Eightball 16 cover (fragment)

[continued from the previous post]

I have mentioned before that Daniel Clowes had by 1997 gained a “reputation” for being a slightly angry artist, verging on the prickly and I think this was the result of people who have no sense of irony reading the titles of some of his stories (“Why I Hate Christians” and “I Hate You Deeply”) and taking them at face value and not bothering to read the story which the title described. As for how I found him: a bigger sweetheart I could not expect to meet. By the time DC attended UKCAC he was already a darling of the alternative comics scene with Eightball having won numerous industry awards. At the con he talked about how Ghost World was in preproduction and that film would be the hit that would push him to crossover media stardom. How many comic creators do you know that have been nominated for an Academy Award (best adapted screenplay for Ghost World)? Some megastar comic creators at the time limited the number of items they would sign or even charge for sketches (although the norm during the years of UKCAC was for free sketches from creators, which shows either how progressive or backward the UK comic scene was). However, DC would sign as many copies of his comics you put in front of him (which resulted in my going back into the dealers’ room); even t-shirts (ditto); would remarque any trade paperbacks (ditto); would answer the most inane questions with straightfaced sincerity; would happily pose for photos, even selfies (no, believe me, you wouldn’t want to see that); and sketched. I would like to think that all the goodwill he engendered has rebounded on him from his fans.

The only time at UKCAC I ever bought a piece of comic art directly from an artist was when DC opened his portfolio to me to show me his wares. Me, being the cheapskate I was and am chose the least expensive item I recognised – the sidebar for the cover of Eightball 16. In my defence, I was an impoverished undergraduate in the final months of my course, which seemed to be an especially expensive one to follow. Weren’t they all? Luckily I have blanked out of my memory what other gems that I passed up on that were in DC’s portfolio.

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron and (although it took about five episodes before I really got into it; who wants to read a comic about a couple of teenage girls?) Ghost World will be read and acclaimed for generations to come. Dan Pussey is the funniest comic I have ever read and still has me snickering even though I have lost count of the number of times I have read it. Just thinking about certain scenes in it brings a smile to my face (“God, I love superheroes.”). Then there all the short self-contained classics: The Stroll, Caricature, Marooned on a Desert Island, etc. If you are reading this and are unfamiliar with the work of Daniel Clowes (as Bill admitted he was during his Scott Eder interview; it was me Bill referred to in the CAF update shortly after who had recommended he get the second edition of the Dan Pussey – pronounced Poo-say – trade because it has a better introduction than the first edition) then I excerpt above what I think is the greatest ever standalone one-page strip in comics history. The older I get the more I can relate to the razor-sharp wisdom of what is being expressed so very eloquently. And it is laugh-out-loud funny, too. No, I do not own the original. I hope that DC still does.

As far as I am concerned the two greatest writer/artists comics has produced are Frank Miller and Daniel Clowes. I can say I met the former at UKCAC ’86 but only long enough to take his photo and have him sign my copy of issue four of DKR (“It’s like the Second Coming” was how I heard security describe it at the time such was the crush) so what a contrast and thrill it was to have the time and space to talk to the latter for as long as I wanted/he could bear. Thank you to Frank and Hass, the organisers of UKCAC that year; that’s another one I owe you. And once again, a massive super-big thanks to Daniel Clowes for the conversation we had in 1997, and the kindness and generosity he showed me and all his other fans at UKCAC. We are all patiently waiting for Monica, his next title, later in the year. Give it up for Mr Daniel Clowes!