Ghost World
by Daniel Clowes
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Thompson & Groth, Fantagraphics Books (Seattle, WA): 1998. Trade paperback: 80 pages. ISBN-10: 1-56097-427-3 Suggested retail price: $11.95 (US) Tags: diners; Graphic Novel; made into movie; music stores; teenagers Tactical strength: [4/10] |
I remember some of the hype around Ghost World when the movie came out in 2001, so when I saw the graphic novel in the library, I decided to check it out. I have to say, I can see why some people really like Ghost World, but the graphic novel really only does one thing well, and I don't think that merits accolades.
The graphic novel tells the story of Enid and Rebecca during the summer after they have graduated from high school. Clowes presents a series of eight vignettes that give us a pretty clear picture of these two girls. Enid and Rebecca do almost everything together, and we recognize them as nerdy girls that pretty much only socialize within their own tight group. Because these two don't fit in, they criticize everyone and everything, including each other. They alienate each other continually, yet they somehow -- like teenagers do -- remain friends. So Ghost World captures the essence of the uncertainty that these girls feel now that they no longer have high school to motivate and direct their lives.
Clowes does an excellent job at capturing this feeling of inbetweenness some teens experience, but he has created a character sketch that doesn't do more than create a mood. His characters really don't do anything but hang out and criticize the people around them. We have a teeny bit of character development in Enid. She finally decides that she will go to college. Decides probably gives the wrong impression. Enid knows that her decision to go to college will pretty much break the relationship between her and Rebecca, so Enid puts off telling Rebecca until almost the latest possible moment.
Clowes must believe that an entire segment of the population gets stuck in the Ghost World of inconsequential lives. Many of the characters that Enid and Rebecca mock have such lives. These people have momentary interactions, but generally behave like the few atoms in a near vacuum that on random occasions collide and then return to solitary existence. The story line has many possible points of departure to more interesting narratives, but it never follows any of these and never really resolves anything except the dissolution of Enid and Rebecca's high-school friendship.
The art in Ghost World left a lot to be desired. Enid and Rebecca look like teenagers, but they encounter several fellow graduates that look ten years older. Clowes also uses only black and cyan to illustrate his work. The cyan coloring creates a creepy, empty landscape in which the characters roam, and often the shading drew my attention away from the story to the odd shapes of color on the characters faces. The characters also swear with abandon. I know this "captures" how many adolescents speak, but once we understand these characters really don't have the depth of personality to express themselves in any other way, we lose interest in watching them bump around like blind mice in a maze looking for the cheese.
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