This is Monica, one ordinary woman’s extraordinary journey through the history of comics – from the creator of Ghost World

***AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023***

'Pitch-perfect... Could not put it down' OBSERVER

'In Monica, Clowes reaches a new artistic peak' VANITY FAIR

A dazzling, spectacular tapestry of interconnected narratives that together tell a life story, Monica is the new graphic novel from one of the most iconic storytellers of all time. This eponymous protagonist is a rag-to-riches character who, after being abandoned by her freewheelin' parents in childhood, succeeds in clawing her way to the top - only to lose it all in a stroke of bad luck. She lives out the rest of her days in search of her parents, encountering a cast of eccentric characters who help to piece together her story.

This graphic novel extravaganza is an unforgettable ode to the many genres that have defined the comics form - from war, romance and horror to crime and the supernatural. Mysterious, uncategorisable and quintessentially Clowesian, here is a multi-layered masterpiece born of a lifetime of inspiration. Monica marks the creative apex of Daniel Clowes' distinguished career, one of the defining voices of the graphic novel boom over the past quarter-century.

"A new book by Clowes is always eagerly anticipated... Monica didn’t disappoint… He gives us our own times magnificently disguised as a gorgeous-looking period piece" - Observer, *Books of the Year*

"Clowes just gets better and better… Monica is really inspiring" - i

"This strange and gripping book is often frightening and sometimes deeply sad. But it’s also wickedly funny at times… A series of pitch-perfect portraits… I could not put it down" - Observer

"The year’s most eagerly awaited work... A book that’s philosophical as well as playful, and one of his best" - Guardian, *Best Graphic Novels of the Year*

"Clowes has long been considered one of the finest cartoonists of his generation.... But in Monica, he reaches a new artistic peak... Each section has a beautifully rendered drawing - whether it be a soldier lighting a cigarette or Monica wiping the steam from a bathroom mirror - that can be held up among the best of his career" - Vanity Fair

"A thrilling kaleidoscopic journey… Fans will need little excuse to fling themselves into this genre-hopping work. But casual readers shouldn’t fret. Monica’s story, despite being told in themed fragments, with gaps that sometimes stretch for decades, is full of drama... A rich, clever work" - Guardian

"The rare cartoonist whose graphic novels become cultural events" - New York Magazine

"One of the most notable comic artists of our era, a pillar of the '80s-'90s scene who's continued to do great work up to the present day" - NPR