English 240 - Literature for Younger Readers
Dr. Wally Hastings - Northern State University

Daniel Clowes
1961-

Life:   
        Clowes was born in Chicago; his parents were divorced when he was about a year old.  He cycled between the two parents’ houses and his grandfather’s, a professor of medieval history.  He says his “childhood was ‘perfect if you want your child to grow up to be a cartoonist.’ He was a ‘shy, loner, bookworm kind of kid’.” (Chocano 3) He later studied art at the Pratt Institute in New York City, where his professors did not support his ambition to be a comic artist.  Unsuccessful in his initial attempts to find work in New York, he returned to Chicago.  He broke into the field with a six-issue comic series, Lloyd Llewellyn, which drew on early science fiction and detective stories. He went on to produce several other successful comics, in particular the popular 1990s series Eightball, in which Ghost World originally appeared.  He now lives in Oakland, California.
      He mentions among early influences the pop culture of the ‘50s and ‘60s – comic books, sci-fi and horror films, advertising, etc. – except that “his mutants are lonely teenagers working as waitresses at roadside diners, [and] his aliens -- sports fans, New Agers, stockbrokers, idealists -- are terrifyingly terrestrial” (Chocano 1). 

Ghost World:

      “There has always been a feeling of jittery unease underscoring Clowes' work, but in Ghost World, the sense of dread and horror emanates more from the real world than from the supernatural one. The creepy disquiet of Ghost World is nourished by television, suburbia and the soul-sucking banality of both. The serial's panels are cast in the eerie blue light of the television -- which is always on, always talking, never saying anything.” (Chocano 1)

      Clowes created Enid as an impulsive, outgoing character: "When I started out I thought of her as this id creature . . . Then I realized halfway through that she was just more vocal than I was, but she has the same kind of confusion, self-doubts and identity issues that I still have -- even though she's 18 and I'm 39!" (Chocano 2)

      “Clowes captures the way real teenagers simultaneously devour and reject the bogus images of themselves produced by the media.” (Chocano 2)

What does “Ghost World” mean?  (The existence of people and things on the periphery of “ordinary” people’s vision; the flickering images of the television set; the way in which both Enid and Becky, but especially Enid, is haunted by the past?)

Sexual curiosity and/or frustration is a strong theme throughout the book – note the frequent references to “fucking” and these specific images/scenes:

FIRST STORY “GHOST WORLD” (9-14)

      p. 9 pa. 6         Enid and Becky have been watching television – a lame comedian.  Becky asks, “If he’s such a ‘weirdo,’ how come he’s wearing Nikes?”  This established one of the book’s themes immediately – the critique of pop culture.  On the same page, Enid is reading a teen magazine (Sassy) for which she expresses her hatred – yet she obsessively returns to it, opening it at the end of the story. 

                              The girls (Enid in particular) mark themselves out as being more “aware” than the other kids around them, but at the same time show themselves doing many of the same things, having the same tastes – just they express disgust with the culture even as they embrace it.

      p. 10 pa. 1-2    Still reacting to the TV comedian, note the varied responses: “he’s a loser”; “he’s our god”; “I want to do him.”  Which is the girl’s real response?  In what sense can a “loser” also be a “god”?  (In other words, are they recognizing the “loser” status of many alienated teens in their society?  Is his “weirdness” just a coalescence of the dissatisfaction they feel about where they are?)  Does Becky really want to “do him,” or is this just intended to be a humorous comment?  So why do they sexualize everything?

      p. 11                John Ellis makes his first appearance.  What is this character doing here – he doesn’t seem to be a teen?  Follow his presence in the book.  He is creepy, a neo-Nazi, yet he seems fascinated with and fascinating to Enid, who is Jewish.  He publishes a “zine” that features particularly disturbing material – in this segment, he introduces a “former priest” who has produced computer-generated child porn (later the “priest” will be arrested for actual child molestation) and triumphantly announces his immunity from legal prosecution because “they’re not photos.”  Such characters exist at the fringe of society – what does it say when the girls keep uncovering such fringe elements.

      p. 13                We are introduced to the satanic couple and to the “creepy Don Knotts guy” (later identified as Bob Skeetes [btw, Clowes specifically denied that the Steve Buscemi character in the film is “Bob Skeetes” – he is derived from a different combination of characters (Silvie)]).  These characters exist primarily in the girls’ imaginations, even though of course they are real people – but the “satanic” couple is so designated only through Enid’s fantasy (later (p. 19 pa.8) they buy the incredibly banal “Lunchables” rather than any more exotic or diabolic fare), and Bob Skeetes is more interesting to them as the butt of cruel observations than as a real human being.  Is this typical of teenage behavior?  What might account for it?  Why do the girls, who themselves seem to be and feel marginalized, act so cruelly to adults? 

