Sadly, I don't collect comic books anymore. It simply became too expensive a hobby for me. I was spending over $50 a week on that stuff, and not just that, I had tons of comic books taking up more space than I had room for. In time, maybe I'll go back to being the comic book geek that I used to be, but right now would be a bad time. I'm shelling out enough money buying DVDs, and I'm also trying to pay off my credit card debt, as well as one of my three student loans.
When I first collected comics in the late 80s, I bought anything that I thought would go up in price. That didn't last long, though. Once I started reading them, I didn't care about value. I was into the DC superhero books, "Batman," "Superman," "Justice League America" (back when it was more a spoof of superheroes than anything else), "Green Lantern," and all of those. Marvel was much more popular with their thousands of "X-Men" titles and "Spider-Man," but I was more interested in the writing. DC Comics had some of the best writers in the business. Marvel Comics cared more about art than writing, so I was definitely a DC guy. Eventually, I lost interest in the superhero books. DC Comics had a line of more mature comics in their "Vertigo" line that was more sophisticated, and I ate it all up. I was into "Hellblazer," "Sandman," "Preacher," "Shade the Changing Man," and just about everything else under the "Vertigo" banner. I also started getting into the independent comic books, especially the ones that had nothing to do with superheroes or the supernatural, the ones that were simple real world stories. My favorites included "Strangers in Paradise," "Hate," "Optic Nerve," "Why I Hate Saturn," and any of the Drawn & Quarterly stuff by Seth, Joe Matt, and Chester Brown. "Eightball" was one of those kinds of comic books, but I never got into it. To be honest with you, I don't even know why. It seems like one of the kinds I would have liked, but I just never picked it up. In a million years, I never would have guessed that a movie woulda been made out of one of the stories in "Eightball." Well, a movie HAS been made outta one of the stories in "Eightball," a really good one, at that, and that movie is "Ghost World."
Although "Ghost World" is based on a comic book story, you wouldn't know it by watching it. There are no superheroes, vigilantes, or mutants. Instead, there are two girls who graduated from high school, and they're trying to adjust to the next stage in life, though one is adjusting a lot better than the other. The two girls are played by Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. Thora Birch, who was in the great "American Beauty," as well as the awful "Dungeons and Dragons," is absolutely perfect in this movie. I heard that Christina Ricci was originally offered the role, but she ended up not doing it. Though I can definitely see Christina Ricci in the role, I think that Thora Birch is better suited for it. She completely takes over this movie. Scarlett Johansson (she was the girl in "The Horse Whisperer") plays her best friend, and though her role isn't as flashy, she's very good. Steve Buscemi is in the movie, and as usual, he's awesome. He plays the smart ass that he always plays, but he's much more subdued doing it. Steve Buscemi kicks ass. Brad Renfro, who I saw in "Bully" two days before I saw this movie, is also in it, though his role is very small. Dave Sheridan, who was "Doofy" in "Scary Movie," also has a small role, but he's hilarious. Illeana Douglas is awesome as an overtly PC art teacher, and Teri Garr (with a Larry King voice, say "I think that Teri Garr is a tremendous talent!") is always good.
This movie was directed by Terry Zwigoff, and this isn't the first time he treads over comic book territory. His first feature film was the great documentary, "Crumb," about the legendary but controversial comic book artist. It was an amazing movie, but truly disturbing. I just finished writing a review for "Bully" where I mentioned how disturbing it was, as well as the first film by that director, "Kids." Well, "Crumb" is probably even more disturbing than those movies since it's an actual documentary. Robert Crumb is a freaky guy, but he pales in comparison to his brother. You simply MUST see "Crumb." Now. Seriously. Go rent it. Just don't go to Blockbuster. I hate them. They're evil. Hollywood Video is pretty bad, too. No, on second thought, don't rent it, just go ahead and buy it.
Zwigoff did a good job on this, his first fictional movie. He's obviously a comic book geek, and he truly respects the medium. The script was written by Daniel Clowes & Terry Zwigoff, and it was based on issues 11-18 of Clowes' ongoing comic book series that I mentioned earlier, "Eightball." You can buy the collected edition of those issues in a single trade paperback called, you guessed it, "Ghost World."
Oh, you may be interested in knowing that John Malkovich was one of the producers of this movie.
I liked "Ghost World" a lot, but it gets frustrating at times. Some of the things you don't wanna happen end up happening, and some of the things you DO want to happen DON'T end up happening. Also, there are a few slow parts in the movie. But the dialogue is great, and it's a genuinely funny movie. It's definitely not for everyone, but I sure as hell liked it.
Scale of 1-10: 8