he's insane, but he knows he's not insane enough to believe ''that''. (Now all he has to wonder about is how Devi heard a Doughboy screaming loudly over the phone...)
21	** Additionally, Mmy commented on Nny's hair.
22	* AlmostKiss: Johnny and Devi on The Date... which is odd because it's established early on how much the former dislikes contact with others, never mind bodily fluids (like spit swapping).
23	* AnimatedActors: Suggested, not by the characters, but by the author's notes that [[BreakingTheFourthWall pop up every now and then]]. Often something like explaining how the "actor" was able (or not) to survive being attacked by Johnny.
24	-->"To achieve THIS shot, we first made a plaster mold of the actor's head. We then filled it with cow parts. Then, for realism, we surprised the actor by blowing a hole through his head."
25	* AntiVillain: Depending on the story, Johnny is either a sympathetic villain with honest intentions or a straight-up VillainProtagonist
26	* AnyoneCanDie: Naturally, given the title of the comic, it's inevitable that quite a few people would end up killed even when their deaths are not easy to anticipate. [[spoiler:Even the [[InvincibleVillain supposedly invincible]] [[LunaticLoophole homicidal maniac]].]]
27	* ArtEvolution: Nny gets thinner and less mangy over the seven books, as does everything else, really.
28	** Very very clear in the early drawings, beginning with Johnny The Little Homcidal Maniac, where his length around the middle is essentially cut in half every strip.
29	** The art in general becomes cleaner as the series goes on, and the panels aren't nearly as squished as they are in the first two issues.
30	** On the matter of Nny's sexuality, Jhonen had this to say: "He's a coward and I think it manifests itself in many ways. One of them being the fact that's he's disgusted with sexuality. I don't think he has a sex drive and if he does it finds its way out through other means, mainly a knife through the flesh." [[note]] The interview containing this quote, on a website that is {{NSFW}}, can be found here: http://suicidegirls.com/word/Jhonen+Vasquez+invades+SuicideGirls/[[/note]]
31	* ArtistsAreAttractive: This trope is mocked frequently. In particular, Tess admits to liking her boyfriend partially because he is a musician, although it is unclear if she finds musicians attractive or if she just wants to fit in.
32	* AssholeVictim:
33	** Johnny's murder of Jimmy was quick and incredibly brutal. It was also pretty damn deserved.
34	** Johnny's idea of ending a relationship with no hard feelings is killing his date, [[MoralityPet Devi]], before things between them can go south. There is a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown reason]] why the fandom lauds her as "[[BadassBookworm The One Who Got Away]]."
35	* AssholeVictim: Quite a few of Nny's victims were horrible people who were asking for their deaths, especially those that wind up in the TortureCellar. Edgar Vargas is an exception who was specifically identified as being a decent person Nny took no satisfaction in killing, but far from the only one -- basically, Nny'll kill you for being an asshole, but he'll also kill you for being friends with an asshole, being somewhere in the same general vicinity as an asshole, for triggering his HairTriggerTemper, for catching him in a bad mood, for wearing bell bottoms...
36	-->'''Tess:''' The fact that ''I'm'' here is a sign he's fucked up enough to have blurry aim!
37	** Nny himself could be this, for those who feel some sympathy for him.
38	* AssShove: During Johnny's rampage at a Taco Smell:
39	-->'''Victim 1:''' Oh dear God!\
40	'''Victim 2:''' My eyes!! I can't see my eyes!\
41	'''Victim 3:''' Aaagh!\
42	'''Victim 4:''' Noooo!\
43	'''Victim 5:''' Eeek!\
44	'''Victim 6:''' Somebodeee! ''Pull this churrito out of my ass!''
45	* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Johnny attempts to commit suicide over not getting a slushie, then is distracted by soda. This sort of thing happens a lot.
46	* AxCrazy: The words "Homicidal" and "Maniac" are the title, after all, so it's clear as day that Johnny isn't right in the head.
47	* BlackComedy: As one might expect from a comic book about an insane killer, there are a lot of dark jokes.
48	** [[ImAHumanitarian Babies're nutritious!]]
