You almost don't like him, but then by the end of the story. Cullen says he's especially moved by the hapless Wilson. Museum docent Jeff Cullen says that at first, he didn't really know what to make of it, but since seeing Clowes' work, he's buying comics again for the first time since childhood.

Clowes cites the work of underground superstar Robert Crumb as one of his inspirations - and now he, Crumb, and other artists published by Fantagraphics are inspiring a new generation.Īnd an exhibition like this one has the power to change minds. There are still some dumb comics around, but for the most part, the world has changed. There were just years and years and years of really dumb comics.' 'They would just say, 'Well, comics are basically inherently stupid.' The preponderance of the evidence was such that that was possibly true. He talks to people in public places in a desperate attempt to make some kind of human connection. And Wilson, who stars in Clowes' most recent work, is an unemployed, divorced, grumpy loner. Then there's The Death-Ray, a super hero spoof about a guy named Andy who gets special powers every time he puffs on a cigarette. David Boring is on a quest for the perfect wife. Original drawings of Enid and dozens more of Clowes' eccentric characters adorn the gallery walls. 'She'd be like, 'This book is, like, so horrible.' You know, my characters are like the worst customers I could imagine.' 'Enid, if she knew about Ghost World, she would just hate it,' Clowes says.

She doesn't like to play by the rules, she doesn't want to get a job, she doesn't want to go to college and she speaks her mind. His work skewered everything, from televangelists to fashionistas.Įnid Coleslaw, the reluctant heroine of Ghost World, is classic Clowes. In 1989, he created the comic book series Eightball, which he billed as 'An Orgy of Spite, Vengeance, Hopelessness, Despair, and Sexual Perversion.' His main characters were unmotivated and cranky. Clowes rose to the occasion - or some might say sunk.

David Boring by Daniel Clowes