Synopses & Reviews
Prison Pitis an original graphic novel from the pen of Johnny Ryan, best known for his humor comic Angry Youth Comix. Prison Pitrepresents a marked departure from AYCor his Blecky Yuckerella weekly comic strip, combining his love for WWE wrestling, Gary Panter"s 'Jimbo' comics, and Kentaro Miura"s 'Berserk' manga into a brutal showcase of violence, survival and revenge. Imagine a blend of old-fashioned role playing fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons crossed with contemporary adult video games like Grand Theft Auto, filtered through Ryan"s sense of humor.
The book begins with C.F. (his full-name would be too horrifying to reveal here) being thrown into the Prison Pit, a barren negative-zone populated by intergalactic, violent monster criminals. In this first volume, C.F. gets into a bloody slorge war (a slorgeis a giant slug that excretes a steroid-like drug called 'fecid' that all the monster men are addicted to) with ultraprisoner Rottweiler Herpes and his henchmen Rabies Bloodbath and Assrat. The ensuing bloodbath is an over-the-top, hyperviolent yet hilarious farce worthy of Ryan"s inspiration, Kentaro Miura.
Review
"[] is great and an essential read since so few new good comics get made. ... If you love or hate Johnny R. you gotta get this...It is important. Buy buy buy." Lincoln Michel The Faster Times
Review
"The Good: reminded me a lot of Gwar, professional wrestling and the comic strips my friends and I used to draw in junior high. ... It was gross as hell and filled with blood and gore and just straight-up repulsive juvenile humor. It was a lot of fun. The Bad: It's probably too awesome for a lot of people to handle. ... The Bottom Line: Dude, it's great. Just shut up and buy it. ...I'm giving an A and as soon as I'm done writing this review, I'm going to sit down and re-read it." Nick Gazin Vice
Review
"... is nothing less than a continuous, no-holds barred, violent assault on the eyes. It is literally one god damned, bloody fight scene after another... The book's genius lies in Ryan's sheer nerve and imagination in setting up these battles; he constantly ups the ante in the most bizarre and inventive ways possible. ... Ryan's love of body functions goes into full gonzo mode here. ...you've got a book where body horror extends far beyond the repulsive into the truly sublime and inspired. ... Despite the gore, or perhaps, because of it, is a fantastic, accomplished work." Joe McCulloch Jog - The Blog
Review
"Johnny Ryan's is something I keep coming back to -- and not just because it's the only comic book I've ever seen that can actively liven up a party. It's a hilarious, visceral and quick read... for really dumb fun, this is pretty much unbeatable." Mark Hale The Bureau Chiefs
Review
"For splatter-movie fans and anyone trying to grok the splatter-movie ethos, not to be missed." Ray Olson
Review
"Aggro, obscene, hilarious, compulsive: . It wasn't just the greatest comic of the year, it was one of those comics that operated like the end result of a math equation, a definitive answer to the question of what comics are, and what they should be." Richard Cowdry The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log
Review
"Next to Jughead, Johnny's about the best thing going on in comic books these days, so don't be a chump and wait until they make some perverted documentary about him and he's some hipster darling! ACT NOW!" Brian Heater The Daily Cross-Hatch
Review
"Johnny Ryan draws the bad pictures. Unapologetically and lots of 'em and I hope to god he never stops. ...Prison Pit... kinda' sorta' kicks serious ass. ... The story definitely puts the GORE in phantasmagorical... you can smell it from miles away." Chad Derdowski Mania
Review
"Book of '09... If the point of comics is f---ed up s--- happening, this is the best f---ing comic ever made." Noah Berlatsky The Comics Journal
Review
"Next to this felt to me like the western comic that's got closest to properly understanding the energy of manga, rather than simply aping the surface elements. ... It's the best art I've seen Ryan do in his career." Richard Cowdry The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log
Review
"This is the best comic Johnny Ryan has ever drawn. And I'm the guy that ranked the last in his Best of 2008....You've gotta see it to believe it. That final scene might as well last forever and end the story for good--it works perfectly--though the title says there's sequels. I hope there's a dozen." Tom Spurgeon The Comics Reporter
Review
"Refreshingly devoid of any literary or artistic pretensions, this first of what I hope will be many, many volumes nevertheless comes across as somehow one of the smartest and well crafted books of the year. No, really." Sean Witzke supervillain
Review
"[An] over-the-top, ultra-violent, gross-out juvenile, yet fun and hilarious book... The dialogue that does exist retains his comic sense of disjunction and fights are as demented as you'd expect. This is not a jokey book, but his humor is retained in subtle ways--if you can envision subtle Johnny Ryan humor. ... This is just a balls-out, funny, sicko, good time. My only complaint with is how quickly the story ends, but hopefully the subtitle () is a promise and not a joke." retroCRUSH
