Drawn & Quarterly is publishing Daniel Clowes’ The Death-Ray in October 2011. Originally published in Clowes’ anthology series, Eightball #23 by Fantagraphics Books in 2004, the Death-Ray story is getting a hardcover treatment.
Teen outcast Andy is an orphaned nobody with only one friend, the obnoxious but loyal Louie. They roam school halls and city streets, invisible to everyone but bullies and tormentors, until the glorious day when Andy takes his first puff on a cigarette. That night he wakes, heart pounding, soaked in sweat, and finds himself suddenly overcome with the peculiar notion that he can do anything. Indeed, he can and as he learns the extent of his new powers, he discovers a terrible and seductive gadget – a hideous compliment to his seething rage – that forever changes everything.”
“The DEATH-RAY utilizes the classic staples of the superhero genre – origin, costume, ray-gun. sidekick, fight scene – reconfiguring them in a story that is anything but morally simplistic. With subtle comedy, deft mastery and an obvious affection for the bold Pop Art exuberance of comic book design, Daniel Clowes delivers a contemporary meditation on the the darkness of the human psyche.
Daniel Clowes, best known for his work in Eightball and Ghost World, has just recently won a PEN Literary Award and is featured in the October 2011 issue of ArtNews.
The Death-Ray hardcover by Drawn & Quarterly contains 48 full color pages and measures 9” x 12” with a retail price of $19.95US. It is available at most quality comics shops on Wednesday, October 12th 2011. Ask your local shop if they have ordered this book in advance.
Here is a four page preview of The Death-Ray!
– The Comic Book Critic