Ice Haven
Encyclopedia
Ice Haven is a 2005 graphic novel
by Daniel Clowes
. The book's contents were originally published as the comic book
Eightball
#22 and were subsequently reformatted to make the hardcover Ice Haven book.
Ice Haven takes the form of 29 short, stylistically diverse comic strip
s about different residents of the small town of Ice Haven. Although each strip is separately titled and presented as if it is self-contained, together they tell a story about the characters' interrelated lives. The uniting plot line of the book involves the kidnapping of a boy named David Goldberg.
, Ida Wentz. He lives alone and looks down on the general public.
Vida - Described as an "out-of-town guest", Vida is a struggling writer who is visiting her grandmother, Ida Wentz. She writes a magazine which doesn't sell. After reading some of Random Wilder's poems, she becomes obsessed with the neighbor who she describes as an "owlish oddity", and begins to follow him around.
David Goldberg - The silent boy who is kidnapped during the course of the story.
Charles - A quiet boy who only talks at length and intelligently to his young neighbor, George. He's disturbed by the behavior he observes from Carmichael, with whom he goes to school. Secretly, Charles is madly in love with his stepsister, Violet, and wishes to end the marriage of their parents in order for them to be together at a later date.
Carmichael - A "troubled youth." He speaks mainly to Charles, though the two are not exactly friends. After he loans Charles a book about the Leopold and Loeb
murder
(the contents of which are summarized in a one-page comic strip), Charles suspects he might be involved in David Goldberg's disappearance.
Violet - A teenager in her senior year of high school
. She's romantically involved with a boy named Penrod and often daydreams about him. She is unhappy at home with her mother and stepfather, is teased at school, and appears to be friendly only with a girl named Julie.
Harry Naybors - A serious comic book enthusiast
and critic
. He is the first character to be introduced after David Goldberg. Harry is the only character to break the fourth wall
and speak directly to the audience.
Mr. Ames - A private investigator
who comes to Ice Haven to look into the disappearance of David Goldberg. He has angry outbursts but is otherwise emotionally unreadable. He cares deeply for both his wife and his work.
Mrs. Ames - Mr. Ames's wife, who is investigating the case alongside her husband. She is growing increasingly fed up with him and their marriage. It is implied that she pursues multiple extramarital affair
s while in Ice Haven.
Ida Wentz - Vida's kindly and emotional grandmother. Poet laureate of Ice Haven.
Julie Patheticstein - An overweight friend of Violet's who works at a stationary store and is generally miserable.
Kim Lee - A convenience store worker who is uncommunicative with customers.
Paula - A young girl that goes to school with Charles and Carmichael. She is taking ballet and is revealed to have a particularly gloomy outlook.
George - Charles's young neighbor in whom he confides. George rarely speaks and is never seen without his toy, Blue Bunny.
Blue Bunny - George's stuffed animal. In a short comic, Blue Bunny is shown in his anthropomorphic form, where he is revealed to be psychotic.
Penrod - Violet's love interest. He probably doesn't return Violet's affection to the same degree.
Rocky - A caveman
possibly modeled after Fred Flintstone
. He is mainly concerned with survival, procreation, and other aspects of living in the year 100,000 B.C. He apparently was the first man to arrive at the location of modern day Ice Haven.
Officer Kaufman - A police officer that appears on and off throughout the book.
, Connecticut
gave Eightball #22 (Ice Haven) to a student as a make-up summer reading assignment. The parents of the student had concerns about the book's appropriateness. The superintendent of Guilford High School
said the book was inappropriate for 13-year-olds and placed the teacher on leave. The teacher resigned before the matter was fully investigated.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
by Daniel Clowes
Daniel Clowes
Daniel Gillespie Clowes is an American author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books....
. The book's contents were originally published as the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
Eightball
Eightball (comic book)
Eightball is an alternative comic book series written and drawn by Daniel Clowes. The first issue was published by Fantagraphics Books in 1989, soon after the end of Clowes's previous comic series, Lloyd Llewellyn...
#22 and were subsequently reformatted to make the hardcover Ice Haven book.
