I Feel Sick

Last updated

Main character Devi (top), Tenna, and Spooky (bottom) I feel Sick 2.jpg
Main character Devi (top), Tenna, and Spooky (bottom)

I Feel Sick is a comic book created by artist Jhonen Vasquez, [1] with colors by Rosearik Rikki Simons. Published in August 1999 through May 2000, it is a spin-off of Vasquez's comic book series Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. [2] [3] I Feel Sick revolves around Devi D, a graphic designer who must face the same supernatural and psychological forces that drove Johnny C. to lunacy.

Contents

Published by Slave Labor Graphics, [4] it was originally intended as a single paperback but was split into two issues. Vasquez said the creation process of I Feel Sick was cathartic. Devi's problems working for Nerve Publishing and neglecting her own work are reminiscent of the pressure Vasquez experienced working on Invader Zim , an animated television series he created for Nickelodeon.

Issue 1

The first issue is published through Slave Labor Graphics in November 1999. It is later republished with paperback.

Summary

The series begins as Devi attempts to destroy her own painting, but finds the painting untouched afterward. Tenna, her neighbor and friend, comes upstairs to check on her. This leads to a flashback about a date Devi had with a boy named Eddie. After the two fail to connect, Devi asks to go home and Eddie makes a forceful move on her while driving. The two crash into a tree where they are trapped in the car. Eddie has lost an eye and has glass shards inside of his brain. The only thing keeping him alive is the thought he still has a chance of sleeping with Devi. They are trapped in his car overnight until Eddie is eventually killed by a deployed airbag.

The flashback ends and Devi explains that the painting was one she never finished, and it has started talking to her. She has nicknamed the painting "Sickness," and the only way to silence it is by working. Tenna suggests that she is just working too hard, but Devi believes supernatural forces are interfering with her painting, and past experiences have given her good reason to isolate herself. She tells a story about another date with a man who defecated himself at the dinner table (as seen in Issue 2 of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac). In another flashback, Devi is approached in a nightclub by a man dressed as a vampire. He tells her about his strange obsession with vampires. When he uses a smoke bomb to dramatically leave the conversation, he sets himself on fire. On another date, Devi joked about her date being a zombie, and he bites a waiter's brain out of his skull.

Tenna is still unconvinced and asks why the "spooky painting" wants to make her go insane. Devi doesn't know, but ever since she started a new freelance job, things have gotten worse. Constant distractions stop her from painting, like phone calls and people coming over. Even Tenna has become a huge distraction, and Devi asks her to leave.

Alone now, Devi asks the painting what it wants and why it's distracting her from her work. The painting says it's simply a voice in her head and not to bother fighting. It and its colleagues are professionals who have done this before. Devi vows to work as hard as she can until the painting dries up, and she stops talking. However, she accidentally injures her hands, meaning she can no longer paint to fight Sickness.

Issue 2

The second issue is first published through Slave Labor Graphics in January 2000, then experienced republishings through Slave Labor Graphics from 2003 to 2004. The latest edition (sixth edition) is published with paperback through SLG Publishing in January 2008.

Summary

Devi promises to fight Sickness even without using her hands. Sickness says she is not the first person to catch them, one being the person who introduced the force to her. Devi realizes she is late for a meeting about a job illustrating a children's book and rushes to meet her eccentric new boss, Mr. Nerves. He orders several outlandish changes to her painting for the book. During his lecture, Devi has a flashback to her date with Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. While overlooking the town, Johnny asks what happens when someone loses their defining trait, in this case, Johnny's ability to paint.

After connecting Johnny's story with her own, Devi quits her job and rushes home, determined to beat Sickness. Several distractions in her apartment's hallway hinder her progress, and her morbidly obese neighbor blocks the hallway. Devi attempts to squeeze by and gets trapped. She hears a voice that claims to be the neighbor's fat. It tells Devi that it's psychic and will attempt to help her. It shows her a scene from her childhood when a boy by the name of Spidgey Simons gives her a Valentine's Day card. Devi coughs chalk into his face and crumples up the card. The fat says Spidgey later died of a chalk-induced asthma attack, and he was the only boy that could ever understand her.

