I like that.
Because of the intensity of your work, what do you do for fun? When the work is done and it's time to let your hair down...
You can certainly ask [my good friend] Michael Flanagan, with whom I have shared the most larcenous and vile mail - awful, awful [things]. I love this e-mail thing, because we can really write the most cold-blooded things to each other without talking. Especially around concert time. We have a very, very good time with it. So, I would say that my Oscar Wildean enterprise with Michael Flanagan is one of my most enjoyable things. Other than that, I just discovered Orson Welles... I had never seen his work before. I am so knocked out by it, I couldn't believe it. I watch certain films and do a lot of reading. I don't like going outside. I don't like going to concerts. I never go to concerts. I don't like going to public places so much unless I'm being paid for it. I don't really like it. I like indoors, so whatever I can do indoors is really quite fine with me.
I am assuming that you rent these films, what section do you go to? The comedy section or the drama?
[laughs] The comedy section...[laughs] No, I like to go to the medical science fiction section, but I’m running out - I’m already down to the transplants. Too bad. The thrillers, of course, the thrillers I like. I've been watching a lot of films recently because of this Hep C scare thing, so I'm going through my Norman Cousins phase of seeing these films I enjoy. I've seen a lot of films like Wasp Woman, Ape Woman (Aquanetta) and all these films where these women turn into scorpions and so forth, I really love those. Diseased Pariahs like monster films, (referring fondly to Disease Pariah News.) All of those early films where they're turning men into wolves, dogs, or robots, this kind of thing as well as horror films; even old ones like Strangler in the Swamp, Victor Buono’s Strangler, the Boston Strangler - oh, hell: all the stranglers.
Good for you! I'm a big horror film fan.
You can hardly help it. There are such wonderful ones. To me, horror films are, in a sense, also like medical science fiction. I really don't like Star Wars and all of that sort of thing, though. It makes me sleepy. I think I don't understand space because it's too far away from my living room. I really don’t have the conceptual ability to comprehend it. Or the short-term memory.
Speaking of films, you've worked on several.
In a very small time way, I must tell you, not really big time, just sound effects and a few songs here and there.
Is film something you would ever want to get involved in as far as performing or writing?
Yes. This reminds me of seeing the beginning of Macbeth with Orson Welles the other day. Ah! What a monster this guy...such a fucking monster. What a huge sex symbol, too. What a fucking genius. I just could just see him fucking Rita Hayworth. I could see the whole thing. Him just screaming and fucking Rita Hayworth. Such a gorgeous man. Yes, definitely, because it's, after all, operatic. The whole thing. The sound and the image. Everything is so much a part of each other. I really think of composers as being eminently qualified to do film. Anyone who has seen anything with Bernard Hermann’s music knows that's 60% of the film. Yes. And in terms of a certain intimacy of presentation, as a performer, I think it would be an interesting working experience. Actually, on a really different level, I was even thinking of calling Wes Craven and talking to him about this. I've done some sound work with him. I've got to see Scream. I've heard it's great.
It's good.
Oh, you saw it?
Yeah. It takes all of the rules of horror film and makes fun of them while adhering to them. Every scene has some "in" joke in it that you'll get if you're a horror fan.
Fantastic. Who should know better than that innovator? (Last House of the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Serpent and the Rainbow and of course the first Nightmare on Elm Street) I've felt like calling him and saying, "Why don't I play a really hardcore fucking woman killer? Let’s not make her sexy, don't make it with short dresses and blonde hair and all of that. Let's make her scary. Let’s make her real. So, I'd like to do that.
I think that would be great!
I think it would be completely great. I think I'm going to write him.
Tell me what prompted you to release your new book, The Shit of God.
I was asked to do it by Ira Silverberg of High Risk/Serpent’s Tail (who has gone on to work as chief editor for Grove Press) For many years he's asked me because he's been to performances like INSEKTA and Plague Mass and he's felt that the text or "libretto," though naturally subsidiary in its musical presentation, was something that the signal processing made unclear. He felt it was important for people to know the words of these pieces. I had never thought of isolating the text from the overall musical work/performance, but there is a lot of sense to this since the verbal content has been important to many people who are interested by the work. Clearly it is a book of "librettos," not poems, but there is a tradition for these isolated publications in opera and theater a tradition which serves a more complete understanding of the work overall.
I think it's a beautiful book.
Thank you.
Now that Shrei X is out, what's next for you in your plan for world domination?
What I want to do is release an album of the world tour. Blaise Dupuy and I got together and we selected several pieces that we felt were the best pieces form the tour, the best performances. We are also working on a new performance piece which we are recording at Sorcerer Studios in Manhattan; it is a large theatrical work which had many beginnings in the piece INSEKTA, but is now advanced beyond that, and a larger work.
Are there tours in the future?
At the moment, we are planning a Mediterranean tour which includes Venice, Sicily, Thessaloniki, and Malaga, and other cities for the Spring.
Finally, is it true that you appeared on the Phil Donahue Show?
[laughs] No!
Someone told me that...
