Jhonen Vasquez’s work is actually very valuable and he gets an unfair surface-level reputation for being random and edgy because people can’t handle kids, especially unique or alternative kids, enjoying things. His two most notable works aren’t necessarily commentaries but observations of how Jhonen perceives life, morality, and the struggles of personal identity. Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is so much more than a nihilistic Joker-kinning edgelord narcissist; he’s an exploration of the origins of hate and violence and, being hateful and violent himself, Johnny’s main story arc is his search for meaning in life and the inevitable conclusion that he’s a massive part of the problem. Invader Zim is a wacky children’s cartoon about alien overlords destroying our planet, yes, but it’s also a conversation about whether or not the earth even deserves to be saved thinly veiled by outlandish humor; both the protagonist and antagonist (who are often interchangeable) have little to no interest in their actual endeavors but are instead driven by selfish desires to prove themselves. In fact, both of them are actively participating in cultures fueled by consumerism and mob mentality that they claim to hate solely to prove how different they are. In this essay I will-
(via love-lays-bleeding)
