Tuesday, November 19,2002
is available at many cafes near campus,
anyone can make it at home with the right ingredients
Reporter’s notebook
>n Shakra
The
Photo illustration Emerald
‘Caricature’illustrates stories with wit, irony
Book review
Helen Schumacher
Pulse Reporter
“Caricature” is Daniel Clowes’
comic-book version of J.D.
Salinger’s “Nine Stories.” Like
“Ghost World,” possibly Clowes’
most famous work, “Caricature” is
taken from his long-running comic
series “Eightball.”
A collection of — you guessed it
— nine stories, “Caricature” mas
terfully blends literary and visual
art to create a sublime glimpse of
the loner.
The best story of the book is
“The Gold Mommy,” which begins
with a non-descript man named
Yerkes getting his hair trimmed at
a barber shop. Halfway through
the trim, Yerkes realizes he forgot
his money. The barber stops mid
haircut and sends Yerkes out to get
money, but takes his shoes and
socks as collateral.
Sent out barefoot, Yerkes
searches the gritty city night for a
place to cash an out-of-state
check. Randomly, he ends up at
his deceased father’s former of
fice. Inside, Yerkes finds a photo
of his dad with a family he has
never seen before. From there,
things get odder and odder, and
“The Gold Mommy” becomes a
riddle with no solution.
Although all of Clowes’ work is
a far cry from the pages of “Spi
der-Man” or “X-Men,” he gives
the superhero genre a try with
“Black Nylon.”
“Black Nylon” follows an aging
hero as he visits a diner, deposits his
check in the bank, talks with his
shrink, and heads into a cave that
becomes the scene of his demise.
Clowes has an eye for detail
and uses it to add texture to the
stories. From tales of a man
obsessed with the year 1966 to a
gynecologist making a name for
himself as a lounge singer, the
stories depict sad, hollow every
day events through pensive eyes.
Not that the stories are depress
ing; they’re witty and, like the
medium itself, ironic.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
helenschumacher@dailyemerald.com.