Fantagraphics, $2.95
Short Review: Strange. Disconnected. Compulsive.
Well, Daniel Clowes, unlike Peter Bagge, hasn't lost a speck of the fire that started him off. He's just redirected it, away from the obviously grotesque of figure, into set-pieces of mannerisms and social deformities, the fringe elements of society. The first half of the book is the story of a caricaturist, and his brief relationship with a girl with no sense of consequences. Self-loathing and unease flow off the pages, the art for which is done in his usual slight caricature manner, still one of the most unsettling effects I've ever seen
The second story is about three Gen-X people playing a prank on a man who places an ad in a local paper. The drawing style is realistic, and it's his mastery of expression that helps bring out the cruelty and boredom in their conversations. Evil stuff, and seemingly aimed straight at the main section of Fantagraphics audience. Excellent.
Andrew These reviews are copyright the authors