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Twentieth Century Eightball by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics, 2005) |
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Twentieth Century Eightball by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics, 2005) |
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Other reviews of Twentieth Century Eightball, a collection of Daniel Clowes' early work, have ranged from the temperately lukewarm to the downright enthusiastic. While there's considerable variety in artistic style and tone and even a whole bunch of characters, the whole muddle is desperately derivative and often pretty tasteless. As an art school librarian, I have seen just way too much of the rankest of amateurs, grappling with their pencils, trying to find something fresh, and to express it in their own voice. Why Fantagraphics decided to reward such a contention with a $19 trade paperback collection is simply quite beyond my comprehension. In the cartoon that serves as a back cover here, Clowes has his cartoon self say, "I guess I should pick out some promotional quotes for the back cover. Hmmm ... Art Spiegelman says this work is from my 'Total Wiseass Period.'" I'm not so sure there was even much in the way of wisdom involved. by Stephen Richmond |
