The Incantations of Daniel Johnston

Artistic and hallucinatory. –John Williams, New York Times Book Review The Incantations of Daniel Johnston is a spirited, eye-popping collaborationg between New York Times-bestselling Spanish artist Ricardo Cavolo and award-winning author Scott McClanahan.

Long a fan of Daniel Johnston, the man and his music, Cavolo illustrates Johnston’s colorful life, from his humble beginnings as a carnival employee to folk musician in Austin, to his rise to MTV popularity and persistent struggle with personal demons.

In addition to being visually very striking, with astoundingly economical prose McClanahan manages to deal with powerful and complex issues, such as how we as a society mythologize troubled artists, while continuing his ongoing exploration of human relationships, and the pliable interaction between reader and writer.

The comic book is the perfect medium – collaborative, visual, and verbal – to explore the power of art to connect people in spite / because of extenuating circumstances like mental illness. It’s magical to see Johnston’s art reverberate between Cavolo and McClanahan as they wrestle with these questions like (to choose a metaphor Johnston might appreciate) Jacob wrestling with God. –Lauren O'Neal, Los Angeles Review of Books