GHOST-WORLD CREATOR DAN CLOWES RELEASES ANOTHER CLASSIC COMIC!

 

Ever wonder what you'd do if you had super-powers?  In the long awaited latest issue of Eightball from Fantagraphics, Daniel Clowes explores the dark side of that fantasy.  Namely a guy who is blessed with insane abilities, that squanders them on selfish behavior that borders on criminal.

Clowes is widely known as creating the critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated GHOST WORLD, but he's thankfully returned to his comic book roots to show off his goods.  The oversized 23rd issue of this comic is impressive, to say the least.  The $7.00 cover price might seem a bit stiff, but the card stock cover and high quality pages throughout make it easy to justify. 

The story starts out with shlub named Andy that's walking his dog, and is confronted by some asshole on the street that starts to cause trouble. Then you flash back to his youth, where you learn that in high school, he discovers that by smoking cigarettes, it unleashes a super Hulk-like strength that lets him deal with the bullies in an incredible fashion. A mysterious plastic ray gun also gives him the ability to make anyone disappear when he fires it at them, without a trace.

A disturbing friend of his, Louie, decides to take advantage of Andy and leeches on to him to exploit his powers. Even trying to stage fights with bums and other seedy individuals to give Andy a chance to test out his powers. It's a great setup with some fantastic and disturbing results. And the storytelling style using letters to his girlfriend, interviews with people that know the lead character, and non gimmicky flashbacks works great.

It's a great look at wasted potential.

If you're already familiar with Clowes' work, and loved "Like a Velvet Glove Cast In Iron", you're gonna dig this return to fantastic weirdness that Clowes has ignored for quite a while in favor of the quirky human dramas he's been focusing on in recent years.  And if you just haven't tried out a comic book in a while, and want an intelligent treat, give it a look.

A press release I got from Fantagraphics says that he's reteaming with his Ghost World collaborator (and Bad Santa director) Terry Zwigoff to make "Art School Confidential", that just started filming 2 days ago. The film also stars John Malkovich, among others.

You can get the latest EIGHTBALL, as well as other fine Fantagraphics books by Dan Clowes if you CLICK HERE.