A tribute zine for the Johnny the Homicidal Maniac franchise to celebrate 30 years of painting walls with blood and infecting the world with head explody!!
THEME:
Consider this a love letter to NNY and all of his horrible cast mates; take what JTHM means to you in its most pure form and run with it! Think blood, knives, dark humor, and of course, little fuckass creatures that mimic your voice to steal your brain.
RULES:
• All participants must be at least 18 years old (due to content rating, legal thingies, etc.)
• ONLY characters from JTHM/SQUEE!/IFS (the more the merrier!)
• Original drawn and written works only
↳ Artwork: must be 2007x3072px canvas size (1960x3000px after bleed is cut), preferably CMYK to best color match for printing.
(Here is a template!)
↳ Written works: No more than 2-pages in length, approx 1000 words. If you'd like to use "2 entries" to double up on words for one fic (4-pages, 2000 words), that is fine too! :]
• Absolutely NO GENERATIVE AI USE!
• No definitively ship-related content (to keep with the spirit of the comics!)
(EX: Portraying Devi and Johnny’s date from Issue #2 in some fashion is fine, but not them in an AU as a happy couple, etc 💔🔪)
• ⚠️CONTENT WARNING! ⚠️ For this zine, entry content can range from all-ages-friendly to comic-canon levels of violence/themes. That includes things like: explicit gore, murder, torture, suicide, drug use, and mentions of SA and CSA.
(With that in mind, for this project we are NOT accepting any entries that contain depictions of SA or CSA! Thank you 🪳)
Still interested in joining after reading all those horrible, horrible words?
We ask that all entries be sent to our email, in hopes that they aren't compressed to Hell through other means like tumblr messenger or Discord links.
Feel free to message any questions you may have here @jthmzine!
(Or you can harass the mod @devnny 🖤🔪)
QUESTIONS?
Can I submit a drawing/fic that I did before this zine was announced?
YES! If you’ve got a work you’re proud of that fits the sizing scale, I don’t see why not! New works are greatly appreciated, but since we’re late on the 30th anniversary anyway, some artists may already have artwork they’d like to showcase instead :]
What kind of artwork is allowed?
ALL KINDS! Please, don’t think of this as a very big, professional project, it is a labor of love (or madness). From fully rendered pieces, to black and white line work, to silly comics, to a page full of sketchy doodles, we want it all!
How many entries per person?
We are not expecting a ton of entrants, so we think a max of 2 entries would be fine! There is a lot of potential content, and if you’re feeling particularly inspired, maybe you want to do a 2nd entry for a different comic/character (EX: JTHM vs IFS), or you could do a 2-page comic, or double up on words for a written work! We are very flexible.
Is this for profit?
NO, not at all! The zine will be available for purchase, but priced as necessary to pay for production costs (which is estimated to be somewhere between $5-10 +shipping)
Will there be extra goodies in the physical copy?
That is up in the air, but we would definitely love to include some neat things like stickers or prints! If any artists want to volunteer extra time/work, it would be possible :)
What is the timeframe?
We will be accepting entries all summer, from June 1 to August 31, 2026. Digital release should easily be expected in September of 2026, and if we have the funds, printing could start in September as well, but potentially not until November 2026. We will keep you posted!
**JUNE UPDATE
Can I post my entry outside of the zine?
Absolutely! You can post it as soon as you finish, or post only a preview, or never post it at all. And that goes for anywhere online, not just tumblr. It’s your art, do as you like!
Do I need to use a specific tag or something?
We are using the tag "jthm 30th zine", but if it's in the main tag "jthm", the rabid mod is sure to find it. You are also welcome to tag @jthmzine in your posts to make sure it shows up in our activity feed <3
If you are outside of tumblr, please email the file/link to your entry if you would like it posted to the blog! :)
Is it okay to promote the zine outside of tumblr?
DEFINITELY! A few lovely participants already have (twitter, reddit), but we are happy to try and reach all JTHM fans across the internet. The only thing is that the zine mod is by all accounts tumblr exclusive, so participants from other platforms will need to reach out by email. (Or make a wretched tumblr blog… their choice.)
This 5x7 red foil print was designed by the extremely talented @yomoi for the zine goodie bundle! 🥰 The video does not do it justice, it is SO shiny!! ✨️
Thank you once more for collaborating with us for this print yomoi! 👻
My first of two submissions for @jthmzine !!! I’m so happy to be a part of this project!
JTHM means so much to me, I literally have the logo tattooed on me, it was the comic that made me realize I wanted to write comics. I feel so honored to get to be a part of this celebration of my favorite comic.
EVERYONE GET HYPED THIS ZINE IS GONNA BE SO COOL!!!!
The wip I'm working on for my next submission for @/jthmzine
As I keep working on it (very slowly) I'm always changing my ideas on the outfits and the poses, if I wanna make it 'bland' or have different effects. What's the theme ect ect
I'm to creative for my own good...
