John F. Ryan IV (born November 30, 1970, in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

)"The Real Johnny Ryan"
, Johnny Ryan official website. Accessed August 12, 2010. is an American

alternative comics Alternative comics or independent comics cover a range of American comic book, American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alterna ...

creator, writer, and animator. He created '' Angry Youth Comix'', a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

, and "Blecky Yuckerella", a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

which originated in the

alternative newspaper An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

the ''

Portland Mercury ''Portland Mercury'' is an alternative bi-weekly newspaper and media company founded in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. It has a sibling publication in Seattle, Washington, called '' The Stranger''. History A prior version of ''The Mercury'' was ...

'' and now appears on Ryan's website. He also created ''

Pig Goat Banana Cricket ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', also abbreviated as ''PGBC'', is an American animated television series created by Dave Cooper and Johnny Ryan for Nickelodeon. The show follows the interwoven adventures of the titular quartet. It premiered on Jul ...

'', a TV show made jointly with

Dave Cooper Dave Cooper (born 1967) is a Canadian cartoonist, oil painter and animator. Biography Cooper was born in Nova Scotia in 1967 and moved to Ottawa, Ontario at the age of nine. He began his career in the 90s, making underground comics for Seattl ...

that

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

picked up. He was the story editor for ''

Looney Tunes Cartoons ''Looney Tunes Cartoons'' is an American animated television series developed by Pete Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the characters from ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies''. The series made its worldwide de ...

''. In a throwback to the days of

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, Ryan's oeuvre is generally an attempt to be as shocking and even irreverent as possible.

Personal life

Ryan grew up in Boston and studied English literature at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. Ryan lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He has one daughter.

Career

Ryan originally self-published ''Angry Youth Comix'', producing eleven

mini-comic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

issues from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he began showing his work to

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Neat Stuff'' and ''Hate (comics), Hate''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to drama ...

, creator of ''

Hate Hatred or hate is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Ha ...

'' comics, who introduced the material to Eric Reynolds of

. In 2001, Fantagraphics began publishing volume 2 of the series. Collaborating with

under the pen name "Hector Mumbly", Ryan's comics appeared in nearly every issue of ''

Nickelodeon Magazine ''Nick Magazine'' is a defunct American children's magazine inspired by the children's television network Nickelodeon. Its first incarnation appeared in 1990 and was distributed at participating Pizza Hut restaurants; the version of the magazine ...

'', including the May 2005 issue, where they created a comic called “Cupcake Of Time”, including which it featured a Pig, A Banana, a Robot and a Toliet, which was a precursor of

. Cooper and Ryan also collaborated on a "

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

vs.

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

" story for the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

anthology ''Bizarro''. Ryan collaborated with Peter Bagge in both ''Angry Youth Comix'' and Bagge's ''Hate Annual'', in addition to penciling and inking two stories for Bagge's DC series ''Sweatshop''. In 2006, Ryan guest-edited a special comics issue of ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' magazine, which included contributions from over thirty of Ryan's comics contemporaries. Ryan's illustrations have appeared in '' MAD'', ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'', ''

National Geographic Kids ''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by National Geographic Partners. In a broad sense, the publication is a version of ''National Geographic'', the publisher's flagship magazine, ...

'', ''

Hustler Magazine ''Hustler'' is an American pornographic magazine published monthly by Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). Introduced in 1974, it was a step forward from the '' Hustler Newsletter'', originally conceived by founder Larry Flynt as cheap advertising ...

'', '' The Stranger'', and elsewhere. Ryan has also done work for clients such as Nobleworks greetings cards,

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, and

Fox TV Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...

. His comics have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

Awards

''Angry Youth Comix'' was nominated for a Best Mini

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

at the 2000

Small Press Expo The Small Press Expo (SPX) is an American alternative comics convention. A registered 501(c)(3) that was created in 1994, every year since its inception, SPX has put on a festival, known as The Expo, that provides a forum for artists, writers a ...

. It has since been nominated for multiple Harvey and

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

s. "Prison Pit" won an award for "Best Lettering" at the Stumptown small press festival in Portland, OR in April 2011.

Bibliography and filmography

* ''Portajohnny: The Best of Angry Youth Comix: The Early Years'' (Fantagraphics, 2003) * ''What're You Lookin' At?: Volume I of the Collected Angry Youth Comix'' (Fantagraphics, 2004) * ''Blecky Yuckerella'' (Fantagraphics, 2005) * ''The Comic Book Holocaust'' (Buenaventura Press, 2006) * ''Johnny Ryan's XXX Scumbag Party: Volume II of the Collected Angry Youth Comix'' (Fantagraphics, 2007) * ''The Klassic Komics Klub'' (Buenaventura Press, 2007) * ''Blecky Yuckerella: Back in Bleck'' (Fantagraphics, 2007) * ''Comics Are For Idiots'' (Fantagraphics, 2009) — Blecky Yuckerella collection * ''Prison Pit: Book One'' (Fantagraphics, 2009) * ''Prison Pit: Book Two'' (Fantagraphics, 2010) * ''Prison Pit: Book Three'' (Fantagraphics, 2011) * ''Prison Pit: Book Four'' (Fantagraphics, 2012) * ''Prison Pit: Book Five'' (Fantagraphics, 2014) * ''Prison Pit: Book Six'' (Fantagraphics, 2018) * ''Prison Pit: The Complete Collection'' (Fantagraphics, 2020) * ''New Character Parade'' (Pigeon Press, 2010) * ''Blecky Yuckerella: "Fuc- --u, -ss --le"'' (Fantagraphics, 2011) * ''Take A Joke: Volume III of the Collected Angry Youth Comix'' (Fantagraphics, 2011) * ''Angry Youth Comix'' (Fantagraphics, 2015) - Complete Collection Hardcover Omnibus of all 14 issues of series. * ''A New Low'' (Fantagraphics, 2017) - Collection of cartoons featured on Vice News. * ''Porn Basket'' (Fantagraphics, 2021) - Collection of Sketchbook drawings. * ''Barely Human'' (Fantagraphics, 2022) - Collection of Instagram drawings. * ''Johnny Ryan's Wet Market #1'' (The Mansion Press, 2023) * ''Johnny Ryan's Wet Market #2'' (The Mansion Press, 2023) ISBN 978-2-492646-21-8 * ''Who raped my Horse'' (The Mansion Press, 2024) ISBN 978-2-492646-40-9

Television and filmography (partial)

*'' MAD'' (2012), episodes "I Am Lorax / Modern Family Circus" (additional designer, writer), "Potions 11 / Moves Like Jabba" (additional design) *''

'' (creator, voice actor, co-executive producer) *''

JJ Villard's Fairy Tales ''JJ Villard's Fairy Tales'' is an American adult animated horror comedy television series created by '' King Star King'' creator J. J. Villard. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim on May 11, 2020 ...

'' (2020) (writer, creative consultant) *''

'' (writer) *'' Funny Pages'' (Art department) *'' The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie'' (2024) (writer)

Notes

References

*''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...

'' #279 (Nov. 2006)

External links

* at The Faster Times * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Johnny 1970 births Living people American comics writers American animators Underground cartoonists Artists from Boston Artists from Los Angeles University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Showrunners of animated series