Synopses & Reviews
A central figure in the emergence of the graphic novel, Daniel Clowes has set the standard for literary cartooning. The Daniel Clowes Reader, a landmark critical compilation, introduces new readers to the cartoonist's award-winning comics and provides those familiar with Clowes new ways of appreciating his visual and literary achievement. The Reader organizes ten Clowes narratives into three thematic sections and supplies each story with an introduction and annotations that will open up its complexities. The collection also includes more than a dozen highly accessible critical essays that examine, from several perspectives, Clowes's comics and place his body of work within numerous biographical, artistic, and cultural contexts, such the 1980s and '90s indie DIY movement, Generation X philosophy, and the traditions of superhero, humor, and alternative comics. Few, if any, cartoonists have Clowes's range: the collection includes a graphic novel, slice-of-life short stories, comic rants, cultural criticism, a superhero tale, and several newspaper-style comic strips about artists and their audiences. It includes Ghost World, Clowes's breakthrough graphic novel about female friendship; "Blue Italian Shit" and "Like a Weed, Joe," short stories about male coming-of-age; and never-before-reprinted pieces like "Justin M. Damiano" and the influential prose manifesto "Modern Cartoonist," both of which explore Clowes's interest in the history of cartooning and art criticism. Rounding out the volume are interviews in which Clowes talks at length about his life, career, creative process, and the collection's stories.
Synopsis
Believer writer Ken Parille performs "close reading" on 10 of Daniel Clowes' comics/graphic novels, including his seminal Ghost World, in this prose book of comics criticism.
Synopsis
This landmark collection features ten of Daniel Clowes's most influential graphic narratives, along with interviews in which he talks about his career and creative process, and twelve thought-provoking essays by contemporary scholars and critics.
Synopsis
A wide-ranging introduction to the work of one of the most important living cartoonists, The Daniel Clowes Reader features Ghost World, Clowes's celebrated graphic novel about the complex friendship of two teenage girls. It also includes stories -- some reprinted for the first time -- about boys coming of age, troubled superheroes, and the place of artists and critics in popular culture. The volume's dozen critical essays illuminate Clowes's comics by locating them within biographical, artistic, and socio-historical contexts, including the Indie and DIY movements, Generation X philosophy, and the history of American cartooning. Selections by artists who influenced Clowes and a detailed chronology of his work round out the collection,and extensive annotations shed light on the cartoonist's sources and cultural references. Perfect for the college literature/graphic narrative classroom.
About the Author
Daniel Clowes is a celebrated graphic novelist, Academy-Award nominated screenwriter, and frequent cover artist for the New Yorker. He lives in Oakland, CA. He is a multi-Harvey, Eisner, and Ignatz Award winner, and his papers were recently acquired by the University of Chicago library.