49	--->'''[[https://twitter.com/johnny_c Johnny]]''': "A man can only take so much, and being tied up and made to wear your gutted infant as a hat goes way past that. Still, he looked ADORABLE."
50	** The aforementioned notes on how Nny's victims were able to "survive" an attack:
51	---> "Parents, don't get upset - it's a fake brain. A gelatin mixture was poured into a brain shaped mold. We then filled it with the blood of a homeless man. No one will miss him."
52	* BadassBookworm: Devi, who successfully beats the shit out of Johnny before he could kill her.
53	* BadassLongcoat: Johnny gets one when he goes to Hell. To his consternation, he doesn't get to keep it.
54	** In fact, he's so upset about it that he completely misses his chance to learn why his life sucks so much.
55	* BerserkButton: Don't ''ever'' call Johnny "wacky." Or, according to one of his victims who went to hell, "faggot." Also, don't be rude, careless or inconsiderate to him in any way. And don't insinuate he drinks the blood of his victims. [[TheLongList And don't talk during movies he likes.]] Of course, even if you don't do any of these things he'll probably kill you anyway. Because he's a homicidal maniac.
56	* BigBrotherMentor: Johnny tries to help Squee more than his parents, anyway. Then again, [[ComicBook/{{Squee}} so does the Antichrist]].
57	* BondOneLiner: An odd one in that it was directed at Squee (who wasn't the victim) and didn't really comment on the death, but was still a super badass way for Johnny to reveal himself.
58	-->'''Squee:''' Todd.\
59	'''Pedophile:''' Why'd you tell me your name? I didn't want to know your name!\
60	''[Pedophile gets his head caved in with a pipe]''\
61	'''Nny:''' ''[wielding pipe]'' Todd? I liked 'Squee' better.
62	* BringMyBrownPants: A convenience store clerk who Johnny decides to rope into a murder-suicide attempt soils himself in fear when Johnny threatens him with a gun. [[KickTheDog Johnny mocks him for it]], blows his brains out, fails to blow his own brains out, then leaves.
63	* CantGetInTroubleForNuthin: {{Deconstructed\|trope}}. At the beginning, Nny never gets caught. If he's reported, the cops will never remember who he is. It doesn't matter how public his sprees are, or how many victims, or even if he confesses directly to somebody's face at length. Once he returns from Hell and stops being a wastelock, this ends, and he's forced to go on the run.
64	* CaptainErsatz: Squee's father owes a lot to the fact that Vasquez is a fan of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
65	* CharacterBlog: Johnny has [[http://twitter.com/#!/Johnny_C a Twitter]].
66	* TheChewToy: Squee, far more so in his spinoff. Also Wobbly Headed Bob, which is compounded by the fact he's aware of this and aware that he's powerless to stop it.
67	* CityOfTheDamned: Hell is a seemingly ordinary city with a gigantic eye where the Sun should be, staring down at people all the time. This renders them obsessively paranoid, vain and violent, as each person thinks the eye's watching him alone and the smallest personal slight or accidental faux pas is rendered unbearable.
68	* CloudCuckoolander:
69	** Happy Noodle Boy is very odd in behavior, also a TalkativeLoon.
70	** Also, Devi's friend Tenna, though to a ''much'' lesser extent than Happy Noodle Boy.
71	* ClusterFBomb: Mr. Eff ''goes off'' when Johnny manages to kill himself and the Moose is about to be released.
72	* CoDragons: The Doughboys could be this for that thing in the wall. Whatever it is.
73	* ContemplateOurNavels:
74	-->"Sometimes... you can cry until there's nothing wet in you. You can scream and curse to where your throat rebels and ruptures. You can pray, all you want, to whatever god you think will listen. And, still it makes no difference. It goes on, with no sign as to when it might release you. And you know that if it ever did relent...it would not be because it cared. [[spoiler:--(Written on the wall in blood before everything went black)]]"
75	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The embryo in the jar that averts Johnny's first on-panel suicide attempt by informing him the commercial where the whole family gets diarrhea is on never appears again, despite being one of the voices.
76	* CrapsackWorld: Par for the course with Vasquez.
