Ghost World s/c

I have recently started reading screenplays, and this was given as a gift after having seen Ghost World four times. This is an excellent movie and I recommend it to most anyone.
The screenplay itself is just a screenplay, but a well written one. There are a few scenes that were either cut or shortened, and I really enjoyed them. But the best part of the book was all the extras, like introductions by Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff. Plus there were a lot of pictures, and all the scene notes at the end were very interesting.
If you liked Ghost World, or you just like screenplays, check this one out. It's one of the best that I've read.

Ghost World is a poignant look at the transition from adolescence to adulthood and figuring out who you are, without being gratingly pretentious or cloyingly cheesy. It's much more subtle than your average high school story. The characters, even at their most theatrical, are unbelievably real. It's the kind of story you can take at face value and feel fine about it but upon a deeper look, it says a lot of important things about identity and growing up.

Daniel Clowes sure knows how to write an alternative comic. The comic is about two girls after graduation who are both not entirely sure what they want to do with their lives. Enid and Rebecca are far from perfect protagonists. They tease and tuant people, and can be downright mean sometimes. Sometimes they realize they've too far and feel sorry for it. They're quite human. A slice of life tale that doesn't pull any punches, Ghost World is one of the better independant comics and shows that the genre of comics isn't limited to manistream styled adventures and comedies.

At first I found the dialogue relatably irreverent, then the constant ridicule of everything got repetitive and I would have liked to see a bit of positivity, then the ending reveals the main character's sense of humour as a defensive front.
So I guess the writing starts out like a more clued-in Kevin Smith, then pushes into nihilism, and ends up conservatively pop-psychological. There's a strong sense of creativity in there and an unusually informed outside perspective on counter-culture but the serious side of the writing seems to undermine it.

Clowes has only done a few stories of any
length (I barely want to call Like a Velvet Glove
Cast in Iron a story, it's far too surreal and
detatched -- and then that would leave what, the amateurish Lloyd Llewellyn stories -- and what else? ), but of them Ghost World is his best. Two teenage girls who do everything
together make fun of everyone else and
occasionally deal with some more substantial
personal troubles. Like all of his work, it's
mostly a vehicle for Clowes' own views and
criticisms, but there's a tenderness to these
connected stories that's absent from his more ferocious shorter pieces, which makes his violent
opinions a bit easier to swallow. If you find that
most of what's in Eightball (his serial comic, which is always recommendable and of an inhumanly consistent quality) to be maybe too spiteful or harsh, (personally, I don't) Ghost World might be more to your liking. The best
overview of his short strips is probably Lout
Rampage, but any issue of Eightball would do

This slice of late teenagehood is not your typical graphic novel. Enid is a profane and not terribly attractive girl filled with self-loathing, subject to mood swings, fits of punk-ism, and a two-minute attention span, who is obsessed with her non-boyfriend, Joshua, and her own unappeased sexuality. Rebecca, her lifelong best friend, is much prettier, less volatile, and pretty much lets Enid run her life. They observe and discuss the people they know, reflect on their childhood memories, and avoid discussing what their lives might be like without each other. It's almost like a reality show -- but much better.

This is probably my favorite of the stories that make up the emerging canon of graphic literature, although I can't say I've read every single one of them. Still, among the select "serious" GNs I've read, it's my favorite. Maus may have more emotional resonance, Jimmy Corrigan may be jaw droppingly beautiful to look at, but for my money, Clowes' coming of age story is the perfect combination of heart and brains, or more accurately, entertainment and craft. Most of all, at least to my tastes, it's hilarious at times, which goes a long way in my book (yeah, I hold Corrigan being pretty morose against Ware).

What makes this story a favorite of mine is the emotional resonance of it. The end still chokes me up just thinking about it. If you weren't a fan of the movie and haven't read the book, buy it anyway (Steve Buscemi's character isn't in there, for one); it's a different enough creature that you might just fall in love with it like I did. I truly believe this belongs in every one's collection, whether they care about graphic novels or not.

Ghostworld definitely captures the clean, clinical anomie of suburban life. I didn't like it at first, but by the end I have to admit I found it rather touching in an understated kind of way. It captures the longing, the stasis and the frustration of this environment very well, reminds me an awful lot of so many people I knew growing up.

Daniel Clowes has a brilliant empathy for youth and counterculture. Ghost World is a laugh-out-loud satire that manages to to be melancholy and funny at the same time. This visually striking graphic novel gives pin-point insight to the snarky world of 90s teens in one of the most convincing "coming-of-age" tales I have ever encountered. I owe my love of quality adult-humor comics and graphic novels to Mr. Clowes. He is truly an American comic master.

I love the original graphic novel, then loved the movie....so of course if was fun to read all the little fun quark things in the screen play scrip. The best is seeing Daniel Clowes interact with the cast in the extra photos that are in along with the screen play

I think this the most beleivable comic i have ever read. The charectors are very realistic and neat in thier own way. I thought it was sad the way Enid and Rebecca grew apart ( it's even sadder in the movie. I got mad at Enid for neglecting Rebecca all the time, and not content to move in with her ( which sort of made me hate the record collector for pulling them apart).

