Customer Reviews

Ghost World: The Special Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Story
"Ghost World" was released way back in the 90's during the height of the cynical teen culture. They swear! They complain! They mope! Nobody in the world can possibly understand what they're going through! But, we do. If you read this book at the appropriate age, (I would say around 13-17.) then you were probably sucked right into their world.

They are truly philosophers of teenage angst. If you read it after your teenage/young adult years, you'll simply see them as whining kids. Which is fair, they are, but no book besides "The Catcher in the Rye" so perfectly captured teenage angst in its pure roots. Throw this book at a surly teen and they will treasure it forever, making them feel not so alone. Heavens, it might even make them laugh occasionally!

I grew up reading this book. When I first got it, I was a misfit in High School and could empathize with the loner outcast feel they sent off. When I grew a little older into my late teens, I understood how people grow up and grow apart, and had a falling out with my best friend that mirrored events in the book itself. Finally, I realized how there was more to life than simply sitting down and feeling sorry for yourself. Now, in my young adult stage, I can see the girls for what they are: A perfect time capsule of one point in every persons life. They aren't great thinkers except for what they are at that exact stage.

You may not truly appreciate the depths the book has unless you had read it while younger. But if you can remember teen years, then its worth it to pick up a copy.

The Book
This is a fantastic release. It has the original book with all the art work intact, along with original copies of the book from the Eightball magazine. It has lots of concept art, promotional art, merchandise photos, and new comics made just for this release. In addition it contains the movie script and soundtrack album artwork.

If you want the full "Ghost World" experience, this is the version to buy. Especially now that it's so close to the cost of the mass paperback edition. Buy this, it had much more stuff in it and is worth the 20$ extra. It has exactly the same mass paperback along with all the extras mentioned. Truly a treasure I return to year after year.

THIS BOOK IS GREAT! I constantly use it for references and why get the individual set of Ghost World and Ghost World script book. get this book and you'll also get some extra stuff. Sketches, unused art work, Alternative covers, The WHOLE ENCHILADA!

In the Ghost World graphic novel, there is a sense of the masks that younger people try on, trying to pounce on others outside of their clique and keep close friends within their own small sphere as they move through life. Clowes repeatedly demonstrates how often choices are made just to entertain others by talking about it later on. You get a sense that the decisions people make are largely out of social stigmas, and he delineates so many of them that it appears entirely rational. He shows how many tensions there are in growing up, sure, but also within friendships (sexual and intellectual rivalries) and exposes the arbitrary nature of early relationships in a way that can often be surprisingly revelatory.

There an interesting theme of dodging the freaks that appear around them... until they end up on television at least. John Ellis' character seemed to hover around the issue of child molestation just to lightly suggest that Rebecca had experienced that in her past, as a contributing factor to her character.

I love that Enid was looking for one lame children's record the entire time as she tried on her various disguises over the years. It reminds you of the nostalgia that overwhelms you at around 18 where you realize how formative all of those interests proved to be.

The movie's decision to have an age-based romance between Enid and a record collector seemed shoehorned in, and the art class jokes take us away from the real point of the story in the graphic novel. Point being, if you have to choose one of them, get this.

Great fun

Annotations to the comic (front and back covers included!), the out of print screenplay for the Ghost World film

Artwork for the cd soundtrack, and for the Enid doll. Also, some Enid cartoons and all that a fan of the comic (originally printed in Eightball) and film could want

Published October 2008

In Ghost World, Daniel Clowes doesn't romanticize the teenage experience or show teenage girls as sweet and idealistic. His portrayal is raw, cynical, and honest, often hitting the nail on the head.

Enid and Rebecca are best friends who constantly shout insults at each other, because that's how they communicate. I'm not used to seeing people talk this way in books, but I also know people who talk this way. It's not over-the-top or malicious...it's real.

The girls also don't know what they want in their future, especially Enid. She's graduated from high school and her father is pressing for college. She's not interested in college, but she doesn't want to disappoint her father, and she doesn't know what to do instead of school, either. She doesn't look for a job or try to figure out the next step in her life.

Enid and Rebecca are very cynical and caustic, but they live in a world where they can see no other way to act. Everyone around them is pretentious or clueless...or both. The stuff on television and in magazines strikes them as ridiculous. They can't stand the people around them. It's an excellent portrayal of alienation, especially teenage alienation. Even when Enid and Rebecca aren't being nice, they're still understandable. This graphic novel is very funny, but it's also very sad, and sometimes it's both at the same time. The saddest part is when Enid and Rebecca pull a prank on a man trying to meet a woman, but the girls, especially Enid, don't realize what they've done until it's too late.

Ghost World is very well known in the comics world, a sort of classic in the field. Others might be familiar with the critically acclaimed movie based on it and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, and Steve Buscemi. While some of what's in the comic carries directly over into the movie, and the feel of it remains the same, the comic is often quite different. In the movie, Enid falls for Seymour, the character played by Buscemi; in the book, all Enid does is play a prank on the character that would become Seymour in the film. The comic isn't as plot-strong as the movie, instead feeling more like a series of vignettes. Though it's only 80 pages long, this graphic novel still manages to leave a deep impression.

Reviewed by Danica Davidson

I usually have problems justifying "special editions" of things, even when it's something i love as much as Ghost World.

Quick review: Worth every penny. You get the original story, the screenplay plus tons of extras which invite you further into the universe and make it so that you never want to leave.

Thanks to Thora Birch's excellent portrayal of Enid in the GHOST WORLD movie, I learned of Mr. Clowes writing prowess and the genius of Mr. Zwigoff's directing. The GW film was so unique; I bought the book to see where the concept came from. And in the process, I found this book to be an artsy & colorful volume that shows early sketches of Enid & Rebecca. The content offers behind-the-scene movie comments and filming insights from comic creator Daniel Clowes and film director Terry Zwigoff. This is a neat little book!

This was almost exactly like the movie. However, I think I liked the movie better. I will have to re-watch it soon.