77	* CreatorBreakdown: In universe example: Happy Noodle Boy, drawn by the increasingly insane Johnny.
78	* CreepyChild: Though a misunderstood child, Squee's conversations with his teddy bear Shmee show he's clearly not a mentally sane kid.
79	-->'''Squee:''' No, you're wrong, Shmee. They aren't bad people. They love me. They don't really mean it when they tell me to get kidnapped.
80	* CutenessProximity: Nny has a weakness for puppies (if you consider the Twitter account canon). Possibly the only living things he won't kill.
81	* DoesntLikeGuns: Johnny hates to even touch guns and thinks people should only use them on themselves. The only time he used one on another person was an attempted murder-suicide. (Well, the ''murder'' part was successful.) In the Carpe Noctum strips, he had no qualms with killing using a pistol, probably due to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.
82	* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: Not quite as much as ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' but noticeable. It's still Jhonen Vasquez.
83	-->'''{{Satan}}:''' God, I love that word -- '''doom!'''
84	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Johnny]] decides not to follow through with his intention to commit suicide in the end, and loudly proclaims his taking back control over his life. Then he ends up accidentally killing himself.
85	* DutchAngle: Vasquez makes use of many extreme angles, but especially notable are the many Dutch angles used to portray the state of Johnny's mind, as well as the sense of unbalance and bizarre nature of his environment.
86	* DyingAlone: Johnny attempts a murder-suicide to avert this trope. It doesn't work (well, the ''suicide'' doesn't; the murder part works just fine).
87	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
88	** The early comics make no mention of the Wall Monster, and suggest that Johnny repeatedly repaints a wall in his house with blood because he himself can't stand the thought of it drying.
89	** The first appearance of the voices inside of Johnny's head features an unnamed fetus character that is never seen or heard from again. This fetus is ironically the voice that ends up winning the ideological debate the others are having by telling Johnny that a commercial he likes is playing on TV and [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny making him completely forget about the argument]].
90	** The series lacks the futuristic CyberPunk elements that would come to typify the Jhonenverse, with the small exception of some of the more inventive devices in Nny's (implied to be supernaturally created) TortureCellar. This may be the result of the universe that got "reinstalled" after Issue 6 being slightly different from the previous one.
91	* EarlyBirdCameo: In one scene [[ComicBook/{{Squee}} Pepito]] and his mum can be briefly seen.
92	* EasilyForgiven: [[AvertedTrope Hell no]]. When anyone successfully holds onto the realisation that he's a murderer, they're always frightened and disgusted.
93	-->'''Nny:''' Yes, yes, I'm the one that's been killing all those people. But I'm also the creative force behind [[DadaComic Happy Noodle Boy]], so forgive me and shut up.
94	* EldritchAbomination: The Wall Monster. Though, as it turns out, despite its Eldritch appearance and somewhat enigmatic origin, it's actually [[SubvertedTrope the antithesis]] of the typical Lovecraftian monster. While Eldritch critters are meant to represent the truly alien, inhuman and incomprehensible nature of the universe, the Wall Monster is just the opposite: [[TheHeartless a grotesque creation of pure, distilled, and entirely human hatefulness]].
95	* EvenEvilHasStandards: For all the evil he performs, Johnny ''hates'' rapists and pedophiles, though this is more due to issues with physical contact.
96	** Actually, he seems pretty upset that anyone would want to hurt the [[ComicBook/{{Squee}} easily-terrified child]] in question. His attempt to reassure said child unfortunately goes about as well as you would expect, especially because he kind of ripped the pedophile's brain out in front of him.
97	* EvilVersusEvil: Johnny versus the [[ManipulativeBastard Doughboys]].
98	* ExtremeMeleeRevenge: Johnny invokes this way too many times to count.
99	* FireAndBrimstoneHell: When it's not like an Earth full of small-minded assholes.
100	* ForgetsToEat: Because by the end of the comic, a [[spoiler:somewhat vaguely sane]] Johnny is seeking complete freedom, including from his own body's needs. Mocked by [[spoiler:new head voice [[TheHedonist Reverend Meat]]]].
