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Portrait of Daniel Clowes

Daniel Clowes

(1961) Cartoonist United States

121 quotes in 538 categories

Daniel Clowes calls a certain eatery the “Mona Lisa of bad diners.” He argues that comics demand more effort from readers than movies or TV. He also says he will turn down high‑paying illustration jobs to stay true to his comics.

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Daniel Clowes is a cartoonist from the United States, best known for Wilson.

Quick Facts About Daniel Clowes

Born: April 14, 1961
Nationality: United States
Profession: Cartoonist
Notable works: Wilson

About Daniel Clowes

His Eightball issues mixed short pieces with longer chapters that were later collected as graphic novels such as Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron (1993), Ghost World (1997), David Boring (2000) and Patience (2016). He worked with filmmaker Terry Zwigoff to adapt Ghost World into a 2001 film and another Eightball story into the 2006 film Art School Confidential. He has earned a Pen Award for Outstanding Work in Graphic Literature, many Harvey and Eisner Awards, and an Academy Award nomination.

Awards & Honors

Adamson Awards Inkpot Award Best foreign work published in Spain Harvey Award for Best Writer Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist Eisner Award for Best Short Story Will Eisner Hall of Fame Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album — New

Show 4 more awards

Harvey Award for Best New Series Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist) Harvey Award for Best Letterer Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Quotes by Daniel Clowes

People seem to need a likable protagonist more than ever.

Ever

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I'm more interested in characters who are a little difficult.

Adversity

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Try letting a Kindle protect your heart from sniper fire!

Fire

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Working on movies made me realize how fluid the medium of film was.

Cinema

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When people get things for free, they tend to not take them as seriously.

Free

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When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.

Always

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I never feel there's anything I can't do.

Feel

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“So what have you guys been up to?” “Nothing, worshipping Satan.”

Guys

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I never know if a book is crazy or not. There's that fear - this is the one that will end it…

Book

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That's the biggest part of doing comics: You have to create stuff that makes you want to get out of bed every…

Bed

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I think I've had the fantasy of a ray-gun that could erase the world from the time I was a very little…

Erase

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I was thinking the other day that there will never be another form of music that everybody has to respond to -…

Disco

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As soon as I'm finished with it, it feels like an impersonal project. Like, "Well, I did another book."

Book

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I love the medium and I love individual comics, but the business is nothing I would be proud of.

Be proud

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I'm always hiding the books in my closet, and my art's always turned upside down in my drawer.

Art

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“Maybe what I really wanted, I began to think, was a stronger sense of fellowship... I thought about my friends and about…

Began Think

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When you see somebody who's got a complaining personality, it usually means that they had some vision of what things could be,…

Camps

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But they always just laugh off everything I say, when really I want absolutely nothing more than to destroy the world they…

Change

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There are certain comics that just seem like they have this perfect balance between dialogue and image that I can't not read.…

Balance

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You need to be, like, turning down high-paying illustration work because you want to work on your comic. That's when you know…

Comic

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“God, it drives me crazy when I know exactly what I want and I can't find it anywhere! It's like does anybody…

Money

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“When I was, like thirteen I thought it would be really cool to be a prostitute... I Thought It was like handsome…

Funny quotes

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It's embarrassing to be involved in the same business as the mainstream comic thing. It's still very embarrassing to tell other adults…

Adults

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Often I'll do research just to get a time period correct, but I didn't have to for the '70s... I feel like…

Eye

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Surely comics require more effort on the part of the reader than movies or television. I'm always learning new things you can…

Books

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I try to employ a different strategy for each story. Often, I'll have a specific look in mind before I even have…

Character

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Writing screenplays is very freeing from what you can do in comics in a lot of ways. You can change things around.…

Can do

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Certainly it's great to be able to talk to your friends about something. They might mention a film, and you can find…

Able

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I think a comic looks better in the magazine. The colors are designed to be on paper, not illuminated on screen. I…

Comic

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I see a lot of possibilities in the age of my characters - between 18 and 21. You have a window of…

Age

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I just try to make comics for myself, try to give it some kind of unity throughout. That often involves tiny details.…

Comic

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I never feel there's anything I can't do with comics. There are certain things in comics that you can't do in any…

Comic

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I was 30 before I made a living that was not embarrassing.

Embarrassing

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“This is the Mona Lisa of bad diners.”

Diners

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I think I have a very clear vision of what I want things to look like.

Clear

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In an art school it's very hard to tell who is the best.

Art

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Nobody else feels the same way about your dog that you do.

About

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I'm a fan of parchment and wood pulp.

Fans

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I don't read much of anything online.

Books

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“Pussey, you're worse than a hundred girls!”

Girls

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Daniel Clowes by topic

Comic (23) Thinking (20) Books (18) Trying (15) Kind (15) Artist (14) Way (13) People (13) Comics (13) Book (13) Want (11) Time (10)