Spotlight On: Daniel Clowes

Daniel Clowes is by far my favorite comic writer and artist. I have loved everything he has written and look forward to everything he will do in the future. Here are my favorite works of his in order of how much I love them.

8. Pussey!

This book takes a look behind the scenes at the comics industry. It takes jabs at superhero artists and is really really funny.

7. 20th Century Eightball

This book is a compilation of a bunch of different stuff from Clowes' Eightball comics (of which I only have 4 or 5). This is definitely not for sensitive people and I would definitely not show this to my little sisters. Some of the comics are downright creepy and strange, but most of them are really funny. I love the Feldman ones, Ugly Girls, and My Suicide, but my all time favorites are I Hate You Deeply and I Love You Tenderly. In those he talks about the types of people that he hates and loves, and they really make me laugh.

6. Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron

Like A Velvet Glove Cast in Iron is definitely Daniel Clowes' strangest comic. Overall the book is pretty unsettling, especially with the disfigured character named Tina, but it is still a really good read and is something that I would definitely recommend.

5. Caricature

Like 20th Century Eightball, Caricature is a compilation of short comic stories from Eightball. Instead of being a bunch of little ones though, it is nine longer ones. All of the stories are really good, but my favorite is the first story. It is called Caricature and it's about a caricature artist who makes friends with a strange girl that he meets at a fair.

4. Ice Haven

Ice Haven is probably the one that I have read the most because its a pretty small book thats easy to carry everywhere. The book has a bunch of different stories that are all connected by the kidnapping of a young boy. There are a lot of great characters in here, but my favorites are probably Vida and Random Wilder.

3. Wilson

I was so excited for Wilson to come out. It seemed like it had been forever since I read something new from Clowes, so I was really happy when I read that he had a new book coming out. I thought it was strange that it was being published by Drawn + Quarterly and not Fantagraphics, but whatever...Anyways, the book did not disappoint. It's funny and smart and keeps getting better everytime I read it.

2. David Boring

I really love this book. All of the characters are really cool, it has a really interesting plot, and is one of the best things that I have ever read. Like I said, the whole book is really great, but my favorite parts are probably when David is talking with his roommate/ best friend Dot.

1. Ghost World

This is probably the totally obvious choice for my number one, but it is not only my favorite Daniel Clowes book, it is my favorite book. This book is just really clever and humourous, and I really love the characters of Enid and Rebecca. I mean, after living in Seattle for less than a week, I took my first city bus ride ever to Fantagraphics bookstore, so that I could get my Ghost World: Special Edition signed by Daniel Clowes himself. Not only is it my favorite book, but it also led to one of my favorite movies, which got Clowes an Oscar Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.  

Other Stuff:

I really like the poster he did for the movie Happiness (a.k.a. the creepiest movie I have ever seen.

His artwork is also in a Ramones video...