101	* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Inverted. The devil assumes the form [[HotAsHell of a cheerleader]] because it's one of the things Johnny despises.
102	* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Halfway into the series, There are strips exclusively starring ''Anne Gwish''. Although it is heavily implied to take place in the same universe as ''JTHM'', it's irrelevant to the main plot.
103	* FreudianExcuse: Completely averted, even for the VillainProtagonist himself (Johnny makes vague mentions of people making fun of him when he was younger, but it's never used to justify what he does). Nailbunny's rant about Nny formally being a great artist also qualifies as an aversion, though it's similarly vague. Vasquez intentionally left Nny's origins unwritten to avoid this. Eventually, though we don't get the full details, the sequel spin-off ''ComicBook/IFeelSick'' implies that [[spoiler:he was corrupted by the same force that created the Doughboys]]. It's always clear that nothing really excuses Johnny's actions, however.
104	* FreudianTrio : Two within the main cast:
105	** Johnny, Squee, and Devi as the Id, Ego, and Superegom respectively
106	** Reverend Meat and the Doughboys, Johnny, and Nailbunny as the Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively
107	* GirlsLikeMusicians: Mocked; Tess outright admits that she puts up with her boyfriend because he's in a band, though whether this is because she actually likes musicians or because she wants to look cool is unclear.
108	* GodlySidestep: Johnny meets God. God is a sleeping fat man who, upon being woken up, refuses to answer any questions and insists he's earned a break after creating the entire universe.
109	* GoodIsBoring: Heaven is ridiculously boring to an outsider like Johnny or to the employees, who are actually the damned. This is because Heaven consists of everybody sitting down in chairs doing nothing -- they're utterly content, and thus utterly unmotivated.
110	* HairAntennae: Apparently hair loss is a side effect of [[spoiler:being rejected from Hell and returned to life]].
111	* HappilyFailedSuicide: Johnny tries to kill himself with a gun-toting robot that will shoot him if he tries to turn it off or answers the phone. After an indignant conversation with some of the voices in his head, he changes his mind and decides he wants to live after all, switching the robot off. As it turns out, the robot didn't work, and Johnny exclaims that he was extremely lucky. The moment after, the phone rings and Johnny, happy to be alive, turns to answer it. [[spoiler:The robot then shoots him. He forgot to turn it on in the first place and only did so when he thought he was switching it off.]]
112	* HatesBeingTouched: Johnny doesn't like being touched.
113	* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: Averted with Johnny. "Even with headphones, the highly sensitive asshole-detecting gland functions."
114	* TheHedonist: Reverend Meat wants Johnny to give into emotion and his own body's wants. Johnny, [[spoiler:seeking freedom from everything, including his own body]], is less than receptive.
115	* HeroicComedicSociopath: Johnny on a good day.
116	* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Squee's parents ignore him and make it blatant how much they don't love him to hilariously ridiculous levels.
117	* HopeSpot: Occasional; Edgar Vargas (Nny kills him anyway), [[AlmostKiss The Date]] (until Nny tries to [[MomentKiller kill Devi]]), Nny's ShutUpHannibal moment to [[spoiler:The Doughboys (he finally dies by accident)]], Nny coming back from [[spoiler:Hell, in control ([[StatusQuoIsGod and still crazy]])]], and [[Creator/JhonenVasquez so on]].
118	* HotAsHell: The Devil taking the form of a horned demon doesn't scare Johnny; he thought it was pretty cool. So Satan then turns into a cute, perky cheerleader, which squicks him right out.
119	* HypocriticalHumor: Johnny scoffs at the self-absorbed, over-dramatic residents of Hell losing their shit over trivial annoyances - then proceeds to throw his very own ''epic'' tantrum over it.
120	* IdentityAmnesia: The more Nny questions the [[SanitySlippage situation]] and MotiveDecay, the more he mentions remembering [[MysteriousPast barely any of his past]] [[spoiler:to the point of wondering how he came to be in the house in the first place]]. It turns out to have been caused by [[spoiler:the Doughboys and Wall Monster holding MoreThanMindControl over him, but even with them gone, his memories don't return]].
