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m_henchard's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty much all of this is great, but "Like a Velvet Glove..." and "Playful Obsession" are works of sublime genius.
correctiveunconscious's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ghostrachel's review against another edition
5.0
This is both good (great!) and weird. Perfect combination. I had read pieces of Eightball here and there over the years, it's fantastic to have the entire series in a box set.
myqz's review
4.0
Wish I could have read this serialized, but this is a gorgeous collection. Reading the entire run as one work blurs themes, at times causing the self aware cynicism (man, millennial cynicism has nothing on Gen X cynicism) to read as misanthropy at times, but almost thirty times years later this still feels subversive, funny, sharp and like very little else on the comic shelf. The definitive underground comic.
jekutree's review
4.0
4.5 stars
Clowes is definitely one of the most prolific comic creators of the 90’s with works like Ghost World and Like a Velvet Glove Cast In Iron, he left his mark on the “graphic novel” generation of cartoonists like Seth, Adrian Tomine, Chester Brown and many more. There’s no doubt the work here is influential, the best of what’s in this collection is really really great, but there’s a handful of stories that are rather underwhelming. Most of the short stories in the first half of this collection felt a bit too pessimistic even for a 90’s alternative comic. The only other thing I have to compare these early stories to are stories found in Neat Stuff by Peter Bagge. Those stories are definitely pessimistic and have an edge to them also, but they had a more effective humor to them that balanced out the nihilism. Some of the stories here I feel are overwhelmingly down beat.
With that criticism aside, Clowes is a master of the comics form. His art is astounding and somehow gets better throughout the collection. I also think his plots are mundane in the best way possible (aside from Velvet Glove which I’ll get to). Ghost World is the pinnacle of Clowes in this period of his career. It’s mundane and relatable in the best way possible with great humor and a dash of angst that makes it such a joy to read. The more introspective elements of Ghost World evoke a self reflection not many other pieces of media incite in me. Ghost World hits its demographic where it hurts which is 100% it’s intention. It displays growing up and not knowing what to do with yourself better than any other piece of art. Ghost World captures that weird feeling after high school where you realize to become your own person you need to shed what other people think about you, you need to get rid of some things that make you happy too.
Velvet Glove was a really interesting read. I do think I’d like it more if I read it by itself rather than serialized in these issues, but it still has a lot of elements I admire. I really enjoy the surrealism found in it, I love how open ended a lot of the things about the world are for interpretation. I also find the art in Velvet Glove to be mesmerizing. Walls of 9 panel grids with deep, black shadows and grotesque characters create this vibe that is unmatched by anything else at the time. However, I think the works that Velvet Glove inspired are put together better. Black Hole for example aesthetically borrows the stark black aesthetic and the trippy surreal visuals, but allows for a way more cohesive plot to form. The main character of Velvet Glove is also extremely bland. I found it hard to get anything from him emotionally. Luckily, Clowes definitely gets better at this for the second half of this collection which is absolutely incredible.
Clowes is definitely one of the most prolific comic creators of the 90’s with works like Ghost World and Like a Velvet Glove Cast In Iron, he left his mark on the “graphic novel” generation of cartoonists like Seth, Adrian Tomine, Chester Brown and many more. There’s no doubt the work here is influential, the best of what’s in this collection is really really great, but there’s a handful of stories that are rather underwhelming. Most of the short stories in the first half of this collection felt a bit too pessimistic even for a 90’s alternative comic. The only other thing I have to compare these early stories to are stories found in Neat Stuff by Peter Bagge. Those stories are definitely pessimistic and have an edge to them also, but they had a more effective humor to them that balanced out the nihilism. Some of the stories here I feel are overwhelmingly down beat.
With that criticism aside, Clowes is a master of the comics form. His art is astounding and somehow gets better throughout the collection. I also think his plots are mundane in the best way possible (aside from Velvet Glove which I’ll get to). Ghost World is the pinnacle of Clowes in this period of his career. It’s mundane and relatable in the best way possible with great humor and a dash of angst that makes it such a joy to read. The more introspective elements of Ghost World evoke a self reflection not many other pieces of media incite in me. Ghost World hits its demographic where it hurts which is 100% it’s intention. It displays growing up and not knowing what to do with yourself better than any other piece of art. Ghost World captures that weird feeling after high school where you realize to become your own person you need to shed what other people think about you, you need to get rid of some things that make you happy too.
