Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors

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Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 4,757 ratings · 87 reviews

Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors collects together the four issues of the Squee comic book series from SLG Publishing. It also contains reprints from the popular Jhonny the Homicidal Maniac series that didn't appear in the JTHM: Director's Cut book.

Paperback, 144 pages

Published August 1st 1998 by SLG Publishing

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Sep 13, 2009 Brenton Nichol rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, humor, comics-graphic-novels

Squee was a mini-series offshoot of Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac strip, in which Squee was originally Johnny's very young and ever-so-frightened neighbor. These short strips further explore Squee's general state of good ol' fashioned little-kid-peeing-his-pants terror. Squee's all-encompassing phobia is not unwarranted, of course; he is, after all, the intended victim of multiple bumbling space aliens with anal probes and a dust mite the size of a St. Bernard, among other things.

It's al...more

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Mar 10, 2009 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Vasquez Fans, Goth kids with a sense of irony about themselves

This is a graphic novel compilation of Vasquez's comic Squee. Squee was an offshoot of the comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (JtHM.) JtHM is about a maladjusted young man in his late teens / early 20s who goes around killing people. Squee is about Johnny's young neighbor, a little boy who is perpetually terrified of everything around him. While reading these comics, one gets the impression that both Johnny (or Nny for short) and Squee represent different aspects of Jhonen's self image. Nny is th...more This is a graphic novel compilation of Vasquez's comic Squee. Squee was an offshoot of the comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (JtHM.) JtHM is about a maladjusted young man in his late teens / early 20s who goes around killing people. Squee is about Johnny's young neighbor, a little boy who is perpetually terrified of everything around him. While reading these comics, one gets the impression that both Johnny (or Nny for short) and Squee represent different aspects of Jhonen's self image. Nny is the frustrated angsty teen who is sick of having to deal with and put up with everyone harshing his mellow. Squee is a hopeful creative little boy who is confronted with the horrors of life at every turn. His teacher turns his classmate into zombies, there are huge dust mites under his pillows, his family is abducted by space aliens, and the son of Satan is his only friend at school.

This graphic novel, not only compiles the entire run of Squee, it also compiles many of Jhonen's "Meanwhiles" short (1-5 page) comic interludes that were originally interspersed with his overarching storylines. These silly little one offs are quite amusing and it was fun to read them. Although, in this book they are compiled all together in the back of the book, and it was more fun when they were interspersed through the comic. These meanwhiles include Filler Bunny, Wobbly Headed Bob, and Happy Noodle Boy.

Reading through this book made me acutely aware of something, these comic books were written before the Columbine shooting (and also in turn before 9/11.) These comic books are extremely violent and graphic in their depiction of violence. JtHM is a goth kid who goes around killing everybody who makes fun of him. While rereading this comic, I was surprised at how violent it was. I actually found myself disturbed by some of the pictures in this. At first I thought to myself "dang, your getting old." But the more I reflected on it, the more I thought that this sort of depiction of violence is less common after Columbine and 9/11.

That said, I think that Vasquez's comics hold an important historical context. Remember that Columbine was not the only school shooting where bullied goth kids lashed out at their community. There was a whole rash of such shootings in the late 90s. While certainly much of this can be explained as copy cat crimes, I think that there was a certain sort of alienation for different teenagers at that time. This was when I was going to high school, and I have often tried to think about what it was that caused this rash of violence. Many people blame media like Squee and JtHM, as well as Marilyn Manson, NIN, KMFDM and violent video games. I prefer to think that the popularity of that type of media reflects more on the times. However, I can not really say what the underlying cause was. However, I do think that there was a sort of insidious thing going on at the time. I think that teenage rebellion had been coopted and made mainstream, clearly it is a good way to market things to teenagers. Tie a product to an identity and kids will buy it to prove their cred. And along with that, I think that the system saw kids who chose to be "different" such as goth were doing this for attention. It was like the system said, "hey these kids like to be persecuted" it is their image. So the system allowed other kids to pick on and bully them. This doesn't explain everything, but it definitely was an something I noticed in high school.

The writing is very good, and Vasquez deserves the credit he gets for these comics. The stories and dialog are clever. And while these comics are heavily goth, Vasquez does an excellent job at poking fun of himself and goth kids in general. Ultimately, this book just bitches about and pokes fun at everybody, but even so, it makes fun of itself for doing that (see the Wobbly Headed Bob Meanwhiles.)

The art style in this comic is very stylized, a sort of "cutesy goth." This style has since become known as "twee goth" and has made its way to mainstream acceptance. I think it is safe to say that if Jhonen did pioneer the "twee goth" look, he definitely was instrumental in popularizing it. And while the art in this book isn't the best comic book art I've ever seen, Vasquez is a talented artist. He experiments with different styles and this showcases his skill nicely.