121	* ImportantHaircut: Nny either sleep-shaved himself during a stupid dream, or it burned off when he [[spoiler:went to Hell]]. Either way, he's left with two Hair Antennae and the meager trade-off of [[spoiler:freedom and semi-sanity]].
122	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Nny has killed and/or maimed people with an automatic screwdriver, a live snake, a loose circular saw blade, a Cheeto and salad tongs. And that's just the beginning of it.
123	* InLoveWithYourCarnage: Jimmy develops an infatuation with Johnny when he witnesses Johnny's killing spree at a Taco Hell Outlet. It doesn't end well.
124	* TheInsomniac: Nny dislikes sleeping; it further distorts his perception of reality. This means he stays awake until he loses consciousness, at which point his body usually continues doing unspeakable things ''of its own accord''. According to his Twitter, he once woke up on the beach trying to paddle a hollowed-out corpse like a canoe.
125	* InterruptedSuicide: Of a different sort. In one strip, Nny discusses his current attempt to commit suicide to the Doughboys. Before he goes through with it, Nailbunny tells him that a TV show he likes is on. Cut to him laughing uproariously at the TV. In Jhonen's notes in the Director's cut, he says he found the idea of someone failing to commit suicide then losing interest in it to be funny, with a strip showing a proto-Johnny trying to shoot himself with an empty gun, and then going to watch TV.
126	* IWillShowYouX: Nny's response to being called "[[BerserkButton wacky]]" by a woman in a Taco "Hell":
127	-->'''Nny:''' I'll show you wacky! ''I'll show you wackeeeeee!''
128	** Then he disembowels everyone in the restaurant [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon with a spork]], going so far as to squish all the roaches in the kitchen.
129	* LaserGuidedKarma: Johnny sees himself as [[PayEvilUntoEvil this]]. The degree to which this is [[AssholeVictim true]]... [[DisproportionateRetribution varies]].
130	* LooksLikeCesare: Johnny, who often comes off as the world's most psychopathic stick figure. When he's not [[DadaComics drawing it]], anyway.
131	* LunaticLoophole: Throughout the series, Johnny manages to avoid being arrested for or even suspected of any of his crimes, up to and including draining the blood of a flower vendor, on a crowded street in broad daylight, with numerous horrified witnesses present.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:M-Z]]
135	* MadArtist: Johnny... if his creative murders and Happy Noodle Boy comics actually count as art.
136	** [[http://twitter.com/#!/Johnny_C Apparently]], he can also knit shovels. Not a ''functional'' shovel, but yes, a shovel.
137	* MadEye: Johnny is depicted with one eye huge and staring, the other slitted as a marker for insanity. Well, greater than normal levels of insanity.
138	* MomentKiller: Johnny and Devi AlmostKiss. Cue knives. Cue Devi's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. Cue Nailbunny [[LampshadeHanging Lampshading]] [[WhatTheHellHero this]] months later.
139	* MoodWhiplash: Johnny's very susceptible to this, which makes sense, given that he's a total lunatic.
140	* MoralityPet: Despite the repeated trauma he inadvertently inflicts, Johnny's kindly (although misguided) treatment of Squee is about as close to [[PetTheDog petting the dog as he gets]].
141	** [[LoveInterest Devi]] acts as this, too. [[MomentKiller Almost]] any interaction between them has Johnny acting much closer to sane than usual, be it the three months before she asks him out or even after [[PayEvilUntoEvil she beats the crap out of him]].
142	* MoreThanMindControl: The Doughboys seem to have this over Johnny, through the wall-monster. Helped by the fact that the duo ''used'' to be part of him and have been slowly invoking IdentityAmnesia. [[spoiler:It takes Johnny a good helping of VillainousValour to fight back.]]
143	* MotiveDecay: Purposely invoked in the story and discussed by Johnny, who finds it harder and harder to remember ''why'' he kills people as the thing behind the wall and the Doughboys gain more control over him.
144	* TheMovie: [[http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2013/03/03/eccc-vasquez-mahfood-bring-their-comics-to-life-with-titmouse/ Maybe.]]
145	* MrExposition: Nny, on several of his [[TalkativeLoon usual rants]].
