Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez

This was a very interesting read. It was morbid and dark but somehow kept me oddly wanting to read more. One thing that keeps one involved is the style of the illustrations. They remind me a little of the old TV show "Invader Zim" where the people have huge eyes that seem as if they have had no sleep but they somehow, are still fun to look at. They are characters which lend themselves to being very dramatic and this story is all about drama. I feel bad for the characters in the story but also find them quite ridicoulous. For example, the man who is conducting a survey for neighborhood crime who is asking people how they feel about murder which is sad that there is that type of crime going on but he is treating it like he is taking a survey on what candy taste better, or the lady who responds with a tragic account of her husbands death and then responds to this survey by saying, "umm, bad", or the little boy whose parents are neglecting him and whose father basically thinks that his son ruined his life. All sad situations made ridiculous by the actions that follow. But I will say, due to the characters being overly dramatic the expressions illustrated are fantastic. They are extremely exaggerated and therefore entertaining. The lighting on the characters and in the scene also helps to make everything seem more dramatic. It is very harsh black and white inking with slight hatching in some areas such as cloths. In one scene Johnny even exclaims "By the next time I write in this book again, I hope to be as cold as the moon that lights this page."I also love the layouts of the pages stating which part of the story you are reading. How they illuminate only a mysterious figure. In the end of the book I also like how they added sketches of just developmental work. It is nice to see some of the thought process that went into the finished art.