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Dan Clowes’ New Graphic Novel, Wilson
Crop of a frame from Wilson.
Dan Clowes’ Wilson is one of the most anticipated graphic novels to arrive in stores for some time, written as it is by one of the most respected pioneers of “alternative” comics. One of Clowes’ earliest graphic novels, Ghost World, a story of two alienated teenage girls’ dissolving friendship set against the limiting possibilities of middle-class America, received wide acceptance and was made into a critically acclaimed film. Clowes was co-nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay.
When Clowes turns his critical eye to a topic, very little escapes his scorn. His collection of stories around the fictional character Dan Pussey is a scathing commentary of the male-dominated, emotionally stunted comic-book culture. His short story “Art School Confidential” has long been cited by art-school survivors as a bang-on critique up of all that is wrong and limiting in the pretentious—and often untalented—art world that shuns illustration and comics.
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