Like a Velvet Glove Cast In Iron

Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron by Daniel Clowes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After seeing his ex-girlfriend in a bizarre film in a seedy theater, Clay Loudermilk goes looking for her and winds up ensnared in a conspiracy and runs afoul of some strange people.

I've been a fan of Dan Clowes since he did The Uggly Family in Cracked magazine about a thousand years ago. I grabbed this during the Fantagraphics sale last November.

This is one wild toboggan ride! Bizarre, unsettling, and lots of fun. Clay Loudermilk steps into a cowpie of strangeness, meeting a fish girl, a dog with no orifices, conspiracy nuts, a cult bent on bringing about a war between the sexes, and a creator of snuff films, among other things.

Clowes' art isn't as refined as it is these days but the groundwork is there. Clowes draws attractive women, homely women with droopy boobs, a fish girl, grotesque guys, and a lot of other weird shit with great skill. Lots of bad shit befalls Clay on his journey and the ending isn't all peaches and gravy.

I don't think I've conveyed just how strange this book is but it's better experienced anyway.

Live a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron is a nonstop parade of the strange. Four out of five stars.

View all my reviews