Ice Haven
June 27, 2005 | Comics
Ice Haven
Daniel Clowes
Pantheon Books
$26.95 (Hardcover)
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Daniel Clowes is a complex person.
Well, frankly, he’s a legendary misanthrope whose contempt for society is outmatched only by his distaste for comic book critics.
So with all due respect to the creator of Ice Haven (along with Ghost World and Art School Confidential) — here it comes.
Ice Haven is a novel made up of different comic strips, each featuring a different art style and one of 10 characters — ranging from a worried little boy to an aging poet and a big, blue hate-filled bunny.
The loose theme that ties the stories together is the apparent kidnapping of a young boy in the small town of Ice Haven.
Through his diverse cast of characters (which incidentally includes a comic book critic) Clowes examines the fragility of people and their interactions with his traditional insight mixed with thinly veiled contempt.
Ice Haven is the perfect purchase for a pessimist.
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