Velvet Glove was a really interesting read. I do think I’d like it more if I read it by itself rather than serialized in these issues, but it still has a lot of elements I admire. I really enjoy the surrealism found in it, I love how open ended a lot of the things about the world are for interpretation. I also find the art in Velvet Glove to be mesmerizing. Walls of 9 panel grids with deep, black shadows and grotesque characters create this vibe that is unmatched by anything else at the time. However, I think the works that Velvet Glove inspired are put together better. Black Hole for example aesthetically borrows the stark black aesthetic and the trippy surreal visuals, but allows for a way more cohesive plot to form. The main character of Velvet Glove is also extremely bland. I found it hard to get anything from him emotionally. Luckily, Clowes definitely gets better at this for the second half of this collection which is absolutely incredible.
rebus's review
5.0
Wow....I had placed this series when it started in 1989, but I gave it a read again in the omnibus edition with a little bit of wariness after doing the same with Bagge (which I still loved, but found diminished based on how much of what was presented were his real beliefs, which are still mostly of the confused about libertarianism variety).
I had to raise my rating a quarter point to put this in the realm of a masterpiece. It's an insightful portrait of hipsters and a searing critique of the upper middle class that outdoes every sociological tract from the last 50 years.
Clowes is smart and observant and reminds us that reality is a meaningless consensus.
I had to raise my rating a quarter point to put this in the realm of a masterpiece. It's an insightful portrait of hipsters and a searing critique of the upper middle class that outdoes every sociological tract from the last 50 years.
Clowes is smart and observant and reminds us that reality is a meaningless consensus.
dkmode's review
4.0
It's interesting to see a creator's life's work just laid out like this. Clowes is a legendary comic creator, and for good reason; his work here oozes talent from the very first issue of this anthology. But, importantly, he's improved a lot since he started.
The early issues of Eightball have two speeds: eerie, hallucinatory horror and extreme Generation X nihilism. The former is incredibly engaging, all these weird misshapen characters bumping up against each other in tales of mundane dream-logic. These are grotesque, tragic, and with a narrative distance that makes them all the more unsettling. The first long-form piece, Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron, is a masterpiece of this format.
The latter...well....look, Clowes is a bit elusive and hard to parse already. All of these nihilistic rants are caked in irony, and he's delivering them at all times with a slight smirk and a heap of self-awareness. Oftentimes, in the middle of them, he'll have outside characters refute his claims, and have his own stand-ins admit that they're mostly just being assholes. Still, despite being pretty entertaining on their own, in the repetitive context of this collection, it starts to become boring, and more than a little vapid. One can only take so many screeds about how the author hates everything before the edge starts to wear off. I can appreciate it for what must have seemed pretty cutting at the time, but now it just comes off as sophomoric. His digs at the mainstream comic book industry remain sharp, though.
Later, the comics start to branch off and mature, benefiting from a less preachy tone and improved ability to look inward. Clowes is really exploring a particular generation - the one that grew up in the suburbs, dreamed of something better, but in the end never really wanted to leave all that badly anyways. He wants to plunge into what makes these people - obsessed with the elevation of junk from generations before them, only able to express themselves under a thick veil of irony and sarcasm - tick.
It all culminates in Ghost World - still the best story in here - which feels like him taking one of the characters from his early years and giving them an honest internal life. It's still a terrific coming-of-age story, melancholy and personal but also universal to anyone forced to grow up in the boredom of the suburbs. But being able to read all the stuff that came before gives it a new, more thorough context. Even just for that, this collection is entirely worth it.
The early issues of Eightball have two speeds: eerie, hallucinatory horror and extreme Generation X nihilism. The former is incredibly engaging, all these weird misshapen characters bumping up against each other in tales of mundane dream-logic. These are grotesque, tragic, and with a narrative distance that makes them all the more unsettling. The first long-form piece, Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron, is a masterpiece of this format.
The latter...well....look, Clowes is a bit elusive and hard to parse already. All of these nihilistic rants are caked in irony, and he's delivering them at all times with a slight smirk and a heap of self-awareness. Oftentimes, in the middle of them, he'll have outside characters refute his claims, and have his own stand-ins admit that they're mostly just being assholes. Still, despite being pretty entertaining on their own, in the repetitive context of this collection, it starts to become boring, and more than a little vapid. One can only take so many screeds about how the author hates everything before the edge starts to wear off. I can appreciate it for what must have seemed pretty cutting at the time, but now it just comes off as sophomoric. His digs at the mainstream comic book industry remain sharp, though.
Later, the comics start to branch off and mature, benefiting from a less preachy tone and improved ability to look inward. Clowes is really exploring a particular generation - the one that grew up in the suburbs, dreamed of something better, but in the end never really wanted to leave all that badly anyways. He wants to plunge into what makes these people - obsessed with the elevation of junk from generations before them, only able to express themselves under a thick veil of irony and sarcasm - tick.
It all culminates in Ghost World - still the best story in here - which feels like him taking one of the characters from his early years and giving them an honest internal life. It's still a terrific coming-of-age story, melancholy and personal but also universal to anyone forced to grow up in the boredom of the suburbs. But being able to read all the stuff that came before gives it a new, more thorough context. Even just for that, this collection is entirely worth it.
themightycheez's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes