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Selected Bibliography: Markstein, Don. Th e Ghost Rider. Don Markstein’s Toonopedia:
http://www.toonopedia.com/ghrider1.htm.
Diana Green
GHOST WORLD. Written and illustrated by Daniel Clowes , the cult classic graphic
novel Ghost World was fi rst serialized in Clowes’s comic book series Eightball in eight
parts from issue #11 in June 1993 until issue #18 in June 1997. In 1997, Ghost World
was published in book form by Fantagraphics with some additions and modifi ca-
tions; due to its popularity, Ghost World has been reprinted several times. Ghost World
portrays the unglamorous everyday life of teenagers Enid Coleslaw, formerly Cohn, and
her best friend Rebecca “Becky” Doppelmeyer. Enid Coleslaw, whose name is an ana-
gram of Daniel Clowes, lives with her quiet well-meaning father while barely tolerating
her father’s girlfriend; Becky also lives at home, and has a close relationship with her
grandmother. Recently graduated from high school, Enid and Becky wander around the
confi nes of their nameless small town, cynically critiquing people, their surroundings,
and popular culture. Enid has a particular fascination with kitsch and the grotesque;
more active and quirky than Becky, Enid is often either encouraging Becky to join her
in her misadventures or telling her what has transpired. Ordinary events such as Enid
getting her driver’s license or having a yard sale are interspersed with activities such as
playing cruel pranks on the town’s inhabitants, or the pair visiting an old theme park or
a tacky 1950s-themed restaurant. Expectations are often thwarted: supposed Satanists
followed by the girls buy Lunchables from the grocery store, and, in a moment of self-
insertion, Enid discovers the unfl attering reality behind her vision of Daniel Clowes as
a handsome cartoonist. One of the ongoing narrative threads involves Enid and Becky
tormenting fellow teenager Josh while struggling with their attraction to him as well
as understanding their own sexuality. Th e girls’ cynicism masks their fear of their own
vulnerabilities; combined with the pressure of late adolescence (post-high school), the
tensions between them eventually escalate. While Becky eventually drifts into suburban
normalcy and adulthood, Enid, still alienated and self-loathing, leaves town following
her rejection from college. Th eir strange fi nal encounter can possibly be read as evidence
of Enid’s intention to commit suicide.
Part of Ghost World ’s cult appeal lies in its ability to capture the sense of small
town adolescent alienation. Ghost World captures Enid and Becky in that liminal state
before adulthood: after graduating high school, Enid and Becky are confronted with
the expectation of being appropriately socialized to enter the adult world. Melorra
and John Ellis are two characters that exemplify the clichéd extremes of accepting
or rebelling against normalcy: Melorra is a perky overachiever who willingly shills
for a rightwing candidate in order to get ahead, while John is deliberately contrar-
ian, adopting repellent views in an attempt to be subversive. Discomfi ted by these
options, Enid and Becky choose ennui and cynicism as a temporary means of delay-
ing adulthood; in her usual confl icted fashion, however, Enid often socializes with
both Melorra and John Ellis despite her professed dislike of them. Similarly, the girls