To ... with comics, this is a piece of fine literature. Beautiful artwork and poignant writing make for a truly important piece of art. Consider this comic required reading for every high school hipster outcast or art ..., or anyone who has ever felt alienated by the rest of society.
The first time I read Ghost World was the summer between my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. Words can't describe how much this comic struck a chord with me then. I saw parts of myself and everyone I knew in all of the characters. Enid's anger and uncertain future, Becky's inability to move on, and the strange, sad isolation of the supporting cast all helped crystallize my feelings during that summer. 3 years later, the comic is even more meaningful to me. ...

I love, love, love this graphic novel so much. Any cynical, awkward human being would. I related well to the material and laughed out loud many times while reading. I'm sure there are plenty of other reviews with a synopsis, but I will just leave mine at how much I love the characters and their quirks.

Clowes gives a very effective characterization of his main characters, and even the minor ones come to life. Again and again I kept feeling a sense of recognition in his narrative- his characters did and said things similar to what I or people I knew did when we were teenagers. Insightful and impressive- I would highly recommend it, especially to anyone who hasn't realized how good some recent graphic novels can be; it ranks with the best novels and stories I've read lately.

After picking the movie up from a flea market, an awesome find for $2, I simply had to get anything about it (the soundtrack, which was great although I was dissapointed the children's song Enid listens to was not included, and some of the books, etc.). I enjoyed both the movie and the book, but I enjoyed the plot of the book somewhat more than that of the movie. I'm not quite sure why the movie chose to focus mainly on Seymor, who really doesn't exist as much of a character in the book, but this doesn't necessarily mean the movie was bad, just different.

I would tend to distrust a male author who writes from a teenage girl's perspective, but I think this author gets it right. I was a teenage girl long ago, and his stories here evoke memories of oneupsmanship and competitiveness behind every girl friendship.

In some edge city anywhere in the United States, our protagonists try to understand who they are whilst wreaking havoc on the lives of those around them.
Quite frankly, it bored me. I loved the movie, however, which is what drove me to get the book. Now, if only Steve Buscemi and Terry Zwigoff had worked on the book...

Clowes has managed to perfectly portrait the development of a teenage friendship and how it is affected by the transition of the main characters into adulthood. In this boom era of comics I seldom find works that touch upon a subject that most of us can relate to. It also has in my opinion a perfect and realistic ending. I would definitely recommend it.

This is the affectedly vulgar tale of two young women who need some discipline. Those who feel they have the credentials to declare other human beings "ugly" will probably see themselves in the main characters and find them hilarious. For those who have grown up, the shtick will wear thin quickly. The art is beautiful and the writing definitely has its moments, but I guess I just can remember actually being a stupid jerk when I was younger and don't look back on those days with much fondness.

Just buy this already...if you feel alienated, and think the world has gone mad, and no one understands how confused yo are at the world around you; well, Daniel Clowes would like to talk to you about it.

Even if you have already seen the movie, this is still essential reading.

Vapid teenagers who achieve neither redemption or tragedy by the end of an overwrought tour through their shallow existences. Excellent artwork of very plausible characters, but little pleasure gained from knowing them.

This is a review of the book's construction, which is the worst I've ever seen. I purchased a brand new paperback copy of this so I would stop thumbing my old copies of Eight Ball; what a mistake. The first time I sat down to read it within ten pages the cover started to separate from the interior. After inspecting the way the cover is attached I have to wonder what Fantagraphics was thinking when they chose this method. After I accepted the fact that the cover was going to come off at some point I continued reading and the pages started to separate down in the spine. I would like to stress the fact that I was not holding the book flat, or pulling it wide open. My son read it the next day and showed me several pages that were on the verge of falling out; after two readings. I would return this but quite honestly I'm keeping it to remind myself to never buy another softcover from Fantagraphics. If I had spent more than $6.27 on this book I would be ripping mad.

Both of the main characters in this book are (purposefully, I think) annoying to read. They display so much ignorance and stupidity that I figured the story must be a coming of age story or something. It's not. They are just as bad all the way to the end. I understand that they are unreliable narrators. That, combined with the fact that they don't really change, makes this book a frustrating experience. This is a book about kids who do and say a bunch of ignorant and selfish things and act like self centered jerks. They do this for the entire book. That's it. That's the whole thing. That's why I disliked it so much.

Two inspid American imbeciles discuss other people's looks, what does and doesn't suck, and deliberate for whom they should spread their legs. No plot, no payoff, no point. Pretentious claptrap for self-enlightened indie clowns.

Daniel Clowes teaches us a few lessons in this book of his:

1. Not everyone is a good person (sometimes, everyone can be bad)
2. Teenage years are fleeting
3. Search for the avant-garde and oddities of life, you'll never know what you'll find

His most famous work, Ghost World, is most likely famous because it has characters that nobody will root for, has a scenery that almost makes it feel like a dead-end, and have conflicts that are generated because of the carelessness of the protagonist as well as unresolved solutions. In other words: It's famous because it's a mirror of our world. Reading this book had the same impact as watching all five seasons of Daria as well as other MTV animated shows (Clone High, The Max, etc.), it was made for teenagers by older people because those older people were also teenagers at one point.

If you are going to read this book, do not be prepared for happy endings, do not be prepared for likable characters, do not be prepared for anything that makes a traditional story what it is. If you do like these characters though, then good for you, if not, I warned you.

Welcome to Ghost World, stay for as long as you need to.