Daniel Clowes gives us a slice of weird - Eightball makes the top 100.
Daniel Clowes is best known for his work on Ghost World, the mature graphic novel that was turned into a film starring cult legend Steve Buscemi. Before Clowes hit his fame, he spent his time on Eightball, a short, humorous and downright weird alternative comic. It is one of the best ever created and worthy of a place on our top 100 graphic novels list.
When drawing a list of compliments for Eightball, the first on the list has to be its humour. Full of crude illustrations, topical rants and glistening with satire, Eightball is at it's best when it has you flitting between laughing your ass off one minute and then scratching your head saying "what the heck?" the next. Eightball's strength as a story lies in it's humour.
Now, this isn't From Hell. If you're looking for a deep study into a character's mind, you're best looking elsewhere on the top 100 graphic novels list. This isn't so much a character study, as a invitation to step into the head of writer Daniel Clowes. The stories are short and always keen to move on, but this is for the best. Eightball is a book you can read in bursts, so it is perfect fare for people who have ten minutes to spare here and there. IF you're one of these people, you're best giving Eightball a try.
If you want another reason to make Eightball your next purchase, how about this: a high school teacher in Connecticut once gave a copy of Eightball to a student as a reading assignment. This set the student's parents in a wild panic, and the stink they kicked up put ended with the teacher being put on leave. To cap it off, the teacher ended up resigning. All this over a work of fiction. Ridiculous, right? Do your bit by reading Eightball, and then pass it on. It's the best thing you can do to strike back against ill-informed people who tarnish creative works.
Coming next on the top 100 graphic novels list is a very familiar character.
