Wilson

By Daniel Clowes. Published by Fantagraphics. 

Softcover, 80 pages, Colour, 2010. 

Now a feature film with Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern

A new paperback edition of the modern classic timed to the release of the Alexander Payne–produced film version.

Meet Wilson, an opinionated middle-aged loner who loves his dog and quite possibly no one else. In an ongoing quest to find human connection, he badgers friend and stranger alike into a series of one-sided conversations, punctuating his own lofty discursions with a brutally honest, self-negating sense of humor. After his father dies, Wilson, now irrevocably alone, sets out to find his ex-wife with the hope of rekindling their long-dead relationship, and discovers he has a teenage daughter, born after the marriage ended and given up for adoption. Wilson eventually forces all three to reconnect as a family–a doomed mission that will surely, inevitably backfire.

Daniel Clowes, one of the leading cartoonists of our time creates a thoroughly engaging, complex, and fascinating portrait of the modern egoist–outspoken and oblivious to the world around him. Working in a single-page gag format and drawing in a spectrum of styles, the cartoonist ofGhost World,Ice Haven, andThe Death-Raygives usWilson, his funniest and most deeply affecting novel to date.

Wilson builds from clever character sketch to deadpan comedy to surprisingly forceful melodrama. -Sam Lipsyte, The New York Times

"A tremendously skillful cartoonist at the top of his game." -Douglas Wolk, Time

" Wilson is a stellar addition to an impressive oeuvre." -Brad Mackay, Globe & Mail