I read this book because I am reading graphic novels a few pages at a time to keep myself sane while I bust my butt in grad school. Also, I recently read the Scud anthology and was interested in other comic books I loved back in high school.
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Apr 08, 2009 Brian Suihkonen rated it 1 of 5 stars

I see a lot of negative ratings for this but none of the reviews touch on why I hate this book. To me, it reads like an artist selling out and patronizing an audience he won over with a far superior work while trying really hard to win over the average Hot Topic shoppin' yahoo. The art has improved, for sure. Unfortunately, the writing is awful, usually relying lazily on the same kind of grating, unfunny, subculture-specific (to put it gently) humor as Invader Zim (granted, in a more adult way)...more

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May 29, 2012 Charles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga-graphic-novels, humor, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Stuff I Read – Squee!

Being a huge fan of Invader Zim and what I’ve read of JTHM, I picked up Squee! knowing what I was getting into. And the actual Squee! stories are a gem, and I’d say constitute the best of Vasquez’s work. Perhaps that is just because it aligns more to what I truly enjoy, and that is a character that is at the same time good and apathetic. Not good and proactive, or evil in any way, Squee! is a good person, who tries to do good where he can. He is cheerful and tries, and yet t...more Stuff I Read – Squee!

Being a huge fan of Invader Zim and what I’ve read of JTHM, I picked up Squee! knowing what I was getting into. And the actual Squee! stories are a gem, and I’d say constitute the best of Vasquez’s work. Perhaps that is just because it aligns more to what I truly enjoy, and that is a character that is at the same time good and apathetic. Not good and proactive, or evil in any way, Squee! is a good person, who tries to do good where he can. He is cheerful and tries, and yet the world throws horror after horror at him.

Squee!’s problem is that he believes in people, and though by the time in life where the story finds him he does not expect good from people, there is a sense that he is still willing to believe. He is not bitter, or depressed, and that fact makes him refreshing to read. Vasquez mocks it a bit himself, the extremely and purposefully depressed people, who wish to see the worst, and expect the worse, even though many of them have no real reason to have given up hope.

Here we see a character who has every reason, and who does not turn into a self-hating, world-hating, would-be goth. And the saddest thing is that at the end of his journey he is committed to an insane asylum, not for being crazy, really, for I get the feeling that if reacted to his surroundings with bitterness and hatred, as his parents do, for instance, that the world of the book would accept him and let him be. It is as if the world of Squee! cannot stand that there is someone left that believes, that it seeks to crush the hope out. And that seems to be what Vasquez is saying about the real world, that it is more accepted to fit the stereotypes and clichés than to be truly different and okay with that, to want acceptance for who one is.

That said, most of the supplemental material, for Squee! is a short read, runs the spectrum from pretty bad to hilarious. I don’t think I’ll actually go into what I think fits where, but suffice it to say that I really like some of the very short stories and really didn’t care for others. Because they were included with the book I cannot ignore them, but they did not all help to create a unified theme. So with all the craziness, I give this book a 9/10.
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Jan 30, 2010 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic, disturbed-protagonist, fantasy, fantasy-magical-realism, fantasy-urban, graphic, ya, soapbox

While I love Squee as much as the next girl, I just couldn't get behind this compilation of all things left out of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Fillerbunny wasn't even remotely entertaining, the "autobiographical" comics had some entertainment value, but they didn't really grab me. About the only (non-Squee) one I really enjoyed was the wannabe vampire finding out that it's not all it's cracked up to be, but that even rubbed me the wrong way given the nature and message JTHM.

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Apr 19, 2011 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, young-adult, graphic-novels

Squee is a lovable little boy, except his parents don't really like him all that much. He gets abducted by aliens and they don't even notice or care. Squee meets some weird people, like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and the son of Satan. Poor Squee rarely gets to meet nice normal people. He has nightmares and there are monsters in his room. But enough about Squee. Inside this book you'll also find Filler Bunny, Happy Noodle Boy, Wobbly Headed Bob and a whole lot of Meanwhiles. So what are you wait...more

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Oct 25, 2007 Justinthunderliger rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All of the voices in your head

Basically a catch-all of the stuff that was in the original JTHM books but didn't get put into that awesome trade. SQUEE, you'll remember is the doe-eyed next door neighbor of Johnny. His parents really wish there was a 105 month abortion, and they pretty much let him know it constantly. Everyone at school hates him, teachers included, except for his best friend (whether he likes it or not) Pepito, who also happens to be the son of the Devil. Hi-jinx abound, including the "dooky blood" that had...more

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Aug 13, 2010 Robert Marsh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Man I love this book! Squee, humanity's only hope. Constantly frightened out of his mind and being forced to fight off the forces of darkness alone.

