Wilson

Wilson is a disgusting abrasive human being. Wilson is angry, insensitive, uninformed, argumentative and manages to say the worst possible thing he can at any given time. Luckily, Wilson is another of Daniel Clowes’ beloved idiot man-children, like David Boring and Pussey.

The short nine-panel one-page vignettes of this book tell a simple story. Wilson is an idiot who loves his dog more than people, he gets in everyone’s way business and when his father dies, he decides to go home and make amends with his ex-wife, who he has decided has descended into a life of prostitution and drugs. Though the truth is never revealed, we do see hints that her divorce from him lead her down a dark path. Together, they kidnap their now teenage daughter, given up for adoption and try a family roadtrip. His subsequent arrest for kidnapping, un-rehabilitation and revelation that said daughter has spawned leads Wilson towards some sort of retribution, but only on his own terms.

Clowes has this ability to present the right snapshots of any of his characters’ lives to give a full sense of who they are. The portrayal of Wilson is never sympathetic and never shows his good or nice side at all, yet we side with the loveable idiot and hope he comes good of it at the end, despite his abrasive manner. Once again Daniel Clowes proves himself to be the master of the graphic novel and the celebrator of the loveable loser.