Ed the Happy Clown
| Ed the Happy Clown | |
|---|---|
Ed the Happy Clown: the Definitive Ed Book cover (Vortex, 1992)
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | |
| First appearance | Yummy Fur minicomic #2 |
| Created by | Chester Brown |
| Ed the Happy Clown | |
| Publication date |
(Yummy Fur minicomic) 1983 – 1985 (Yummy Fur) December 1986 – October 1989 (Ed the Happy Clown) 2004 – 2006 |
| Collected editions | |
| Ed the Happy Clown: A Yummy Fur Book | |
| Ed the Happy Clown: The Definitive Ed Book | |
| Ed the Happy Clown: A Graphic-Novel | |
Ed the Happy Clown is a graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown. Its title character is a large-headed, childlike children's clown who undergoes one horrifying affliction after another. The story is a dark, humorous mix of genres and features scatological humour, sex, body horror, extreme graphic violence, and blasphemous religious imagery. Central to the plot are a man who cannot stop defecating; the head of a miniature, other-dimensional Ronald Reagan attached to the head of Ed's penis; and a female vampire who seeks revenge on her adulterous lover who had murdered her to escape his sins.
The surreal, largely improvised story began with a series of unrelated short strips that Brown went on to tie into a single narrative. Brown first serialized it in his comic book Yummy Fur, and the first, incomplete collected edition in 1989, titled Ed the Happy Clown: A Yummy Fur Book. Shortly after, Brown became unsatisfied with the direction of the serial; he brought it to an abrupt end in the eighteenth issue of Yummy Fur and turned to autobiography. A second edition titled Ed the Happy Clown: The Definitive Ed Book appeared in 1992 with an altered ending and most of the later parts of the series eliminated. The contents of this edition were re-serialized with extensive endnotes in 2005–2006 as a nine-issue Ed the Happy Clown series and collected as Ed the Happy Clown: A Graphic-Novel in 2012.
The story is seen by many critics as a highlight of the 1980s North American alternative comics scene. It has left an influence on contemporary alternative cartoonists such as Daniel Clowes, Seth, and Dave Sim, and has won a Harvey and other awards. Canadian film director Bruce McDonald has had the rights since 1991 to make an Ed movie, but the project has struggled to find financial backing.
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Wikipedia