The Daniel Clowes Reader: Ghost World, Nine Short Stories & Critical Materia

This anthology collects immaculately reprinted versions of Clowes's comics (including, notably, a full reprint of "Ghost World, his most famous work). But more importantly, it organizes many illuminating reviews, interviews, and analyses that add dimension to Daniel Clowes's incredible body of work. The editor has also meticulously compiled lists of Clowes's pop culture references (of which there are many!) and points out details that even eagle-eyed readers could miss. As a huge fan of Clowes, this book is one of the most comprehensive resources that explores his work, influences, and methods. Highly recommended--I absolutely blew through it.

This book was one of the better purchases I've made this year. If you're interested in a deep-dive into Clowes' work, this book is for you. I can't imagine a more thoughtful, detailed, or in-depth analysis of Clowes' work. Parielle clearly knows his stuff. There is no way you will walk away from this read without having found some insight.

The best.

The world of comics is experiencing a creative renaissance, with sophisticated storylines and innovative visual design emerging in mainstream titles. Many of these trends can be traced back to comic creators such as Daniel Clowes. This is a good time to be a comic book scholar. Just as film theorists once developed aesthetic terminology for analyzing cinema, comic book researchers are fleshing out theoretical frameworks and interpretive tools that can be used to unlock the secrets of the comic book medium.In the 1950s and 1960s, a film theorist named Robin Wood did much to make the world of film criticism accessible to a wider audience. He wrote mainly about Alfred Hitchcock, but his essays were really about the power of film. In the world of comics, Ken Parille plays a similar role. He writes about Clowes in order to explain the power of comics. In my opinion, Ken Parille is the most exciting comic book scholar of our time. Anyone who doubts this claim should seek out Parille's analysis of Casper The Friendly Ghost on the site for COMICS JOURNAL.Some readers might be suspicious of a book described as "comic book scholarship." It is true that many academic treatises on comic books are impenetrable and unpleasant. It's almost as if the authors are trying to make up for the fact that comic books are perceived as a juvenile medium by packing the pages with as many ten dollar words as possible. This is not the case in THE DANIEL CLOWES READER. Parille expresses his ideas in clear, accessible language. He has much to say, and he wants to be understood. This is why he includes extensive annotations and a glossary of comic book terminology.Several reviewers have given this book low ratings because they view it as a cynical attempt to grab cash. "Yet again, Clowes is reprinted and repackaged in an attempt to bilk readers and defraud them of their hard earned capital," says one reviewer. But this criticism entirely misses the point. This is not simply a collection of Clowes' stories. The book dissects these stories, with pages of annotations, using Daniel Clowes to explain the power of the comic book medium. It also includes critical essays from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Please ignore the haters.If you are trying to build out a Daniel Clowes collection, this book is probably not for you. Instead, you should try to track down the larger, oversized collections (including the forthcoming COMPLETE EIGHTBALL). If you are even remotely interested in comic book criticism, I think you will enjoy this book.

Fantagraphics is out of control. Yet AGAIN Clowes is reprinted and repackaged in an attempt to bilk readers and defraud them of their hard-earned capital. RIP Kim Thompson.