Johnny C

Johnny C, also known as "Nny" (pronounced "knee"), is the protagonist of Jhonen Vasquez's first comic, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, who makes cameo appearances in the rest of his work.

Summary[]

Nny is a deranged serial killer, mass murderer, and spree killer who interacts with various other characters, generally by murdering or torturing them.

He elaborately kills anyone who even slightly irritates him, then drains their blood and paints a certain wall in the bowels of his house with it "to keep the Thing from behind the wall from getting out."

Johnny is willing to murder "innocent" people who, in his twisted mind, deserve their fate for some reason or another (many of those reasons are the reinforcement of stereotypes and enthrallment to the rampant consumerism of Vasquez's world).

The number of Johnny's victims is in the dozens, if not hundreds — or perhaps even thousands (but evidently not in the millions). He may be similar to Ghostface, also known as Billy Loomis, the antagonist of the Scream movie franchise.

Authorities are unable to capture him and they seem unaware of his existence, even though his crimes are often witnessed in public and reported by the few who manage to survive. Johnny himself speculates on this being the result of interference from outside forces.

Personality[]

Johnny is often devoid of a conscience, and acknowledges that he is insane (similar to how Dib admitted this in the Halloween special). This insanity manifests itself in three entities: Nailbunny, who is the closest thing to a conscience that Nny possesses; and two styrofoam Pillsbury Doughboys, Mr Eff and Psycho Doughboy, who represent two halves of his insanity: Mr Eff represents the manic side of Johnny that drives him to commit mass murder, and Psycho Doughboy represents the depressed side of Johnny that drives him to attempt suicide, the fact that these entities exist seem to suggest that Johnny suffers from a personality disorder.

Sometimes, Johnny displays feelings of self-hatred for his actions. This shows in his many monologues and suicide attempts. He even has what appear to be moments of clarity, but these are short-lived, and quickly turn into yet more crazed rants accompanied by bloodshed.

Johnny is somewhat of an insomniac, and would attempt to rid himself of all feeling. Johnny C expresses his emotions through his mass killings, but killing mostly is used in a comedic sense, as Johnny is not devoid of feeling or morals. In fact, during one conversation with a prisoner named Tess, she assumes he (Johnny) is the person behind a recent murder in which a girl was raped before she was killed. Johnny vehemently denies being involved, saying "I would never!".

Later, when Johnny meets the young man who actually did it (in an attempt to be more like Johnny, whom he idolizes), Johnny brutally murders him, saying "And though this gets me no absolution, I would never do what you did to that girl!".

A running theme on Johnny's origin is that he was once a brilliant artist who lost his talent, and subsequently went insane. This is supported by Devi's recollection in issue 2 of I Feel Sick of a conversation between herself and Johnny, in which he laments his loss of painting talent and implies that he began to kill as a way of filling that void.

This showed that, in spite of his killing sprees, Johnny had romantic feelings for Devi D, who is the heroine of Vasquez's double-shot comic I Feel Sick. She's also the only person (besides Squee) Johnny has ever truly felt any positive feelings for. They met in the bookstore she once worked in before she became a professional artist, and went on a date that ended in almost being able to kiss, but instead, Johnny felt so happy that he wanted to "immortalize the moment" and attacked Devi. Instead, she beat him up and fled.

After the incident, he tried to contact her to apologize and try and explain his odd reasons for trying to kill her, in which she responds to by locking herself in her apartment and screaming at him over the phone. Johnny seems to show selflessness and care toward her by trying to become cold so he will not try to kill her again.

At the end of the 7th Issue, Johnny attempts to reform himself by abandoning his emotions in favor of cold intellect, going on what is referred to as a "vacation."

Appearances in Invader Zim[]

The amorphous blob from "Future Dib" that is speculated to be Nny.

It's believed that Nny appears in "Future Dib". In the first scene, in Dib's kitchen, right before it fades to the next scene and Dib and Gaz are searching for their puppy, a shadow crosses over the window in the room through the door, as eerie music is heard. It's only there for a second, and is almost completely indistinguishable from the background, but many fans believe it could be Nny.
In "The Girl Who Cried Gnome", during the scene where Dib is trying to find out what is going on, you can see someone who looks similar to Johnny C.
Nny possibly makes a cameo in "Gaz, Taster of Pork" in Gaz's room in the shape of a "Swollen Squirrel" poster.
A Nightmare Nny appears thrice in the episode "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom".
During "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", while Zim is screaming after he sees the Santas, the camera pans out. The people around him are blurry, but one looks like Johnny.

Facts of Doom[]

It is implied in the "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" that Dib and Nny met off-screen for a Nightmare Nny to appear in Dib's imagination.
- There is a fan theory that Johnny C is a relatively of the Membrane family, but it’s never been confirmed nor denied by Jhonen Vasquez.
  - The fact that Vasquez confirmed in his vlog that Johnny is Mexican just like Dib, Gaz, and Professor Membrane could serve as a possible hint to the theory.
It has been implies that both JTHM and Invader Zim exist in the same universe.
- One example of this being the case was seen in "Gaz, Taster of Pork" as the episode features Mystical Hill, where Nny and Devi went on their first date.
Nny appears in a flashback in I Feel Sick when Devi recalls their first date. Unlike his own comic, Nny is colored.
Vasquez has also stated that Johnny isn't really evil but just "lost".
Johnny's surname starts with a C and has yet to be confirmed what it stands for.
Even though Johnny doesn't appear in "Germs", Tallest Red makes a sly reference to JTHM when he commented on "one of those exploding head planets" as a place they could've sent Zim to, as Johnny made heads explode while he was in heaven.
In "Lice", Countess von Verminstrasser is seen wearing a tailcoat that could be a subtle reference to Nny.
In the episode "Vindicated!", Mr. Dwicky has some similarities with Nny, in particular to how he talked to Dib like a father figure similar to how Nny talked to Squee in JTHM.
Prisoner 777 is a reference to JTHM; the main character, Nny, lives in house number 777.
Tak's clothes resemble the ones worn by Nny.
As shown in Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, when Zim's antennae are bent forward, they resemble Nny's hair style.
Though his exact age is unknown, Vasquez has been quoted saying Johnny is in his early twenties. According to the Director's Cut, he is 5' 9" and 115 lbs, making him very underweight.
Throughout the series, no information is given about Johnny's family or of his past, and even Johnny is deprived of all but occasional flashes of memory.
- Vasquez has written that he did not intend to give Johnny a concrete origin story, stating, "I find the blurriness of it all much more appealing than making him go nuts over being pantsed in school once. 'YAAAARGH!! I have been pantsed!! I kill like the damned now!!' That's just not done."
In JTHM: The Director's Cut, it's said that Johnny's parents were murdered by an "evil man", but this is an obvious joke, as the description goes on to say that after this traumatic event, “Nny became a masked crime fighter.”
- Even though the director’s cut made this very obvious reference to Batman, in reality Johnny would be more fitting to be in the role of the Joker.
The final issue of JTHM has an open-ended conclusion and it leaves room for a second series of comics, but Jhonen Vasquez has expressed no interest so far to continue Nny's story.
In the final issue of Squee, it is revealed that following the events of JTHM, Nny spent some time at a mental hospital, as a participant in a sleep study, but subsequently left the hospital despite researchers' enthusiasm for analyzing his "dreams".

Gallery[]

External Links[]

Johnny C at the Jhonen Vasquez Wiki