146	* MundaneAfterlife: Heaven is... people sitting in chairs. Hell is... living with all the people who go to Hell and living with the reason you went to Hell in the first place. There are actually good reasons behind this. In Heaven, the people there are truly happy, entirely contented, and thus lack the desires of living people, who spend their lives looking for happiness. Hell's pretty self-explanatory. Even Nny says that at least in life there are some nice people mixed in with all the jackasses.
147	* MurderersAreRapists: Averted with Johnny, but played straight with Jimmy.
148	* MustHaveNicotine: Discussed. Johnny hates people who've "GOTTA HAVE A SMOKE!"
149	* MysteriousPast: Nny. As in, [[IdentityAmnesia even Nny doesn't know it]]. [[spoiler:Which makes it easier for the [[ManipulativeBastard Doughboys]] to do their [[MoreThanMindControl thing]].]]
150	* NoEnding: The main series and ''Squee!''
151	* NonSequitur: After [[spoiler:horribly killing a pedophile for threatening Squee]], he informs Squee at the end of his rant that it's Tuesday, "U.F.O. Day!" and runs off.
152	* NoodleImplements: "I've done horrifying things with salad tongs. It's really eaten into my social life."
153	* NoodlePeople: Everyone's got long, spindly limbs.
154	* OnlySaneEmployee: Meet Nailbunny, Nny's [[WhatTheHellHero conscience]] and [[OnlySaneMan voice of reason]]. Yes, the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bunny nailed to a wall]].
155	* OnlySaneMan: Squee is probably the closest thing to "sane" that this universe is ever going to have, and given how often Johnny accidentally scares the hell out of him, he might not stay that way for long. In the odd little world of [[LivingLabyrinth House 777]], [[OnlySaneMan Nailbunny]] certainly qualifies, as he attempts to keep the Doughboys from ''totally'' screwing Johnny over, and Johnny in a state slightly resembling a decent human being. His job is [[OnlySaneEmployee less than desirable]].
156	* PapaWolf: Johnny bludgeons a pedophile who threatens Squee. He even tries to teach Squee not to be afraid of such people. His method was, uh, flawed, but his intent was genuine.
157	* PetTheDog: Johnny may be a remorseless murderer, but there are several circumstances that show that Johnny isn't ''entirely'' evil, and he is willing to protect Squee above all else.
158	* PoisonousCaptive: Much of Nny's degeneration could be attributed to the thing behind the wall, who wound up creating the Doughboys with the intent that they could push Johnny into [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]. In order to keep it trapped, Nny also had to make sure the wall was continually coated in wet blood, meaning he wound up killing at least one person he otherwise wouldn't have.
159	* PoliceAreUseless: Of course, competence from ''anyone'' in a Jhonen Vasquez work might be expecting too much. The police are no different.
160	* {{Pollyanna}}: Squee, on his better days, comes off as unrealistically optimistic in spite of the troubles he goes through.
161	* PsychopathicManchild: Johnny himself even provides the page image.
162	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Nny tortures people for the fun of it, and because he feels he has to. He finds the suffering of the ones he is killing something pleasuring and incredible... yet, he is highly disgusted with the idea of raping his victims before killing them. However, this seems to be less because Nny is morally opposed to it and more because he finds the idea [[HatesBeingTouched repulsive]]. He even says that this standard doesn't grant him any absolution.
163	* SealedEvilInACan: The horrible thing trapped behind Johnny's wall, which Johnny keeps imprisoned by painting the wall with the blood of his victims.
164	* SelfInflictedHell: The Devil explicitly doesn't do anything to the denizens of Hell. They make their own afterlife miserable through all their petty obsessions.
165	* SelfInsertFic: Completely, '''completely''' averted. Jhonen has debunked claims of this many times, including several TakeThat strips targeted at people who believe this.
166	** In-universe, it's somewhat implied that Happy Noodle Boy is this. Apparently kids used to call Nny Noodle Boy as a child because he was so skinny.
167	* ShootTheShaggyDog: Don't worry. [[spoiler:[[DeathIsCheap We get Johnny back.]]]]
