Like a Velvet Glove Cast In Iron

Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron is a graphic novel by author Daniel Clowes. The book is a haunting, surreal horror with a dreamlike storyline. It began life as a serial feature in the first ten issues of Eightball.

The plot concerns Clay Loudermilk, a young man who, upon seeing his ex-wife in a skin flick at the local porno theatre, sets off on a mission to find her in the big city. Along the way he learns a lot about life, love and loss. He also adopts a dog with no head and shacks up with an old waitress and her grotesque fish-daughter.

Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron contains examples of:

 * And I Must Scream / Downer Ending: The end, when
 * Eye Scream: Clay borrows a car from a guy with shrimp in his eye sockets. It is a therapy for an eye infection in which the shellfish eat the bacteria.
 * Surrealism: The book's attempt to present a living dream/nightmare means it relies heavily on random coincidence, unrelated moments, symbolic imagery, and open-ended ambiguity.
 * The Grotesque: The daughter counts as this, as her fish-like appearance overshadows her very teenage girl-like longings.