David Boring

by Daniel Clowes

Hardcover, 2000

Status

Available

Call number

PN6727.C565 D38

Series

Eightball (19-21)

Genres

Graphic Novels

Comics

Graphic Novels and Comics

Publication

Pantheon (2000), Edition: 1, 136 pages

Description

A graphic novel in which a nineteen-year-old security guard named David Boring, in search of the girl of his dreams, winds up in a tangled web of obsession, murder, and family dysfunction. Contains adult content.

Media reviews

Comics Bulletin

Highly recommended.

— 2 more

The Guardian

David Boring might lack the bubble-gum charm and emotional charge of Ghost World, yet it is a subtle and intriguing book, whose compelling perplexity makes it well worth unlocking.

Graphic Novel Reporter

It wins a spot as Clowes’ most inventive creation.

User reviews

LibraryThing member stephmo

David Boring's life has changed in the big city - he's gotten lucky with girls, he's far away from friends that know every embarrassing detail of his past and his roommate, Dot, also appreciates his scrapbook of large-bottomed girls. This all works well until Whitey shows up and is murdered.

Much

less a murder mystery and more of a dry dark comedy, the story follows David's obsession that leads to the perfect woman, getting shot in the face and even conspiracies to poison the world. Buried within in this is the story-within-a-story of The Yellow Streak, a puzzle that may lead to understanding David's father (two panels at a time).

Clowe's story is filled with compelling characters and an equally compelling storyline.

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6 more

LibraryThing member ironicqueery

I try to like Daniel Clowes, but I have trouble not viewing his work at crude and vulgar. The artwork is nice and his plot certainly creative, but it doesn't allow my mind to dwell upon higher thoughts and find tangents to meander with. David Boring is simply the story about a guy and his search

for love. Twists and turns abound, but other than creating a unique story, they serve little purpose.

It's obvious that Clowes has the ability to weave a great story, but in the end, he tends to keep the story simple and not flesh out the more intriguing plots, instead relying on sexual encounters to titillate the majority of his readers.

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LibraryThing member stipe168

Its a quant story, very man vs self, man vs paternity figures, man vs love. I feel its more style over content. Writing over plot. Comic book simplicity at its finest.

LibraryThing member freelancer_frank

This is a book about adolescence. It is similarly caught between the mundane and the overwrought. The eponymous narrator is, like most of us, smart, mundane and somewhat shabby - yet he lives in a world of high-noir, where people get shot by strangers on a reasonably regular basis. This playing

with life's registers has a lot of potential and it's a fun read. The story, however, tends to feel a little forced and random in places - and this detracts a little from the effect of the whole.

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LibraryThing member questbird

A well-drawn, well-constructed moody graphic novel -- obviously written *as* a graphic novel. The eponymous narrator is an emotionally stilted young man who takes part in several enigmatic relationships.

LibraryThing member ancameme

My first try at reading this didn't go so well. Some time passed, I read Twentieth Century Eightball and loved it so I considered giving David Boring another shot.
The interesting fact is the story, what I remembered of it from my partial first read, still echoed in my mind. There is a certain

drowsiness and a certain abandon in the storytelling that haunts you afterward.

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LibraryThing member Algybama

A fun disposable story that's a little thin but pretty good reading.

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