A surprisingly good graphic novel. I first became aware of Clowes's work when I read reviews for the movie Ghost World, for which Clowes wrote the script. The rave reviews for the film almost uniformly mentioned Clowes's excellent work for the comic series, so I decided to track this down and read it.

First impressions were poor. The artwork--done in a strange green monochrome--is somewhat lifelike, but every character is off in some minor but noticeable way. There is also not much action in the novel; instead, Enid and Rebecca spend their time talking about superficial topics. The first few chapters are only fitfully amusing, especially since I have never found stereotypical teenage girl-talk particularly amusing.

But Clowes slowly begins injecting more mature elements into his narrative. At one point, Enid and Rebecca decide to make prank calls to a man who claims to be psychic. In a memorable panel, Clowes briefly shows the psychic's pained reaction to hearing the message. Further in the narrative, yet another practical joke--this time on a man who places an ad in the personals section of the newspaper--again goes in a way that neither Enid nor Rebecca expected. And these moments keep building up, especially as Enid feels pressure to go to college and Rebecca, who has no such hopes, begins to rethink the basis of their friendship.

The final quarter of the book is some of the most powerful storytelling that I have seen in any medium. The last two pages in particular are almost poetic in their setup: the simple panes, the muted artwork, the minimal but moving dialogue. In a way, I ended up enjoying Ghost World more than I do the superhero comics that I usually read. Ghost World is truer to my life than to my daydreams; it is harder to swallow but, once consumed, more satisfying.

Copyright © 2001 Steven Wu