You know what, I think someone told me that once as well and said, "Ah, I just saw you on the Phil Donahue Show. You just looked so beautiful." And I said, "What did I do?" She said, "I don't know!" I don't know who it was. There are a couple of broads out there that kind of look like me. I did get this offer to perform on the Merv Griffin Show years ago by the manager of Yma Sumac, but I just had to refuse.
I would just want to see you on the couch...
Well, he's probably all right, Ol' Merv.
You and Steve and Edie...
Me and Steve and Edie, right. I think perhaps if I decide to do the Ethel Merman Story, I'll consider it.
Jhonen Vasquez
Jhonen came into our lives back at a time when Carpe Noctem was just getting started. I still remember him coming to the house with his sketchbook in hand and sheepishly showing us some of his ideas. It was pretty obvious from the get-go that his talent ran deep and he was destined to have quite a career. At the time of this interview, no one could have guessed the level to which he would rise. We still hear from Jhonen now and then and both Catia and I are always glad when we do. He’s a gifted dude and someone who knows more about film than most people. He also knows his way around a Chinese menu…
What can we say about the work of Jhonen Vasquez?
After many years of quietly honing his craft, he burst onto the comic scene with his seminal work, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. His amazing new voice has been compared to everyone from Tim Burton and Charles Addams to Edward Gorey and Berni Wrightson. JTHM is the humorous tale of young Johnny (NNY to his friends) and his travels through the irritating world we call Civilization. The thing about Johnny is that he is completely ill equipped to deal rationally with our oftentimes irrational society. So, between the wall that consistently needs to be re-painted with blood because it seems to be drinking every drop that is put there and the talking severed bunny heads nailed to it, JTHM is a tale filled with dark humor and an even darker sensibility. Jhonen is a bright new talent in the comic medium and one who just might change your opinion of what has the potential to be funny.
~*~
You came pretty much out of nowhere with Johnny. Is comics where you ultimately see yourself doing the majority of your work?
My main interest is in film, but film came out of this progressive interest in me to tell the stories I have in my head. I had always been drawing and writing, so earlier on I began doing comic strips, and illustrating these things, but only for myself and for a few friends. Being published just sort of "happened," though never as part of any plan of mine. I don't see myself ever abandoning this form of storytelling for the fact that you cannot take movies with you into the restroom.
Do you have any inclination to work in the super hero genre?
Yes....yes, I do. But I could never see myself treating the subject matter as anything other than something to mock. Not in a completely mean-spirited way, but just in a way that ridicules the abuse of clichés that run rampant in the testosterone driven, grotesque-breasted genre. I probably will do a hero book. Can you not feel the anticipation?
How has the sudden popularity of Johnny affected your life on a day-to-day basis?
I've noticed a sharp increase in the amount of human flesh I ingest. No, I kid (I don't like the taste). Let me just put it this way: before I was published, I sat at my desk, in my room, drawing and writing with some music on. Now, I sit at my desk, in my room, drawing and writing with some music on. I get more mail, though. I suppose that there is more satisfaction now, knowing that what was once isolated within my brain is seen, and allegedly enjoyed by more people than I have ever known.
Do you get a lot of mail concerning Johnny?
Yes, and it has increased noticeably, since around the time issue #4 was released. People have been surprisingly pleasant on the subject of the book. I get drawings and books, and wonderfully mutilated dolls from various… eh… well-associated individuals. Of course, I also receive the occasional Disturbing Letter from someone who thinks that I am doing a completely autobiographical book. I do not look forward to the day someone sends murder-site photos with the caption, "I did this for you."
What draws you to the pen and ink as opposed to painting or sculpting?
I enjoy all of those things, but, for Johnny the Homicidal Maniac the mood demands a certain stark and jagged look that pen and ink achieve so nicely. Doing the cover paintings gives me a chance to work with paints, and I do a bit of photography and computer work, so I'm never too far away from the different art forms.
Can you explain a little of the thought processes you go through when you sit down to write?
By the time I've physically seated myself to write, I pretty much have the story in my head, so the rest is just improvisational nonsense. The real thinking takes place away from the desk, and usually happens while driving around or while pretending to listen to someone. As far as inspiration goes, just dealing with the frequent absurdity of socializing with people and being with this noisy little thing trapped in your head is enough.
Do you prefer writing or drawing, or are they hand in glove for you?
I feel most satisfied when I am illustrating my own written work, but I would like to try having some other artist do artwork for a story that I would write. I am sure that I would be insanely critical and unrelenting in my demands for changes, and that this artist would go mad and flee from me, resulting in various children being wounded as he pulls screeching out of the parking space, but it would be fun. Doing cover artwork for other books sounds interesting, as well.
How much of you is there in the characters you write about?
Well, most of the characters begin, basically, as hideously amplified versions of a specific aspect of my personality. After that point they're on their own as far as how they choose to deal with things, which is usually much more extreme than my own personal choices.
Do people ever confuse who Jhonen is and who Johnny is?
Yes. Ohhhh, yessssss. And I want to say, for those people out there, who read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac naked in a closet with little pen-lights strapped to their heads: I am not Johnny!!!! Those of you who address the letters to NNY are sending them to the wrong address!!!
I notice that not a lot of exposition is given for Johnny and his origins. Was this intentional?
