tongue-zine interview
tongue-zine.com: Sometimes I feel like a poser. I first heard of Jhonen Vasquez when I randomly picked up a copy of SQUEE! at the comic store. As I was going to pay for it, the guy behind the ounter started going off about how cool Mr. Vasquez's stuff is and how this particular comic book store could have been a stop on Mr. Vasquez's Roadkill tour if only the owner was cooler and how Happy Noodle Boy is a god. And I'm like, "When's the next Ninja Turtle issue coming out?"But I read SQUEE! and loved it. Then tracked down all the Johnny the Homicidal Maniac's in print. And now I tracked down the creator for an interview. Tounge-Zine: You seem to have a negative or at least satirical view of the goth scene, although the emotion in JTHM seems to be really gothic at times. Are you a goth yourself? Or with Johnny, were you consciously trying to fill the hole Sandman left? Jhonen: First of all, there has never been any hole, in my awareness, that I ever considered as having to be filled by my work. Besides, the idea of filling a hole seems to imply never rising above what once filled it before. Sandman still exists for anyone who cares to read all their old issues again. Johnny doesn't even remeotely represent any of the ideal that that character portrayed. And the book IS satire, and should never be confused as anything but. As far as JTHM having a very gothic feel, I'd have to say that ANYTHING dealing with an unpleasant emotion at least touches on that style. Hell, if you want to approach things that way, then I can remember some episodes of Night Rider that could be labeled gothic. As for asking if I am a goth...come on, let's do a real interview now. Tounge-Zine: The Squee series seems to be more humorous than Johnny on the whole; was this because of a decision to be more humorous or just because you found Squee to be a funnier character? Jhonen: Oh, it was DEFINITELY a conscious decision to have humor be the main focus in SQUEE! Yes, Squee is a funny character, but i could have gone for a different approach, something much sadder, or tragic, but I wanted to laugh, so it's sad and tragic in a way that doesn't attempt to bring you down. I wanted to take a break from JTHM in more than just a way that left behind JOHNNY, but also his messed up moodiness. Squee is just a fun book to do. Tounge-Zine: Is the proper title of the book SQUEE! or SQUEE (with or without the exclamation point)? Jhonen: It's supposed to be include the exclamation point. Pretty neat, huh? eh? Tounge-Zine: I read in the Roadkill updates that you recently pitched a cartoon to Nickelodeon. What can you tell us about the show? Jhonen: Only that it has aliens, and that it's still very early to speak of. I'd love to get involved with animation, though, and the thought of doing a show for kids is just so freakishly bizarre, I love it. Tounge-Zine: Why Nickelodeon? I mean, after what they did to Ren and Stimpy, why not go to Cartoon Network or Warner Brothers? Jhonen: I look at shows produced on Nickelodeon, and see the work of different artists. Each show looks like something out of different artists' minds. I like the things I've seen from other places, but the styles are all very homogenous. Warner animation adheres to a particular look and feel, but I want MY look and MY feel. Tounge-Zine: How do you feel about, or rather view the current state of the comic book industry; how do you see yourself as an individual in it and what do you think Slave Labor's place in it is? Jhonen: I only know my place. My place is a little spot in a room with a desk and a stereo where I draw little people doing bizarre things. I try not to think too much beyond that point. I like what I do so long as it does not feel like business. Tounge-Zine: What are your feelings on ZZ Top appearing in Back to the Future 3? Jhonen: It was a pretty goofy movie, so it didn't really didn't hurt the movie. I liked that movie. Tounge-Zine: Who and what are your influences on your work? Jhonen: Being a little kid was the biggest influence. Drawings done by little people depicting purple grass and happy suns just make me smile. It's that messing with so-called reality that plays a major part in what I do. So long as I am in love with those thoughts, and images, it's not something I could get sick of. Growing up, as far as that kind of thinking goes, is something that would kill me. Tounge-Zine: What were you doing before Johnny? Jhonen: I ate a lot of spaghetti. yep, LOT's of spaghetti. And I was taking film classes, you know, school. Tounge-Zine: How is your name pronounced? Jhonen: JO- NEN Tounge-Zine: With so many internet service providers currently available that don't come with crappy web browsers, don't restrict some areas of the net, and are not basically evil, why are you using AOL? Jhonen: You don't actually care do you? Tounge-Zine: Future plans for Johnny? Jhonen: I just plan on returning to the character whenever I feel I'm ready to start making him talk again. I don't want him to be something done just so that I can gurantee a paycheck. I want it to be done out of an actual desire to tell a story with THAT voice. Tounge-Zine: Happy Noodle Boy: divine prophet or just a cartoon? Jhonen: It seems like both, doesn't it? Scary.
