The Thousands

The new edition of The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes is an unexpanded version of Eightball 23, published in 2004. The only changes are the new hardcover and a dozen pages for endpapers, title page, publishing imprint, etc. There’s a substantial price hike too. This is causing some hand-wringing in the world of alternative comics, cries of greed, sell-out, and bullshit are echoing around. There’s another argument though (which has some eloquent supporters) – that this is due recognition for The Death-Ray, Clowes’s masterpiece.

What’s so compelling about The Death-Ray is that in 42 pages it manages to cover much of the ground that Jonathan Lethem’s 500-page Fortress of Solitude did – by doing things that only comics can do. The denseness of the experience, the mastery of different modes of storytelling and the switches between them are what make The Death-Ray not only a great story but also an object lesson in how to write and draw comics.

The story echoes the classic superhero narrative – outsider kid discovers he has superpowers and/or a super object (yep, death ray) – but explores the idea with a reality and nuance that belies the slim page count. Rather than ending up in Kick-Ass gritty-pseudo-reality, though, The Death-Ray shows us the more likely outcome of a horny, depressed, awkward 17-year-old kid receiving super strength and a lethal weapon.