Devi escapes and makes it to her room, finding Sickness now in the form of a doll. Sickness reveals it is using Devi's mind to grow a real body, and if Devi tries to resist again, it will kill her. After Devi quit her job, Sickness had to accelerate its plans. It offers her powers similar to Johnny's, and Devi appears to accept them. When Sickness lets down its guard, Devi pins it to a canvas with a paintbrush and removes its eyeballs. Devi says she has won and has complete control over her mind again. Now that she has Sickness's eyes, it will become a tortured audience to her life. The series ends with Devi and Tenna overlooking the town, watching a plane crash into their apartment building.

Characters

Main character Devi (left), Sickness (right) I feel sick 1.jpg
Main character Devi (left), Sickness (right)

Devi D.

The protagonist, Devi, is an introvert attacked by the same forces attacking Johnny, the protagonist of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. He was her love interest until he tried to kill her to "immortalize the moment". Their date left Johnny with severe head trauma and made Devi into a recluse. Since then, Devi's love life has consisted of a string of disastrous dates.

Since her appearance in JtHM issue 7, she has quit her job at the local bookstore to become a graphic designer and cover artist for Nerve Publishing.

Tenna

Tenna is Devi's friend and neighbor who owns a squeaky toy named Spooky whom she talks to constantly. She believes Devi's problems stem from her lack of social contact. She first appears in the fourth issue of JtHM, then called Tonja. A doll version of Spooky appears in Layla Miller's room during the Marvel Comics House of M event.

Psychic Fat Lady

An obese woman with psychic fat who shares her visions that Devi will die in a plane crash. She lives downstairs from Devi and hasn't left her apartment for at least a decade.

Eddie

One of Devi's dates, who gets in a car accident with her, trapping the two inside the vehicle.

Eric

A teenager obsessed with vampires. He first appeared in a Meanwhile section in JTHM and also briefly in Invader Zim, in another form.

Mr. Nevers

Devi's boss in the Graphic Arts department of Nerve Publishing. He received a lobotomy to remove the creative centers of his brain.

Spidgey Simons

According to the psychic fat, the only boy who would ever truly understand Devi and her last chance at true love. She rejected his Valentine's Day card in first grade and coughed chalk into his face. He later died of a chalk-induced asthma attack.

Johnny C.

The main character from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Johnny C. makes a cameo appearance. In a flashback, Devi remembers what led to their disastrous date in issue #2 of JtHM and realizes Johnny had the same sickness she has.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jhonen Vasquez</span> American cartoonist

Jhonen C. Vasquez is an American cartoonist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for creating the comic book Johnny the Homicidal Maniac—along with its spin-off comics Squee!, Fillerbunny, and I Feel Sick—and the Nickelodeon animated series Invader Zim.

<i>Johnny the Homicidal Maniac</i> Comic book by Jhonen Vasquez

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is the first comic book by Jhonen Vasquez. The series tells the story of a young man named Johnny “Nny” C. as he explores the psychological and possibly supernatural forces which compel him to commit a string of murders with which he always seems to get away. JtHM began as a comic strip in the 1990s, then ran under alternative comics publisher Slave Labor Graphics as a limited series of seven issues, later collected in the trade paperback Johnny the Homicidal Maniac: Director's Cut. The series produced three spin-offs: Squee!, I Feel Sick and Fillerbunny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Dirge</span>

Roman Dirge is an American comic book writer, artist, and former magician. He is best known as the creator of the comic book series Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl.

<i>Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl</i> Comic by Roman Dirge

Lenore, The Cute Little Dead Girl is a black comedy comic series created by Roman Dirge, inspired by the poem "Lenore" by Edgar Allan Poe. Lenore has appeared in several comic books by Dirge. From 1998 to 2007, she featured in her own series published by Slave Labor Graphics. Twenty-six flash-animated shorts were also produced for Sony's ScreenBlast website in 2002. In July 2009, a new comic series started, now published by Titan Books and called Lenore Volume II. Previous issues were made into colored edition trade paperback called Lenore Volume I, which is separated into three books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squee (character)</span> Fictional character

Todd "Squee" Casil is a fictional character in Jhonen Vasquez's comic book Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, who was later featured in his own four-issue series, published by Slave Labor Graphics. This was eventually collected as a Trade paperback (TPB), titled Squee's Wonderful Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors.

<i>Squee!</i> Spin-off comic series based on Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

Squee! is a four-issue comic book series by Jhonen Vasquez, published by Slave Labor Graphics, featuring a supporting character from Vasquez's previous series Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. The series was eventually collected as the trade paperback Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors.

Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat adult comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhonen Vasquez, and Andi Watson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicktoons</span> Animated series brand used by Nickelodeon

Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company in their copyright bylines.

Foo Swee Chin is a Singaporean comic book artist and illustrator.

<i>Blue Sunshine</i> (film) 1977 film

Blue Sunshine is a 1977 American horror film written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, and starring Zalman King, Deborah Winters and Mark Goddard. The plot focuses on a series of random murders in Los Angeles, in which the only common link between the perpetrators is a mysterious batch of LSD that they had all taken years prior.

<i>Invader Zim</i> American animated television series

Invader Zim is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim, from the planet Irk, and his mission is to conquer Earth and enslave the human race along with his malfunctioning robot servant GIR. He is antagonized by Dib, a young paranormal investigator who is determined to stop Zim from succeeding.

<i>Neurotically Yours</i> TV series or program

Neurotically Yours is an animated web series created by Jonathan Ian Mathers, based on the comic of the same name, starring a goth girl named Germaine Endez and her neurotic squirrel roommate, Foamy. Since its inception, the series has received mainly positive reviews from fans for its dark humor.

<i>Margie</i> (1946 film) 1946 Henry King film directed by Henry King

Margie is a 1946 American romantic comedy film directed by Henry King and starring Jeanne Crain, about a high school girl in the 1920s who develops a crush on her French teacher. Margie was a box-office hit, ranking in the top 15 highest-grossing films of the year, and established Crain as an important Fox star. Although not a true movie musical, it is sometimes classified with musicals due to the large number of 1920s-era popular songs incorporated as nostalgic background in the film.

<i>Confessions of a Vice Baron</i> 1943 Americandrama film

Confessions of a Vice Baron is a 1943 American crime film directed by S. Roy Luby, William A. O'Connor, Melville Shyer, and Herman E. Webber. The film was created using edited footage for the flashback scenes from Mad Youth (1940), The Wages of Sin (1938), Smashing the Vice Trust (1937), Race Suicide (1937), and The Pace That Kills (1935). Willy Castello appeared in each of these films except for The Pace That Kills.

Abigail Howard is an American webcomic artist and video game developer from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is the creator of Junior Scientist Power Hour and The Last Halloween.

Chung Fat is a Hong Kong-based actor, choreographer, producer, and director. He primarily stars in jiangshi fictions and martial art movies.

<i>Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus</i> 2019 American animated science-fiction comedy film

Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus is a 2019 American animated science fiction comedy film directed by Hae Young Jung, Young Kyun Park, and Jhonen Vasquez and written by Vasquez. It is based on and is a continuation of the animated television series Invader Zim, which was created by Vasquez and originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2002 and later Nicktoons in 2006. Richard Steven Horvitz, Rosearik Rikki Simons, Andy Berman, Melissa Fahn, Rodger Bumpass, Wally Wingert, Kevin McDonald, Vasquez, and Olivia d'Abo reprise their voice roles from the series. In the film, Zim discovers his almighty leaders never had any intention of coming to Earth and he loses confidence in himself for the first time in his life, which is the big break his human nemesis, Dib has been waiting for.

<i>Never Have I Ever</i> (TV series) American television series (2020–2023)

Never Have I Ever is an American comedy-drama television series starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher. Though it takes place in the San Fernando Valley, the show has been reported to be loosely based on Kaling's childhood experiences in the Boston area, while Kaling herself has said it is based "in the spirit of my childhood". It premiered on Netflix on April 27, 2020, and is about an Indian-American high school student dealing with the sudden death of her father and the bumpy journey through her last three years of high school. The series has received critical acclaim.

Camille Vasquez is an American attorney known for representing actor Johnny Depp in the defamation case that he brought against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

References

  1. Kilpatrick, Nancy (2004). The goth Bible. Griffin. p. 167. ISBN   978-0312306960.
  2. Fahey, Mike (July 17, 2009). "BioShock 2's "The Sisters" By Jhonen Vasquez". Kotaku . Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  3. Weiss, Josh (March 30, 2018). "Doom! The Voice of Invader Zim Teases Upcoming Movie and Reveals Why the Show Was Cancelled". Syfy Wire . Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  4. Fox, Steve; Edgar, Sean; Thompson, Barry (January 15, 2020). "100 of the Best Horror Comics of All Time". Paste . Retrieved July 18, 2020.