A central figure in the emergence of the graphic novel, Daniel Clowes hasset the standard for literary cartooning. The Daniel Clowes Reader, a landmarkcritical compilation, introduces new readers to the cartoonist's award-winningcomics and provides those familiar with Clowes new ways of appreciating hisvisual and literary achievement. The Reader organizes ten Clowes narratives intothree thematic sections and supplies each story with an introduction andannotations that will open up its complexities. The collection also includesmore than a dozen highly accessible critical essays that examine, from severalperspectives, Clowes's comics and place his body of work within numerousbiographical, artistic, and cultural contexts, such the 1980s and '90s indie DIYmovement, Generation X philosophy, and the traditions of superhero, humor, andalternative comics. Few, if any, cartoonists have Clowes's range: the collectionincludes a graphic novel, slice-oflife short stories, comic rants, culturalcriticism, a superhero tale, and several newspaper style comic strips aboutartists and their audiences. It includes Ghost World, Clowes's breakthroughgraphic novel about female friendship; "Blue Italian Shit" and "Like a Weed, Joe," short stories about male coming-of-age; and never-before-reprinted pieceslike "Justin M. Damiano" and the influential prose manifesto"Modern Cartoonist"both of which explore Clowes's interest in the history of cartooning and artcriticism. Rounding out the volume are interviews in which Clowes talks atlength about his life, career, creative process, and the collection'sstories. | The Daniel Clowes Reader by Ken Parille, Paperback | Indigo Chapters