The Death-Ray by Daniel Clowes

A cartoonist's acclaimed take on the superhero genre - now in
paperback.
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 - and reconfigures 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 darkness of the
human psyche.
One of Clowes's most beloved books, The Death-Ray is the winner of the
Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards.
Daniel Clowes continues to plot a lofty, lonely course through the
subconscious of popular culture with this hilariously bleak graphic novel. -
TIME Best of 2011
48 pages densely packed with art, dialogue and ideas, The Death-Ray [is]
supersaturated, a story delivered directly into your imagination. . . - NPR
Clowes once again shows he is a master of current-day absurdity - with heart.
- USA Today
The Death-Ray reads as a cautionary parable and an acidic rumination (...)

Daniel Clowes is the acclaimed cartoonist of the seminal comic book series
Eightball and the graphic novels Ghost World, David Boring, Ice Haven,
Wilson, Mr. Wonderful, The Death-Ray, and Patience . He has had major
retrospectives at the Oakland Museum of California and the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Chicago.
An Oscar-nominated screenwriter, he is the recipient of numerous awards,
including the PEN Center USA Award, and Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Awards
and is a frequent cover artist for The New Yorker . He is married and lives in

Drawn & Quarterly
On Sale: Sep 5/23
9 x 12 • 52 pages
9781770466753 • $24.95 • pb
Comics & Graphic Novels / Literary