Ice Haven takes the form of 29 short, stylistically diverse comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s about different residents of the small town of Ice Haven. Although each strip is separately titled and presented as if it is self-contained, together they tell a story about the characters' interrelated lives. The uniting plot line of the book involves the kidnapping of a boy named David Goldberg.
Characters
Random Wilder - The supposedly humble narrator of the story who's neither humble nor much of a narrator. He's mainly concerned with his own problems. Wilder is an aspiring writer who nurses a bitter rivalry with Ice Haven's current poet laureatePoet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, Ida Wentz. He lives alone and looks down on the general public.
Vida - Described as an "out-of-town guest", Vida is a struggling writer who is visiting her grandmother, Ida Wentz. She writes a magazine which doesn't sell. After reading some of Random Wilder's poems, she becomes obsessed with the neighbor who she describes as an "owlish oddity", and begins to follow him around.
David Goldberg - The silent boy who is kidnapped during the course of the story.
Charles - A quiet boy who only talks at length and intelligently to his young neighbor, George. He's disturbed by the behavior he observes from Carmichael, with whom he goes to school. Secretly, Charles is madly in love with his stepsister, Violet, and wishes to end the marriage of their parents in order for them to be together at a later date.
Carmichael - A "troubled youth." He speaks mainly to Charles, though the two are not exactly friends. After he loans Charles a book about the Leopold and Loeb
Leopold and Loeb
Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb , more commonly known as "Leopold and Loeb", were two wealthy University of Michigan alumni and University of Chicago students who murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924 and were sentenced to life imprisonment.The duo were...
murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
(the contents of which are summarized in a one-page comic strip), Charles suspects he might be involved in David Goldberg's disappearance.
Violet - A teenager in her senior year of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. She's romantically involved with a boy named Penrod and often daydreams about him. She is unhappy at home with her mother and stepfather, is teased at school, and appears to be friendly only with a girl named Julie.
Harry Naybors - A serious comic book enthusiast
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
. He is the first character to be introduced after David Goldberg. Harry is the only character to break the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and speak directly to the audience.
Mr. Ames - A private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
who comes to Ice Haven to look into the disappearance of David Goldberg. He has angry outbursts but is otherwise emotionally unreadable. He cares deeply for both his wife and his work.
Mrs. Ames - Mr. Ames's wife, who is investigating the case alongside her husband. She is growing increasingly fed up with him and their marriage. It is implied that she pursues multiple extramarital affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
s while in Ice Haven.
Ida Wentz - Vida's kindly and emotional grandmother. Poet laureate of Ice Haven.
Julie Patheticstein - An overweight friend of Violet's who works at a stationary store and is generally miserable.
Kim Lee - A convenience store worker who is uncommunicative with customers.
Paula - A young girl that goes to school with Charles and Carmichael. She is taking ballet and is revealed to have a particularly gloomy outlook.
George - Charles's young neighbor in whom he confides. George rarely speaks and is never seen without his toy, Blue Bunny.
Blue Bunny - George's stuffed animal. In a short comic, Blue Bunny is shown in his anthropomorphic form, where he is revealed to be psychotic.
Penrod - Violet's love interest. He probably doesn't return Violet's affection to the same degree.
Rocky - A caveman
Caveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
possibly modeled after Fred Flintstone
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
. He is mainly concerned with survival, procreation, and other aspects of living in the year 100,000 B.C. He apparently was the first man to arrive at the location of modern day Ice Haven.
Officer Kaufman - A police officer that appears on and off throughout the book.
Controversy
The comic generated controversy when a high school teacher in GuilfordGuilford, Connecticut
Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
gave Eightball #22 (Ice Haven) to a student as a make-up summer reading assignment. The parents of the student had concerns about the book's appropriateness. The superintendent of Guilford High School
Guilford High School (Connecticut)
Guilford High School is a four-year public high school in Guilford, Connecticut. According to the school website,College Board Scholastic Assessment Test and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests results for GHS students are consistently above state, regional and national averages...
said the book was inappropriate for 13-year-olds and placed the teacher on leave. The teacher resigned before the matter was fully investigated.