168	* ShoutOut:
169	** A lot of the borders contain hidden subliminal messages, and can be easy to miss. For example, at the top of the page with the massacre in the taco place in Issue 1, it says "[[Film/{{Alien}} LV 426]]."
170	** In the bookstore, there is a stack of several books by Creator/HPLovecraft. This foreshadows the appearance of the Wall Monster.
171	** One of the Wall Monster's heads looks like [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Snoopy]].
172	** The cockroach is named "[[Literature/TheMetamorphosis Samsa]]."
173	** Lampshaded at least once.
174	--->'''Nny:''' No, mine is a penetration beyond the veil of the flesh.\
175	'''Tess:''' ''[[Film/TheFly1986 The Fly]]''?\
176	'''Nny:''' What?\
177	'''Tess:''' You're quoting ''The Fly''?\
178	'''Nny:''' Sure, why not?
179	** Not stated explicitly, but: [[Theatre/NoExit Hell is other people.]]
180	** A recurring in-universe band is Nine Inch Heels, likely a stand-in for Music/NineInchNails (especially considering the comic began about a year after the band's breakout album, ''Music/TheDownwardSpiral'', was released).
181	* ShowWithinAShow: Happy Noodle Boy is supposedly drawn by Johnny himself. As the series goes on, Noodleboy gradually starts making less and less sense, reflecting the protagonist's own mental degeneration. Though Happy Noodle Boy never made much sense in the first place.
182	* ShutUpHannibal:
183	** Devi to Nny in the final book.
184	** Nny himself to [[spoiler:the Doughboys]], once he gets an idea of [[ManipulativeBastard what they've been up to]].
185	--->'''Nny:''' I want out of this. Nailbunny stopped talking yesterday - I know you know why. You've stolen too much of me... I'm through with being used.
186	* SlasherSmile: It really wouldn't be Nny without disturbing grins.
187	* SpinOff: The main series spun-off into ''ComicBook/{{Squee}}'', which focused on Johnny's grade school neighbor, then later into ''ComicBook/IFeelSick'', which centered around a young female artist Johnny once tried to kill. ''ComicBook/IFeelSick'' itself was then spun-off into ''Fillerbunny''...sorta.
188	* SpreeKiller: Whilst more commonly depicted as a SerialKiller and a [[AxCrazy Mass Murderer]], the titular [[VillainProtagonist Johnny or Nny]] has gone on several successful killing spree's, with the heavy implication that he has done more offscreen.
189	* {{Squee}}: Todd makes this sound when he's scared, leading Johnny (being [[AxCrazy Johnny]]) to actually think that his name was 'Squee'. Johnny also has a Squee moment when [[spoiler:after he's informed in Heaven that, while there, he can blow up a person's head by thinking about it.]]
190	* StalkerWithACrush: After Nny fails to kill her, Devi becomes convinced he's following her, and her fear of him drives her to agoraphobia. ''[=JtHM=]'' implies she's just being paranoid, though he does show up in silhouette outside her workplace in ''ComicBook/IFeelSick'', so perhaps he was stalking her after all.
191	** Jimmy, sans the crush - he's closer to Stalker With A Fanatic Obsession than anything.
192	* StatusQuoIsGod: No matter what, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Johnny will be a homicidal maniac]]. He can have a LoveInterest, a MoralityPet, or a HeelRealization, and still be a homicidal maniac. He can [[spoiler:die, visit Hell, and come back with control of his own mind]] and still be a homicidal maniac. ([[PlayingWithTropes Albeit]] [[spoiler:less of one, but he still ''shot'' a "Kick Me" sign into some guy's back.]])
193	* StrawNihilist:
194	** Johnny tends to have a rather dim view on life and at least partly uses it as a motivation for his murders.
195	** To another extent, Wobbly-Headed Bob, who spends every one of his appearances complaining about how pointless and horrible life is.
196	* StylisticSuck: Happy Noodle Boy is drawn in a deliberately crummy style.
