Seriously, do not read this if you're a pussy. (Photo: JohnnyR.com)

[by Scott Thill]

Johnny Ryan crosses every line he draws. And know this: Someone is going to get pissed, offended or too good for the searing humor in some of his scatalogical escapades. It could be you. But it shouldn't be. Real life is insane and disgusting enough, and plus, you like your envelopes pushed. Face it.

Although Ryan is getting love from everyone from Screw and Hustler to, no shit, National Geographic Kids and Nickolodeon, he's still a hot potato in most circles. But those walls will come down too. And then every kid with a pen and an acidic sense of transgressive humor can draw babies with boners for network TV. The wait is already too long.

Morphizm: I remember seeing a baby with a massive boner fly through the air and land in some dude's ear, boner first. As a new father, I've got to ask: Where did that come from? I can't get it out of my head.
Johnny Ryan: When I was in college my ear was gang-raped by a bunch of babies. Honestly, I don't know where it came from. It just seemed like a funny idea. I usually make a lot of this shit up as I go along. I come up with better ideas that way.

Morphizm: You recently landed a sweet profile in The Comics
Journal, proving that highbrow and lowbrow collided forever ago. Do you find that people still get offended by your work?
JR: First off, yes, I do find some people that are still bothered by my work. Some guy at a book signing a few weeks ago told me that he thought that sometimes I do go too far. I think there will always be ways to offend people. I mean, aren't people trying to pass laws right now to ban the word “nigger”. People are trying to make laws so they won't be offended.

Morphizm: Is it harder to find Boobs Pooter goose chases in days where South Park and others have stretched the envelope?
JR: I always think it's weird that people hold South Park as a great example of envelope-pushing. Granted, I've only seen a couple of episodes of the show. I thought it was okay. But how fucking crazy can you really get on a TV show? I mean shows that aren't on the pay channels, of course. I still think that a lot of the underground comix of the late 60s and early 70s have yet to be matched for offensive material. And the same goes for the exploitation movies of the time.

Morphizm: Angry Youth Comix brightens my day. It feels like a parallel universe ruled by MAD Magazine. Was MAD one of your influences, and do you think humor comics can slice off some of that suphero pie, which is killing at the box office?
JR: Yes, I used to read MAD all the time during the late 70s and early 80s. And no, I don't think my comics have any box office power. I doubt that the majority of America wants to pay to be subjected to my ugliness for two hours. But I'm a DIY artist. Aren't most underground and alternative comic artists DIY?

Morphizm: Are you worried about comics without paper? I am.
JR: I'm not worried about comics without paper. As long as I can make money off my comics I don't really care how people access them. Personally, I prefer paper.

April 11, 2007

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