Monica

"Chilly and remote his sympathies might be, they are nevertheless deep and affecting. It is precisely Clowes's lower-frequency sensitivities toward the suffering of his characters that power what many consider his greatest works -- Ghost World, for one -- and elevate his latest graphic novel, Monica, to the status of a masterpiece."

"Clowes has long been considered one of the finest cartoonists of his generation, grouped with the likes of Chris Ware and Adrian Tomine, but in Monica, he reaches a new artistic peak. Each chapter has its own distinct feel and calls back to genres that were popular when Clowes started reading comics but have all but disappeared today, like war, romance, and horror. The shifts suit the story but also allow the cartoonist to show off his love for the art form. Each section has a beautifully rendered drawing--whether it be a soldier lighting a cigarette or Monica wiping the steam from a bathroom mirror--that can be held up among the best of his career."

"Clowes's formal ingenuity, meticulous attention to psychological and visual detail, and masterful sense of narrative and tone combine to create an emotionally resonant and unforgettable opus, reaffirming his place among the greatest storytellers of our time."

"Clowes' latest graphic novel weaves nine interrelated stories into a tale of curiosity, corruption, and humanity's addiction to significance. ...A timeless nugget of polished pulp."

"In classic fashion, Clowes offers another devastating, surreal examination of human nature... A hauntingly precise and compellingly strange study of the human struggle to reconcile a decentered past with a path forward."

"This eloquent end-times tale about a woman's search for herself takes its time winding up to terror....Lucky new initiates to Clowes will want to dive into his backlist after this unnerving introduction to his oeuvre; for fans, it's a must-have."

"Her journey takes many surreal twists: Ghosts are involved, as is a bizarre California cult and--because this is a Clowes story, where doom is never far off--the literal apocalypse. For a book that's barely 100 pages, things get a little hectic. ...Clowes' stories demand real attachment, and the more time I spent with Monica, the more I felt moved by the emotional ambition of its decades-long narrative."

"It's a genre-bending meditation on familiar bonds, a dazzling testament to Clowes' skills as an artist, and, quite possibly, the cartoonist's single greatest work to date."

"A new Daniel Clowes release is always a cause for celebration -- and with Monica, it's another career highlight."

"This is a comix novel about aging and disappearance, with a penumbra of a malevolent world just beyond reason....I started reading and did nothing else for the rest of the day. I didn't want it to end."

"DAN CLOWES. American. A master. Perfect fusion of story and art. Clowes is an auteur. Period. A superb narrator."

"Daniel Clowes is the rare cartoonist whose graphic novels become cultural events."

"Daniel Clowes may be one of the most notable comic artists of our era, a pillar of the '80s-'90s scene who's continued to do great work up to the present day."

"No cartoonist alive devotes as much effort as Daniel Clowes to mapping the differences between the way people see themselves and the way they really are."