197	* SympatheticMurderer: Though by rights he shouldn't be, especially starting out. ([[spoiler:Then we learn about [[ManipulativeBastard The Doughboys]], [[PoisonousCaptive The Moose]], their collective MoreThanMindControl]]... but he's still killed countless people, ForTheEvulz at least as often as a response to {{Asshole Victim}}s, and this doesn't exactly stop.) Vasquez himself has been rather squicked by fan responses.
198	* TakeThatAudience:
199	** Jimmy, or Mmy, from Issue 7 was is clear mockery of people who only liked the comic before Johnny started contemplating what he was doing, and those who found Johnny someone they could relate to as a person.
200	** Anne-Gwish is another mockery towards people who considered ''[=JtHM=]'' a goth comic because of its art style and its anti-conformist views.
201	* TensionCuttingLaughter: The scene where Devi and Nny are on a date. Devi jokes about killing Nny and leaving his dead body. Both fall silent, but after a moment they both laugh.
202	* ThoughtCaption: Used in several points as an InnerMonologue for isolated gags.
203	* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: Than ''suicide''.
204	* TooDumbToLive: Many an AssholeVictim got themselves killed because of their stupidity. Also, the bulk of Hell's population.
205	-->'''Nny:''' '''YOU STINK!''' Focusing on the mundane! Money! Fashion! ''Cream cheese!'' YOU'RE IN HELL AND YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO KNOW IT!
206	* TortureCellar: Johnny's house has one several stories deep that seems to shift around and give itself extra rooms (with devices in them). Even he doesn't know how it came to be there.
207	* TranquilFury: Nny's major reaction to Jimmy. Justified by how [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrified]] he was, along with the somewhat return of his sanity, but it was as terrifying a sight as an awesome one.
208	* UnusualEuphemism: "Fook!" though Jhonen usually just uses the regular f-bomb.
209	* VerbalTicName: Squee, who's real name is Todd. He never said his name was Squee, it's just a sound he makes when he's scared. So when [[AxCrazy Johnny]] asked what his name was, that was all he could manage.
210	* VillainProtagonist: Johnny is the main character of the comic and he constantly tortures and kills people.
211	-->'''Johnny:''' ''[[LampshadeHanging I’m the villain in this]]'' ''[[PrecisionFStrike fucking]]'' ''[[LampshadeHanging story!!]]''
212	* VillainousValour: Johnny [[EvilVersusEvil against]] the Doughboys.
213	* VomitingCop: Not a cop, but an angel in Heaven vomits after looking at a list of Johnny's crimes.
214	* WalkingTheEarth: The series ends with Nny traveling the world without ever staying anywhere permanently. Of course, when you think about it, he probably had to. ''An Admirer, of Sorts'' implies that now that his duty as a Waste-Lock is completed, he's no longer immune to getting caught, so staying in one place for too long isn't the wisest thing for him.
215	* WhamEpisode: The one where [[spoiler:Johnny actually]] [[AnyoneCanDie dies]].
216	* WouldntHurtAChild: Pretty much the [[EvenEvilHasStandards only line Johnny won't cross]] is killing children.
217	** Though he does seem to have a particular distaste for [[TeensAreMonsters teenagers]].
218	** Also seemingly {{Retcon}}ed on his [[CharacterBlog Twitter]], where he mentions [[BlackComedy killing babies]] more than once.
219	* YourHeadASplode: Johnny briefly gains the power to explode people's heads in Issue 6, when he [[spoiler:finds out that those who are in Heaven have powers that vary from person to person, though his guide tells him to refrain from the thought of doing so, lest he'd [[SchmuckBait explode someone's head]]. He almost immediately turns this power onto a guy and blows up his head a grand total of ''three times'' -- three, because his head regenerated every time. After the third time, the man gets irritated and does the same to Johnny, who retaliated and... well. The end result is a head-explody war among all of the residents. And a lot of free-floating brain matter]].
220	-->'''[[spoiler:Guide:]]''' No! No! Stop! STOP! You'll ruin everything!\
221	'''Johnny:''' My God! Are you kidding!? I've always dreamed of having super powers! This is just too much to resist! '''''[[NoIndoorVoice I have head-explody!]]'''''
222	[[/folder]]

Context ComicBook / JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac