Daniel Clowes

14th November 2023

Daniel Clowes is an award-winning writer and comics artist. He’s the guy behind the Eight-Ball series and Ghost World. This year, he released a graphic novel inspired by his attempts to learn about the life of his late, largely absent mother. It’s called Monica. On Bullseye, he chats about the novel and the time he spent researching his family history. Plus, the things he learned about his mom that he can’t unlearn.

Episode notes

Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images

Daniel Clowes is an award-winning writer and comics artist.  

He created the Eight-Ball series and Ghost World. A comic book that later turned into an indie movie starring Scarlett Johansson. 

His latest work is Monica. It’s a graphic novel inspired by his attempts to learn about the life of his late, largely absent mother. 

Daniel was mostly raised by his grandparents. His mom led an intense, sort of mysterious life. She dated lots of race car drivers and fixed cars on the South Side of Chicago. 

The gaps in her biography stretched decades. And the stories she’d tell about her life were often opaque and vague. 

After she passed, Daniel did his research: scouring websites, calling family members, talking with old friends. Anything to know more about his mother. 

He found that the things he didn’t know about his mom could fill a book. 

It took Clowes five years to write and draw Monica. The novel spans genres and decades. 

Monica, the title character, narrates most of the book. She tells us about her life, but also that of her mom: Penny. Who, like Clowes’ mother, was at times mercurial, frustrating and mysterious.

On Bullseye, Daniel Clowes stops by to chat about the novel. He gets into the time he spent researching his family’s history. Plus, the things he learned about his mother that he can’t unlearn. 

Daniel Clowes’ new novel ‘Monica’ is out now. You can find it at your local bookstore or online here.

In this episode...

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Producer
Maximum Fun Producer
Maximum Fun Production Fellow
Video Editor

Guests

  • Daniel Clowes

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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