Ghost World

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been aware of Ghost World since it was serialized in Eightball but never quite got around to reading it. Since I've been a comic book fan off and on my entire life, I figured I'd give it a shot.

The art is fantastic. My only previous exposure to Daniel Clowes was issues of Cracked where he drew the adventures of The Uggly Family, an Addams Family parody. Anyway, I love the art. It's done in black, white, and green, giving it a very odd feel. If I had to compare Clowes' art to something, it would be Love and Rockets, as opposed to his Cracked work that had more of a Basil Wolverton vibe.

As for the story, there's isn't much of one, Enid and Rebecca go through life hating on everything and making what passes for a profound observation when one is in his or her late teens. I guess it's a coming of age tale but nobody really comes of age. It's not even really about growing apart since that doesn't really happen until the end.

Honestly, I probably missed my window of maximum enjoyment on this. When I was young, uncertain of the future, and Clerks was my favorite movie, I would have enjoyed the shit out of this the same way I enjoyed Douglas Coupland's Generation X in my early 20s. All that being said, I do think this is an accurate portrayal of what it is like being a foul-mouthed, directionless teenager.

While I think I'm a couple decades past the maxiumum enjoyment of this book, Ghost World is still a good read. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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