Review
"Unlike anything Ryan's done thematically... is a non-stop action comic. It's pretty successful in that regard, with imaginative character designs and some surprising battles... And although the genre is different, Ryan can't seem to deviate from a fascinating mix of sex and violence and bodily fluids." Chad Derdowski Mania
Review
"Amazingly, I was sucked in by the whole enterprise, laughing and groaning and shaking my head. ... These are ugly characters in a gross situation, and treats them with all the indulgence and nastiness needed." Brian Smith Awesome Engine
Review
"[T]he single-minded commitment to vileness is so perversely pure that it goes right past lowest-common-denominator entertainment and on into snooty, fancy-pants art. ... Ryan's world is essentially , from the bleak landscape to the slapstick violence." Jared Gniewek Graphic NYC
Review
"I wish to add my voice to the chorus of those who really, really like Johnny Ryan's left-hand turn into violent fantasy... [E]very scene in seemed to flow naturally from the previous one right up to the brutally funny, icky and appropriate ending. I hope there are ten more." Kevin Scully Comicsphere
Review
"While does, in fact, have a definable story throughout, it's one that feels as though it were crafted in the margins of a spiral-bound notebooks stowed safely away in some backpack littered with the Sharpie penned names of metal bands. And though Ryan didn't go so far as to in append a listening soundtrack to the back of this volume, one can almost certainly be assured that it contains its share of Cannibal Corpse and Slayer tracks." Kevin Scully Comicsphere
Review
"Johnny Ryan takes ideas and styles that have been knocking around the art comics scene for the last few years, and injects them with gallons of fun, attitude and humour. My favourite new comic of the year!" Patrick Markfort Articulate Nerd
Review
" is insane; it is a title that simply shouldn't exist outside of a teenager's head. But it does, and it's brilliant. A forgotten level of comedic violence, an absence of exposition and dialogue that all reduces down into a paste of pure barbaric fun." Booklist
Review
"Book of ‘09... If the point of comics is f---ed up s--- happening, this is the best f---ing comic ever made." Noah Berlatsky The Comics Journal
Synopsis
A full-on fantasy adventure from Johnny Ryan, inspired by Manga and videogame culture.
Synopsis
Imagine a blend of old-fashioned role-playing fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons crossed with contemporary adult videogames like Grand Theft Auto, filtered through Ryan's sense of humor.
Ryan, best known for his humor comic, Angry Youth Comix, and his weekly strip, Blecky Yuckerella, combines his love for WWE wrestling and Kentaro Miura's Berserk manga into a brutal showcase of violence, survival and revenge.
The book begins with C.F. (his full name would be too horrifying to reveal here) being thrown into the Prison Pit, a barren negative-zone populated by intergalactic, violent monster criminals. In this first volume, C.F. gets into a bloody slorge war with ultraprisoner Rottweiler Herpes and his henchmen Rabies Bloodbath and Assrat. The ensuing bloodbath is an over-the-top, hyperviolent yet hilarious farce worthy of Ryan's inspiration, Kentaro Miura.
Synopsis
is an original graphic novel from the pen of Johnny Ryan, best known for his humor comic . represents a marked departure from or his Blecky Yuckerella weekly comic strip, combining his love for WWE wrestling, Gary Panter's "Jimbo" comics, and Kentaro Miura's "Berserk" manga into a brutal showcase of violence, survival and revenge. Imagine a blend of old-fashioned role playing fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons crossed with contemporary adult video games like , filtered through Ryan's sense of humor. The book begins with C.F. (his full-name would be too horrifying to reveal here) being thrown into the Prison Pit, a barren negative-zone populated by intergalactic, violent monster criminals. In this first volume, C.F. gets into a bloody slorge war (a is a giant slug that excretes a steroid-like drug called "fecid" that all the monster men are addicted to) with ultraprisoner Rottweiler Herpes and his henchmen Rabies Bloodbath and Assrat. The ensuing bloodbath is an over-the-top, hyperviolent yet hilarious farce worthy of Ryan's inspiration, Kentaro Miura.
About the Author
Johnny Ryan lives in Los Angeles, CA, with his wife and his daughter, where he creates the ongoing Angry Youth Comix series. His books include The Comic Book Holocaust, Johnny Ryan’s XXX Scumbag Party, The Klassic Komics Klub, What’re You Lookin’ At?!, Portajohnny, two books (so far) in the Prison Pit series, and four books (Blecky Yuckerella, Back in Bleck, Comics Are for Idiots, "Fuc- --u, -ss --le") in the Blecky Yuckerella series.