David Boring By Daniel Clowes - Research Paper Example

DAVID BORING BY DANIEL CLOWES Daniel Clowes is one of the most eminent s among American cartoonists in the past two decades or so. His artistic work was deeply acknowledged when his book ‘David Boring’ gained popularity in the world of literature along with many other record breaking comics. His character creation, plot, linkage of characters with the complicated storyline makes his comics all the more interesting and exciting for the reader. His comics diversify in theme and style, mimicking an artist playing around with his brush and colors, creating a masterpiece everyday out of vivid imagination. Critics judge his creations with a variety of comments and in my essay I will clearly specify my own personal critical view of the writer as well as the author. Born in Chicago in 1961, Daniel Clowes is a renowned author, screenwriter and graphic artist. In his early years, he was unable to find a decent job in his field of interest that is cartooning even with a BFA degree in hand and had to start his career as working freelance and underground. His first project was the comic book series Lloyd Llewellyn, which brought him little yet significant amount of recognition and encouraged him to adopt different types of storytelling ways. His natural talent and abilities have allowed him to set outstanding standards within the field for the past seventeen years. A lonely childhood sparked Clowes’s interest in drawing. He was sent to live with his grandparents at the age of four due to some major family issues and therefore, he had little company growing up. "I spent my whole childhood not saying a word," he explained to Guardian writer Craig Taylor. Therefore, drawing and comic writing fascinated him as they provided a channel he could use to convey his thoughts to others simultaneously, proving to be a good solution to his boredom. He possessed a natural artistic streak and therefore, spent innumerable hours drawing and creating comic book figures and characters.  Clowes’s comics majorly revolve around themes like action – based fiction and fantasies. His most famous works came at a time when the comic writing was undergoing serious transformational changes in the 80s and 90s. One of his popular works is the mysterious murder mystery of “David Boring’, which has been recognized as one of the ten best English language graphic novels ever written. The book portrays the catastrophes that occur from time to time in the life of David, an eponymous, young, American fellow who roams around looking for his soul mate, the perfect woman for him, and instead came across his father, a comic artist whom he never had a chance to meet. Indeed, Clowes is an impressive writer whose capability of remaining both creative and entertaining is reflected in mostly all his works. According to a critic, David Boring is an exceptional work of skillful storytelling but lacks all kinds of emotional touches (Kannenberg, 2008). From his writings, we are now conversant with calm, composed and controlled Clowes. David Boring is quite an interesting and fascinating book, and Clowes exceptional artwork and character development techniques have made it worth reading. The contextualization of drama and action has been done using varied drawing styles, which change often drastically, as the story moves from one scene to the other (Marrone, 2009). Changes in the setting and the mood have been observed to be swift but smooth and effortless. The brilliance of Clowes is depicted by his frequent use of sharp and bold sketches when creating melodramatic moods. On the other hand, he keeps his work simple and cute at other places to maintain the ‘cartoonish’ touch of his characters. The artwork in regards to color schemes is impressive. The comic has the traditional black and white color but touches of pale blue enhance the effects greatly, by reflecting the moods of the characters in light of the events happening. Moreover, it also signifies the changes in themes of the story as the story proceeds, and helps in raising the inquisition of the reader. Moreover, most of the action in his scripts usually rotates between the panels as well as off panels. His comics are exciting because Clowes keeps his readers engrossed in imagining ‘what follows next’. His stories are enriched with gaps and pauses, fragmented narratives and creative objectives. The utter beauty lies in the satisfaction at losing, and not merely the sense of achievement. Another exceptional trait of Clowes’s art is the way he creates his characters (Kannenberg, 2008). The expressions and body language that Clowes makes them adopt is quite unique. In case of David here, he has been portrayed as someone who deliberately isolates himself from the society for some unknown reason we are not made aware of. So, it is somewhat difficult for the reader to develop any sort of acquaintance or compassion with him. He stands as a mystery or cipher to them, waiting to be deciphered as the story unfolds and depicts the mystery of life itself around us. This is one of the tactical ways in which Clowes stimulates his readers turn the pages curiously, one after another. Clowes is also famous for blending in the elements of chaos, gross and sometimes unpleasantness. This has been particularly inspired by the pop culture and the comic writing of the 1960s. Combining horror, murder and violence have since then, remained an important part of comic writing because they help enhance and boost up the visual art and images, simultaneously adding thrill to the script. Moreover, the easy grid structure of the comic allows you read the whole of it quickly, almost within an hour or so. Clowes books are diverse in terms of theme and imagination. His books seem to be canvasses harboring fresh, distinct drawings of a creative artist, every time emerging as a masterpiece better than the previous one. David Boring is an admirable piece of Clowes writing. The variation of tone from scene to scene makes it easy for the reader to understanding the situation better and gives it a reality touch (Schwartz, 2010). The diversity of styles gives the work its personal charm and also makes the reading interesting. The different tones and styles used throughout the comic exaggerate the energy potential of David Boring. Moreover, the use of metaphors and symbolism is quite significant in Clowes’s David Boring. The metaphors used here are rare and different from the traditional ones and are responsible for the way meanings of things can diversify in fiction writing. Twice, Clowes has left both David and the readers to develop and conclude meanings from metaphors and disjointed panels. The idea of symbolism is included through David’s father’s old comic book. The book remains to be a mystery in the whole story and both David and the reader are compelled to struggle and make assumptions about the possible meaning it might hold. This further creates a small sense of frustration in the readers’ minds along with the realization that the author has made successful attempts to tease them. David Clowes has, definitely, made a firm imprint on the world of comics and screenplay. His unique writing techniques, plot, storyline, character building and suspense in his screenplays, though offensive to many, make his creation a lot more interesting and appealing to the reader. His exceptional writing techniques maybe unpalatable for some, but this kind of criticism is faced by nearly every writer ever born. Regardless of this, he has gained numerous admirers over his exceptional creative work such as his uniquely inventive comic book ‘David Boring’. References: Daniel Clowes: (1961-). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2003. Internet resource. Schwartz, Ben. The Best American Comics Criticism. Seattle, Wash: Fantagraphics Books, 2010. Print. Marrone, Daniel. Between Panels: Nostalgia in the Work of Daniel Clowes. , 2009. Print. Kannenberg, Gene. 500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide. New York: Collins Design, 2008. Print. Read More