Thanks to the reviews here, I discovered Vasquez created a close cousin to Squee in animation: Invader Zim. How did I miss this? Time to catch up with the rest of the world and watch me some Zim.

Then reread Squee!

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May 30, 2011 Gwen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-and-picture-books

Jhonen Vasquez and Anne Rice go hand-in-hand in my mind. Neither is bad, but both a bit over rated. This book is especially overrated. Squee is only in half the book and his stories aren't all that great. Where the book shines are the random stories at the end. Honestly I would have rather had a book filled with random Jhonen stories and that would have been great.

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Mar 23, 2011 Keith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Holy crap, did you know that most people on Goodreads think that Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is a better book than this one? A cooler book, sure, I'll grant you that -- but a better one?

That's impossible, nerds. Jhonen Vasquez wrote JTHM to get good enough to write Squee! This book is gold.

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Sep 17, 2011 Sally Berrow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comedy, goth, graphic-novel, horror

Well, it's certainly no Johnny The Homicidal Maniac but still very entertaining. The thoughts "POOR SQUEE!" went through my head numerous times whilst I laughed aloud uncontrollably.

I wasn't so sold on the compilation of non-Johnny comics in the second half of this book; it was all a bit too much craziness at once.

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Aug 15, 2011 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars

While in my heart im a nny fan squee is a very cute character. Poor little guys parents hate him, his neighbor is a crazy killer :), and one of his classmates is the son of satan. You never know whats going to happen next. The only complaint i had was it needed more nny but im sure squee didnt mind lol.

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Feb 11, 2012 g-na rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-faves

Sick and twisted and brilliant. I hadn't heard of the Squee comics before I got this book, but they're just as good as Johnny. Interested in loving families and happy stories about little boys? Well, you won't find them here! These are dark comics by and for notagoths. Recommended.

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Jun 05, 2011 Muffin Panic rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jhonen has a natural ability to make me laugh like a maniac.
I hope never to read this in a hospital or outside a psychiatrist's office.

So I have one advice, read it in safe places where you know there is no one with enough authority to put you in an asylum.

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May 20, 2012 Sarah Cormier rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

I want to adopt this poor little kid whose parents hate him. Hes so damned cute and I love his little bear. The extra comics are also amazing (nothing like the super hero stereotypes trying to beat some bad guys).

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May 21, 2011 Shayla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Hilarious and less dark then it's twisted counterpart, Johnny the homicidal maniac, the artwork is fantastic, less sketch and more clean lines. Squee's friend, the son of the anti-Christ, has some of the best lines.

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Apr 03, 2013 Hà Linh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dark and twisted and sick with insane humor. The first half of Squee is super cool. The second half is literally nonsensical batshit but I love it as I always personally have a thing for nonsense (hah)

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Jan 17, 2009 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

i don't remember even why i bought this book but i think it was because i was desperate and barnes and noble sucks so there wasn't a lot of graphic novels to choose from.

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Nov 21, 2011 Daniel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

I have to admit that Squee is not nearly as good as Johnny the Homicidal maniac, but this is never the less an edition worth having for all Vasquez's fans, especially for it's brilliant inclusion of all Meanwhiles, Wobbly-headed-Bob stories, and side comics spawned from Jhonen's mostly brilliant (sometimes just gooey) mind.

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Jan 26, 2013 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

A lot of this I really liked but some of it I skipped. The printing was way too small and hard to read. Maybe I'm just old.

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May 22, 2013 Lorene Evans rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked it much better than JTHM; the other was much too pretentious. I thought Squee was frightfully adorable.

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Mar 07, 2012 06MirandaH added it

The puppy! D: ( you know the one I'm talking about. with the ball? and the bike and car? yeah that puppy.)

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May 14, 2010 Kuro rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a cute side spin of one of the characters in the JTHM World.
Fun.
Warm
Dark
and
Charming

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Oct 03, 2012 Collin Huster rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books

Many parts that are worthy of high praise. Specifically a tickle me Elmo (Hellmo) replaying the scene from reservoir dogs where Mr. Blue cuts off the cops ear. Simply hilarious.

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Sep 10, 2009 Pablo rated it 4 of 5 stars

this was a fun collection of comics in high school, it's too bad someone stole it from me!!!!

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Jan 13, 2009 Zombaby Cera rated it 4 of 5 stars

These comics gave me weird dreams and eye-stigmata. Highly entertaining!

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Oct 26, 2010 Kyle Dockery rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not quite as good as JTHM, but anything Mr. Vasquez puts out is amazing.

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Dec 12, 2009 Morgan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Morgan by: Jolson

Shelves: graphic-novels

Favorite part of this whole book was the Hieronymus Bosch reference in Hell.

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Nov 23, 2008 Buddy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another great J Vasquez book that I think everyone should read.

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May 20, 2011 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I often find myself feeling terrible for this little boy, but a good read for what it is.

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