GIBBONS, DAVE 257
photo of the graffi ti in her album, and, at the beginning of one chapter, Enid utters the
phrase “Ghost World” while beside her, Becky blows a bubble with her gum as an empty
imitation of Enid’s speech bubble. It is Enid who is truly enamored by the weirdness in
the quotidian as well as the nostalgia of kitsch. From driving a hearse to her ongoing
fi xation with the psychic Bob Skeetes, Enid often either enacts or engages in surreal
moments in her ordinary life. Enid’s interests place her in a bind: her penchant for old
records, tacky toys, and rundown amusement parks from her past helps to set her apart
from the society she claims to loathe, but also exacerbates her self-loathing. As shown
by her failed yard sale, Enid’s fi xation with the past leaves her unable to move forward
or truly change. Signifi cantly, when she reencounters psychic Skeetes, he reads Enid’s
fortune and sees a woman from the early 20th century as a part of her future; shortly
after, Enid leaves her town via a bus on a line that was supposedly defunct years ago. It
is left ambiguous as to whether Enid was able to escape from her ghost world.
In 2001, Ghost World was adapted into a critically acclaimed movie directed by Terry
Zwigoff , with the screenplay written by Clowes. Th e fi lm starred Th ora Birch as Enid,
Scarlett Johansson as Becky, and Brad Renfro as Josh. Signifi cant changes included the
addition of Seymour, a major character played by Steve Buscemi, Enid’s experience
in art school, and an exploration of racism. Among the fi lm’s many accolades include
Golden Globe acting nominations for Birch and Buscemi, as well as a Best Adapted
Screenplay Academy Award nomination for Clowes and Zwigoff.
Selected Bibliography: Ault, Donald. “Q&A with Dan Clowes and Terry Zwigoff
at 2002 UF Comics Conference.” ImageTexT: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies 1(1)
(Spring 2004); Booker, M. Keith. “May Contain Graphic Material”: Comic Books,
Graphic Novels, and Film. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007; Giroux, Henry A. “ Teen Girls’
Resistance and the Disappearing Social in Ghost World. ” Th e Review of Education,
Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 24 (2002): 283–304; Sperb, Jason. “ Ghost without a
Machine: Enid’s Anxiety of Depth (lessness) in Terry Zwigoff ’s Ghost World. ” Quar-
terly Review of Film and Video 21(3) ( July 2004): 209–17.
Christine Yao
GIBBONS, DAVE (1949–). Th e legacy of Dave Gibbons in the world of comics is
inextricably tied to his artwork for the comic series Watchmen , written by Alan Moore.
As artist for the story, Gibbons worked extensively with Moore to produce a visually
powerful piece that ultimately helped bring comics more cultural legitimacy. While, in
many works, the use of panels, layering, symbolism, and even page layout are used to
present connections and elements within the narrative, the depth to which Gibbons
accomplished this within Wa t c h m e n has been written about in numerous popular and
academic works. His work on Wa t c h m e n won him and Moore an Eisner Award in 1988
for Best Writer/Artist.
Gibbons has played many roles in comics over his lengthy career, including art-
ist, colorist, cover artist, inker, letterer, penciler, and writer. In his fi rst few ventures,
