“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” masterfully 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 office. 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 “Spider-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 everyday events through pensive eyes. Not that the stories are depressing; they’re witty and, like the medium itself, ironic.
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