What specifically comes to mind, in terms of the kind of drawing that you didn't try then and feel comfortable with now?

When you created the stories serialized in “Eightball”—such as “Velvet Glove” or “Ghost World”—did you intend then for them to be short pieces, or did you have a sense they could continue into a longer narrative? Even though most if not all of the work has been collected in various editions over the years, the earliest issue of Eightball I've ever owned is 19, the first of three issues dedicated entirely to 'David Boring'.

Once the Ghost World stories start to pop up though, there is a noticeable shift. There's still the anger but it's more cast inward. The barely concealed self-insert characters that Clowes is so fond of grow more introspective. The stories have a sadness to them, a melancholy that gets into your bones. The first Ghost World strip may have a lot in common with the earlier rants but the ending of it does not. I don't think you can see the growth of Clowes' work if you were to read the stories in a format not in the original serialization. Hell, you can see the growth just in the covers as the issue numbers get higher. Clowes offset cynicism with sympathy as he cast an outsider’s eye on members of society some might classify as ‘the dregs.’ As the anthology developed, Clowes proved himself a master of the short story in comics form...” Ghost World was adapted by Clowes and director Terry Zwigoff into a 2001 feature film of the same name, for which Clowes and Zwigoff were nominated for an Academy Award for screenplay writing. Additionally, the 2006 Clowes/Zwigoff film Art School Confidential was loosely based on a short story of the same name which appeared in Eightball #7.

In addition to material that found its way into Ghost World, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, Caricature, and Pussey, there are also Lloyd Llewellyn strips plus lots of shorter works that have never been collected to my knowledge. Of course, some fans of Clowes discovered his work through “Ghost World”—a serialized story that appeared starting in Issue 11 of Eightball after “Like A Velvet Glove…” wrapped up. If you haven’t seen the film based on the comic, “Ghost World” focuses on two cool young women during the summer after they graduate from high school. Clowes uses his sharp dialogue and characterization skills to present their conversations, thoughts, desires, and caustic and often hilarious judgements of others as they go about their lives. Published in 1997 as a graphic novel, Ghost World is Clowes best attempt at presenting female characters as more than objects of desire or derision. And it’s brilliant. The 2001 film (directed by Terry Zwigoff) deservedly won Clowes an Academy Award nomination and if you haven’t seen it, you really should. Thora Birch is charming as Enid Coleslaw and Steve Buscemi is always a joy to watch.I'm looking forward to this release, another excellent idea from Fantagraphics, and the first book Daniel Clowes has released through his original publisher for several years. This is a deluxe boxset of hardcovers collecting facsimile's of the entire 'anthology'-run of 'Eightball' -- issues 1 - 18. Clowes is the Man. And as if to nail that title down, we now have a two-volume hardcover edition of The Complete Eightball 1–18, which originally ran from 1989–2004. It’s an early but by no means immature work, establishing Clowes as perhaps the best exemplar extant of the underground-comic sensibility of the late 20th century.... Eightballis not just a record of one obsessive’s tussle with the comics medium, but a kind of history of that medium as it comes to maturity.”

In The Hearth’s Happy Life, Kathy Ng Morphs Octopus Porn into Visions of Destruction—and Renewal By Kally Patz Once you finish your current project—the one you said you didn’t want to discuss—is there anything you’re looking forward to doing? Do you have some wish like, “I want to go play the kazoo in a band,” for example? Do you feel like your work has become more personal over the years? As you built a persona as an artist, have you been able to push the line you were talking about—whether readers get it or not? This is a masterwork in its ability to stay with stories, telling them over years, or simply telling a fantastic story that touches on something in the reader's core. The stories within vary so much there's bound to be a gem in here that will capture your imagination.--David Brooke

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Well, now the work certainly seems to reflect a very cohesive world view. But, yes, some things did shift. At the time, I was trying to figure out what I felt about things, but also say what I knew about the world; all my little pronouncements, which I was doing facetiously. I knew that I didn’t really know anything, but on some level I felt like I did. And then, over a certain amount of time, I realized I truly didn’t know anything, and at a certain point I realized I didn’t even want to go out on that limb and make any kind of statement—just look at questions and not deliver any answers. Enid and Rebecca share relationship woes as they roam about their unnamed hometown, ridiculing pop culture and musing on the lives of people they run across even while they question their own futures. Clowes fills the book with a colorful supporting cast, like the soft-spoken Josh, with whom both girls are romantically infatuated; former classmate Melorra; and antagonist John Ellis, a caricature of the 1990s-era zine publisher obsessed with serial killers, circus freaks, and firearms. “Ghost World” is an endearing and insightful look through the window of adolescence, sometimes overly dark and disconcerting as the characters explore the petty resentments of friendship and the paradoxes of modern life. The comic’s critical and commercial success led to a 2001 movie adaptation by filmmaker Terry Zwigoff with an Academy Award-nominated screenplay written with Clowes and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, and Steve Buscemi. Clowes parodies his own work with the clever issue #11 story “Velvet Glove,” which uses his previous story as a reference point in the tale of a movie based on “Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron,” a shabbily-made commercial bomb that shares little with the original story and includes disparate elements of the hard-boiled detective and science-fiction genres. Clowes even appears as himself in the story, talking with ignorant Hollywood producers sniffing around for an easy dollar. By contrast, “Ghost World” (which ran from issue #11 through #18) is a story of interpersonal relationships that is as realistic as “Velvet Glove” is absurd. “Ghost World” follows the daily lives of fictional high school grads Enid and Rebecca in the late 1990s, both young women unmoored from “straight” society, alienated, witty, pseudo-intellectual, precocious, and cynical beyond their years. Clowes offset cynicism with sympathy as he cast an outsider's eye on members of society some might classify as 'the dregs.' As the anthology developed, Clowes proved himself a master of the short story in comics form…" — Jake Austen - Chicago Tribune The stories you were doing in “Eightball” cross many genres, use different drawing styles, and are of varying length. Was it your intention to try out different approaches each time?

Velvet Glove" is a parody of bad film adaptations, using the just-completed Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron as its source, with behind-the-scenes segments showing an increasingly anxious Clowes in talks with a clueless Hollywood producer, and scenes from the resulting movie, in which Clay is a tough, sarcastic police detective who plays by his own rules and makes pithy remarks (such as "what are you lookin' at?") before shooting his enemies. Tina is recast as a space alien who gives "Clay" a ring of power. As a screenwriter, he has been nominated for an Academy Award and written the films Ghost World (with Terry Zwigoff), Art School Confidential, and Wilson. His illustrations have been featured on a wide-ranging array of posters, album covers, and magazines, including many covers for The New Yorker. He lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and son. This is a two-volume, slipcased facsimile edition of the Daniel Clowes comics anthology; it contains the original installments of Ghost World, the short that the film Art School Confidential was based on, and much more.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.