Product Description
One of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time telling the story of two supremely ironic, above-it-all teenagers facing the thrilling uncertainty of life after high school. As they attempt to carry their life-long friendship into a new era, the careful dynamics of their inseparable bond are jolted, and what seemed like a future of endless possibilities looks more like an encroaching reality of strip malls, low-paying service jobs and fading memories.

Already one of the most heavily-publicized graphic novels in history, this new edition (featuring new covers by Clowes) should make the book more popular than ever. With lengthy write-ups in Time, Newsweek, Publisher's Weekly, Details, Vogue, Jane, and many others, press interest in the book and film promises to be higher than ever this spring.

Amazon.com Review
Dan Clowes described the story in Ghost World as the examination of "the lives of two recent high school graduates from the advantaged perch of a constant and (mostly) undetectable eavesdropper, with the shaky detachment of a scientist who has grown fond of the prize microbes in his petri dish." From this perch comes a revelation about adolescence that is both subtle and coolly beautiful. Critics have pointed out Clowes's cynicism and vicious social commentary, but if you concentrate on those aspects, you'll miss the exquisite whole that Clowes has captured. Each chapter ends with melancholia that builds towards the amazing, detached, ghostlike ending.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 63 reviews)

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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.
December 13, 2007

Relentless Narcissism

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.
June 15, 2007

disappointing

I found "Ghost World" mentioned in an article listing
"top 10 books" for various people. Being no stranger to
graphic art books (aka "comics" :), I thought I'd try it.
I regret that the person recommending it apparently hadn't
read many books. The story failed to capture my interest, and the art didn't redeem it. I'd recommend anything by Will Eisner instead (e.g., A Contract With God).

May 15, 2007

really interesting

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.
April 10, 2007

Don't believe the hype.

I skipped the movie version of Ghost World when it came out because I could tell from the previews that it wasn't my cup of tea; stories of suburban angst make my skin crawl (ie: I hated American Beauty), suburban teenage angst even more so. But, I convinced myself a while back, there's no way I could NOT read the critically acclaimed graphic novel it was based on, right?

Best friends Enid and Rebecca are two unappealingly self-absorbed teenagers who project their own self-loathing onto everyone around them, stumbling through their final year of high school while slowly drifting apart from each other. Daniel Clowes chooses to tell their story almost too-subtly, offering discordant slice of life vignettes that attempt to illustrate their "growth" but mainly serve to remind the reader how annoying and shallow they are. It falls into the same trap many autobiographical efforts do, in every medium, of believing one's life is more interesting than it actually is, and I came close to putting it down, unfinished, several times.

Clowes' artwork is the main highlight here -- clean and, at times, unexpectedly emotive -- but it's neither enough to inject life into his dull, plodding story nor make his lead characters the least bit interesting. Charles Burns' Black Hole covers similar ground in a much more intriguing fashion, with a compelling story that is equal to his impressive artwork.

Ghost World: Don't believe the hype.
January 24, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
by Chris Ware

Black Hole
by Charles Burns

Blankets
by Craig Thompson

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel

Ghost World
Directed by Terry Zwigoff
Starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas
MGM (Video & DVD)