John F. Ryan IV (born November 30, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts)"The Real Johnny Ryan"
, Johnny Ryan official website. Accessed August 12, 2010. is an American

alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

creator, writer, and animator. He created ''

Angry Youth Comix ''Angry Youth Comix'' is an adult humor comic-book written and drawn by Johnny Ryan. It generally features the characters Loady McGee and Sinus O'Gynus, as well as Blecky Yuckerella, Boobs Pooter, and Sherlock McRape. The comic, like most of Ryan' ...

'', a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

published by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

, and "Blecky Yuckerella", a

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

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 l ...

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''. Contributors and staff Editor-in-chief: Wm. Steven ...

'' 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 July 16 ...

'', a TV show made jointly with

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

that

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

picked up. He was the story editor for ''

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

''. 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

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

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, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. Ryan lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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 ''Hate'' and ''Neat Stuff''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced ...

, creator of ''

Hate Hatred 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. Hatred is s ...

'' 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 ''Nickelodeon 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 ma ...

''. Cooper and Ryan also collaborated on a "

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

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 Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

" story for the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

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, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' 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. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'', ''

National Geographic Kids ''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by the National Geographic Society. Its first issue was printed in September 1975 under the original title ''National Geographic World'' (whic ...

'', ''

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

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

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

, and

Fox TV The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

. 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 and ...

. It has since been nominated for multiple

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

and

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

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)

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

'' (writer) *''

Funny Pages A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often 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 ter ...

'' (Art department)

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 re ...

'' #279 (Nov. 2006)

External links

Review of ''Prison Pit Book One''
at

The Faster Times ''The Faster Times'' was an online newspaper launched by Sam Apple on July 9, 2009. Many print newspapers were going out of business and reporters were losing their jobs. ''The New York Times'' reported that in this climate, Apple was able to recr ...

* {{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 shows