It would be more progressed if I actually could draw and not be in a depressive episode (mental illness goes brrrr)
i'm almost done w my 2nd semester meaning i can FINALLY START WORKING ON MY ENTRY YAYYYYY here's a wip to hold myself accountable feel free to yell at me to finish this i promise it works
(@jthmzine obligatory tag so it doesn't go unseen)
My first contribution to the @jthmzine lovely project. "Prelude No. 1" is just a little glimpse into the life of an average normal guy looking for a bit of meaning just before he became someone's bestest friend in the room.
Why are ships found adrift in the ocean, completely empty? What do aliens do with the deformed Chihuahuas they abduct? Where do all the people who disappear in the city go? Why does no one ever talk about it?
Mysteries that may never have an answer but that make life a little more interesting; flooding our consciousness with small, magical theories and pseudo-rational explanations.
He liked to think about it. Although he didn't tell anyone. He spent routine afternoons cooking in the cramped kitchen of his tiny apartment, ruminating on any issue that seemed impossible to resolve.
"Where do all the people who disappear in the city go?"
That morning, Edgar Vargas left his house around 8 a.m., as usual. With the taste of burnt coffee mixed with toothpaste in his mouth, he hurried along the gloomy gray concrete streets to catch the subway. On the way, he bumped heavily into a street performer dressed as a robot, and received what (he assumed) were elaborate insults in the form of various screeching sounds and raucous whistles.
God, how he hated street performers.
Once on the subway, Edgar rested his temple against the window and let his imagination run wild. Perhaps people disappeared because of some government conspiracy. Perhaps they were recruited by secret agencies to infiltrate other countries as civilians. Perhaps they were kidnapped in a ploy to steal their memories and create exact copies of those who were taken, undetectable to their family and friends.
“That keeps me safe,” Edgar thought to himself. “I have no one who could recognize me. It wouldn’t do them any good to make an exact copy of me.”
Without family or friends, the man led a solitary life, framed by a rigid and unchanging routine; making the same decisions every day that, like bricks, built the walls of his small personal prison. The same place to eat. The same dish every day. The same isolated desk in the corner of the office.
There is safety in the sameness. There is refuge in monotony.
No one can hurt you if you're alone.
Perhaps his life had not been crowned with any exemplary tragedy, up to that moment, but Edgar could not boast that he had made the best decisions either, although at the end of the day, and of his almost thirty years, he did not regret much.
Maybe if he'd dared to ask that girl from college out, he'd be living with her now. If he'd chosen creative writing instead of accounting, perhaps he wouldn't be spending endless hours reviewing spreadsheets and signing documents. If only he'd asked that guy at the bar for his phone number, perhaps he wouldn't have to eat dinner alone tonight.
Although, those are just theories. Part of the many mysteries that may never be answered, and it's not as interesting to think about them as it is to wonder where all the people who disappear end up.
There was something, however, that Edgar perhaps did regret.
If he could change anything right now, he would choose not to be so utterly dispensable. To have made at least a small difference in the world. Everyone leaves a mark; until now, he hadn't done anything. He didn't even dare to read the Gospels in church. Perhaps if he had time before the government or the aliens abducted him, he could choose to do something different.
One choice. That was all it took.
And as if by divine revelation, it happened on the way home.
The sun was beginning to set on the horizon and painted the city sky an orange that faded to pink; even the smog clouds gave it a certain magical tinge. The dirty, polluted water of the river under the bridge that Edgar crossed every day reflected the sun's rays with iridescence.
Edgar stopped halfway across the bridge, and out of the corner of his eye, saw something moving near the bank. It was a small bird, tangled in a thread of fishing line.
Edgar understood the message.
Life was giving him the opportunity to make a difference, at least once.
He picked up the small bird and very carefully removed the fishing line from its body. The little bird trembled in his hand, but didn't seem to be hurt. Edgar stroked its head and gently opened his hands. The bird hesitated for a couple of seconds, but when it realized it was free, it flew away as fast as it could.
One single decision. That was all it took to make a difference in his gray and monotonous life.
Inspired, Edgar turned around. Instead of continuing on to the subway, he headed towards the most alternative café that he could find nearby. Today he would do something different; today he would go somewhere new.
He walked optimistically to the rhythm of a sound behind him– a metallic pair of boots, scraping and thudding against the concrete.
Today he would go somewhere new.
…
The sadists, the ironists, and all those who rejoice in the misfortune of others will say he deserved it. That he should have stayed inside his little brick prison: safe behind each of his predictable and habitual choices. That this is what happens to people who think they can make a difference in this place.
However, elsewhere in the city, there's a little bird making a nest. And perhaps it wouldn't be there if it weren't for the man who now hangs from a hideous machine in Johnny C.'s hellish basement.
