Ghost World & Monica

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (1998) 80 pages

A slim story in eight chapters. Friends Enid and Becky have finished high school and spend their time making snide, sarcastic observations about the people in their town and programs on TV. It was adapted into a 2001 movie, which I watched after reading this. The movie changes a lot, and I only gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Minimizing the character John Ellis was good. Minimizing their friend Josh from school was not a good decision. There is a lonely character, who places a wanted ad in the paper to meet a woman, and the girls play a prank on him. This character is played by Steve Buscemi in the movie. Buscemi, or his agent, or a close producer friend must have been the one to make the deal to turn this into a movie because this character is hugely expanded. He almost has as much screen time as Enid's character. It becomes less about Enid and Becky as their friendship grows apart, but that is one of the strongest parts of the graphic novel.

Monica by Daniel Clowes (2023) 106 pages

A portion of the Goodreads synopsis says, "Monica is a multilayered masterpiece in comics form that alludes to many of the genres that have defined the medium — war, romance, horror, crime, the supernatural, etc. — but in a mysterious, uncategorizable, and quintessentially Clowesian way." I see the influence of the different genres, but I would not call this a masterpiece. I found it weird and disturbing.

A Good Day for Chardonnay

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones (2021) 404 pages

Sunshine Vicram has been the sheriff in the small town of Del Sol, New Mexico for four months, ever since her parents put her on the ballot against the crooked incumbent and she won. Sunshine, in her early thirties, is still single, but has a teenaged daughter, Auri, who was conceived during a tumultuous time when Sunshine had been kidnapped long ago. Sunshine still can't remember the whole ordeal, but pieces periodically come back to her. Auri is a good kid whom everyone adores, but she does have a way of getting into trouble. 

Sunshine's best friend, Quincy, is her deputy. The small staff of close-knit officers are trying to locate a group who stabbed a guy outside a bar owned by Levi, a guy from a local family filled with some seriously messed up individuals. However, everyone loves Levi, especially Sunshine, who can't seem to express herself to him, although she can bring herself to arrest him in an attempt to keep him safe after he is seriously injured and refuses to go to the hospital.

Problems in Del Sol pop up like a game of Whack-a-mole. Some old unsolved crimes add to the trickiness. Can some of these crimes be interconnected? And why do the townspeople line up to turn themselves in when crimes are committed? I was quite entertained, but also more than a bit worried a number of times. 

This was book two in the series, but enough detail is supplied that the book works as a stand-alone.