Need a reason to be cheerful today? Well, for me, it was D&Q’s announcement that they’re reprinting Mr. Clowes’ The Death-Ray (originally published as Eightball #23) in spiffy hardcover format.
Here’s the PR:
“The Death-Ray is one of the most perfect and fully realized comics of the past decade and it is nothing short of the highest honour to publish,” said Chris Oliveros, Editor-In-Chief and Publisher of Drawn Quarterly. “The story of the alienated Andy is drawn and written to perfection with Dan’s signature subtle humour, stylistic eloquence, and understated social commentary–showcasing all of the hallmarks of why Dan is one of the preeminent cartoonists of the comics medium.”
The Death-Ray will be in stores as a hardcover graphic novel in Fall 2011. It is the story of the teen outcast Andy, 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.
Motion-picture rights to The Death-Ray are in development with Jack Black’s Electric Dynamite Productions, with noted director Chris Milk attached to direct.
Easily one of my favorite Clowes comics of all time, this news was a Death-Ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day.