                              Note that Bob Skeetes seems to have been entertaining his own fantasies – he says (pa. 6) they are a brother and sister in an incestuous relationship.  This revelation suggests in one respect that he and Enid are attuned to one another (both fantasizing about the same group) and/or that his “psychic” claims are valid.  It also indicates how universal the practice of imagining lurid details about people one passes on the street may be. 

      p. 14 pa. 5       On the TV show, the content of Becky’s show (some kind of talk show like Jerry Springer) tracks the obsessions of John Ellis and also the weird imaginings of Enid.  Enid’s comment: “John Ellis thinks he’s so ‘out there’ with that stupid Mayhem magazine of his, but really he’s just interested in the same shit the rest of America is interested in.”  Is this true?  Why are we so interested in these odd sorts of people, when we insist that they are not typical of us?  Does it convey a sense of superiority to watch folks like this?  Note that Enid also thinks she’s “different,” but she doesn’t want Becky to change the channel, and in the last panel on the page she picks up the “lame” magazine she dismissed at the opening of the story.  She and Becky are just as much in thrall to the obsessions of pop culture as anyone else; their only claim to superiority, if it is that

SECOND STORY “GARAGE SALE” (15-20)

      p. 15                Enid has a yard sale at which she refuses to part with anything.  What does her reluctance to sell her “sacred artifacts” say about her?  (Think ahead to chapter 7, “A Smile and a Ribbon.”)  How can this help us to understand her character?

      p. 16 pa. 7       Just a page later, Enid is ready to abandon her stuff (“I don’t want any of that shit”) in pursuit of the satanists – just after an encounter with Bob Skeetes.  Is part of Enid’s problem that she has no attention span to speak of – i.e., she just goes with the impulse of the moment?  How does her impulsiveness structure the book?  Is it still in evidence in the movie?  How does this impulsiveness relate to the ordinary actions and thought processes of adolescents?

THIRD STORY “PUNK DAY” (21-30)

                Here Enid is striving for an incredibly specific punk look that escapes the notice or understanding of anyone around her – almost the ultimate definition of “hip” – to be so out there that no one else can possibly appreciate your hipness. 

p. 26 pa. 4-8    A self-reflexive moment; Enid talks about comic books and refers to the impending visit of “David Clowes.”  The author/artist on one level places himself within the work as an admired comic creator; at the same time, he deflates his image first by misnaming himself and later by the image that he presents.

p. 27 pa. 5       “Dan Clowes” appears on the list of “Special Appearances” at Zine-o-Phobia.

p. 29                She announces to Becky that she is going to meet the cartoonist   (panel 2) – her mental image of the man is given in panel 5 at midpage, a handsome, somewhat world-weary expression – very cool.  But his actual appearance in panel 9 is more like Alfred P. Newman – superdork instead of supercool.  She calls him an “old perv” on the next page (p. 30 pa. 8).          

 p. 65 pa. 8 Josh’s analysis of John Ellis’s opinions (“contrived”) might also apply to Becky and Enid, no?

Sources: Carina Chocano, “Daniel Clowes,” Salon Magzine, http://dir.salon.com/people/bc/2000/12/05/clowes/index.html; December 5, 2000; “Dan Clowes Bio,” Fantagraphics Books, http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/clowes/clowesbio.html; Matt Silvie, “The Velvet Gloves Are Off: Some Excerpts from a Boring Interview with Ghost World’s Daniel Clowes” The Comics Journal #233 (2002) http://www.tcj.com/233/i_clowes.html

A. Waller Hastings
Professor of English
>Northern State University
Aberdeen, SD  57401

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