There is always this explanation given for those "anti-hero characters" (‘My wife was killed by thugs!’ ‘I was beaten as a child!’ ‘My mother sold me to a toothless man who gummed me every night!’) but, though NNY has a past, I don't find it to be so crucial to tell what it is because there is only the present, and in that present NNY is a horribly damaged machine with enough feeling left in it to feel sickened at what it is doing. I do not think the sympathy overrides the fact of what he is, and he is a villain. It gets a bit fuzzy, however, when a majority of his victims are nasty little things who behave questionably without the faulty wiring that NNY has.
A lot of Johnny's anger seems to come out of the fact that people are just so damn irritating to him. What are your thoughts on that?
Mere irritation could not be enough to provoke the response. It makes more sense for things to have been so ghastly at one time, and this sensitivity just accrued to terrifying proportions. He seems to have lost the ability to see the individual, and instead acknowledges only that which he believes they stand for. Also, some people are just irritating.
I see a lot of nobility in Johnny, even if his way of dealing with society is a bit extreme. Did you want to make him sympathetic or did that just sort of happen on its own?
Aside from what genetics contribute to the human behavior, we all slide down this hill while veering off into forking paths, and there is never an individual comprised of anything other than the paths they chose. As far as I can see, Johnny is extremely intelligent, but in a manner that rendered him sensitive to the less-than-ideal way in which other people treat themselves and those around them. The evolution of the species has us at a very awkward stage - Clever but Childish. NNY was just a bit impatient it seems, and did not have it in him to do anything other than become another scary point of absurdity in the world. He veered off along a bad route.
Will we be seeing more of the Meanwhile... story?
Perhaps. If you are good. Well...okay. Yes, it gives me a nice breather from doing recurring characters, and offers the pleasant, escapist world in which exploding toddlers are funny. Heh...I'm laughing now just thinking about them.
What prompted you to unleash the Bad Art Collection?
I wanted to make people feel bad that they spent their money. Also, it started a few years back as purely a stream of consciousness comic, with no plan for what I would do on the page. Proper grammar and fine artwork were not at all a consideration. It was also inspired, a bit, by children's artwork, which I love. As far as the kid's concerned, that pig is purple, and there is no question as to why it might not be. Now just add meteorites crushing infants and vampires eating feces and you've got one great book.
In a recent issue of Carpe Noctem, you introduced a new character called Ann Gwish. What can you tell me about her? Where did she come from? Will she appear in any of the Johnny books?
Yes. She offers a nice contrast to Johnny's problems. She speaks of how horrible her life is and yet her troubles are so pathetic and small (‘My friends are so uncool’). NNY has a freak demon-beast trying to escape from his wall. Which character would you excuse for crying?
Once Johnny finishes, do you plan on doing something else in the comic field or will you move on to some other medium?
I plan on doing a single issue with the SQUEE character from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Typical elementary school age events like being abducted by aliens and having your teddy bear tell you that your parents might not actually be your parents. FUN!!
I know that you are a big film fan. If we were to give you a "green light" on a film project and told you that you could do any kind of film you wanted, what would the end product be like?
I'd want to explore so many of the genres. Science fiction, horror, fantasy. It's all about fu
rther realizing these worlds I only project on this screen in the movie theatre with only one seat inside of my head. It seems that most of the entries in those particular genres are pathetic, or at best, with a few interesting features, but not enough to make them good films. I am sad now. Why did you have to bring this up?
Uh...sorry. So, what's next? Book Four is out and Book Five will be out when? Also I know you did the cover for Murder Can Be Fun. Are there any other projects like that coming up?
Book Five will be out in August, marking the one year anniversary of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and its included nonsense. Like I've said, it's likely that I'll do some covers to other books, but I won't say which ones right now for the fact that things fall through, and who knows which ones will.
Well thanks, Jhonen, for talking to us.
Hope I have not fascinated you too much.
Screaming Mad George
This interview has a bit of a story behind it. I’d been asked to interview makeup FX guru and musician Screaming Mad George at one of his band’s gigs at the Trocodero in San Francisco where they were opening for Gwar and The Fabulous Poodles. The band’s set was a mixture of heavy rock and industrial with some very impressive theatrics. After their set, George, a few of his friends, and I went into the back alley to talk. As the interview progressed, it was clear that George’s friends were either just in from Japan or recently moved here. They were all very nice and extremely polite. Anyway… as the interview continued, suddenly, the club’s back doors flew open not more than half dozen feet from where we were sitting. Without warning, several bouncers were “escorting” a couple of guys out of the club and the “escortees” were none to happy about it. So, within seconds, my quiet and polite interview abruptly changed to a barroom brawl. The “escortees” were teein’ off on the bouncers. The bouncers were tuning these guys up. Heavy wet packing sounds echoed through the alley. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the fight was over and calm settled back over the alley. It was the weirdest thing. But to be fair, George and his crew handled it better than I expected. We went right back to the questioning, acting like nothing at all untoward had transpired. I still keep an eye on George (he’s one of my Facebook friends) and I always enjoy seeing what he’s up to. A good guy and one that is really talented.
Carpe Noctem Interviews, Vol 3 Page 11