Overview
At long last: Daniel Clowes is back at Pantheon, with a brilliant new graphic novel already hailed by Time as “another of his hilariously slightly off-center worlds that have a vague sense of dread about them. Kind of like where you live.”Welcome to Ice Haven! “It’s not as cold here as it sounds,” declares Random Wilder, our reluctant guide to this sleepy Midwestern town. He’s also its would-be poet laureate. Would-be, that is, were it not for the "Florid banalities” of his archrival, Ida Wentz, published ad nauseam in the Ice Haven Daily Progress. Among Wilder’s other fellow Ice Havians are the lovelorn Violet Van der Plazt and Vida Wentz; the detective team of Mr. and Mrs. Ames; the adorable interracial moppets Carmichael and Paula; disaffected stationery salesgirl Julie Patheticstein; the Blue Bunny, newly sprung from prison and the bitterest rabbit in town; and poor little David Goldberg, missing for more than a week now…
While Dan Clowes has gotten a nod from the mainstream -- an Oscar nomination for the screen adaptation of Ghost World -- his work remains wonderfully idiosyncratic and imaginative. The lives of the men and women of Ice Haven are woven into a multi-layered tale that, while it owes a debt to Our Town, is ultimately based on and inspired by… Leopold and Loeb. No kidding.
Only Daniel Clowes could do it and, luckily for us, he has.
Synopsis
At long last: Daniel Clowes is back at Pantheon, with a brilliant new graphic novel already hailed by Time as another of his hilariously slightly off-center worlds that have a vague sense of dread about them. Kind of like where you live.
Welcome to Ice Haven! It s not as cold here as it sounds, declares Random Wilder, our reluctant guide to this sleepy Midwestern town. He s also its would-be poet laureate. Would-be, that is, were it not for the "Florid banalities of his archrival, Ida Wentz, published ad nauseam in the Ice Haven Daily Progress. Among Wilder s other fellow Ice Havians are the lovelorn Violet Van der Plazt and Vida Wentz; the detective team of Mr. and Mrs. Ames; the adorable interracial moppets Carmichael and Paula; disaffected stationery salesgirl Julie Patheticstein; the Blue Bunny, newly sprung from prison and the bitterest rabbit in town; and poor little David Goldberg, missing for more than a week now
While Dan Clowes has gotten a nod from the mainstream -- an Oscar nomination for the screen adaptation of Ghost World -- his work remains wonderfully idiosyncratic and imaginative. The lives of the men and women of Ice Haven are woven into a multi-layered tale that, while it owes a debt to Our Town, is ultimately based on and inspired by Leopold and Loeb. No kidding.
Only Daniel Clowes could do it and, luckily for us, he has.
The Washington Post - Joey Anuff
When I later marveled to my friend that, on first pass, I'd failed to crack the case of young David Goldberg's disappearance, I could tell that Clowes's misdirection had fooled him, too. Which is to say, don't be surprised if Ice Haven becomes your favorite comic long before you've solved its many mysteries.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Welcome to the sleepy little town of Ice Haven, which wakes up under the watchful eye of would-be poet laureate Random Wilder. Ghost World impresario Daniel Clowes presents the intertwined stories of Ice Haven locals with frames that feature vivid coloring and careful, yet unforced linework. At the core of this multilayered tale is the disappearance of little David Goldberg, but it emerges from the interaction of a captivating cast of characters.Joey Anuff
When I later marveled to my friend that, on first pass, I'd failed to crack the case of young David Goldberg's disappearance, I could tell that Clowes's misdirection had fooled him, too. Which is to say, don't be surprised if Ice Haven becomes your favorite comic long before you've solved its many mysteries.— The Washington Post