Freddy Brown, The Squirt: The Operator

Nothing signals the passing of a good year like the arrival of a vintage—this was made 20+ years ago—masterstroke by Daniel Gillespie Clowes. A quick convert since high school, I've spent the past decade down in the trenches, tracking down and collecting his original artwork. Its pursuit is maddening, wallet-detonating and (oftentimes) heartbreaking, but the overwhelming pride of ownership his pages confer make all of the hassles worthwhile.

This particular story, which appeared in the third issue of JD King's Twist anthology (a semi-continuation of STOP! Magazine), has always been a favorite, and I can distinctly remember reading it for the first time one afternoon while I was killing time at Toxic Ranch Records in Tucson, AZ. My teenage self never would've imagined that I'd own these pages someday.

I'm sure we'll post more photos once we've got these framed up and displayed in the house proper. Until then, please enjoy the pics below.

Eternal indebtedness and gratitude to Mike and Damian for their undying devotion to charity! Special thanks to Mitch O'Connell for having the foresight to pick these up when he had the chance. And an extra-special thanks to Valery for putting up with my fanboy slavishness.