The Incantations of Daniel Johnston: sneak peek inside the book by Two Dollar Radio

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The Incantations of

Daniel Johnston

! e l t i t s i h t f s l o o o k t e e e h t p h t k i a w e t n u ) . s o n y a e a l e r y e c h o s t j r e u g o En n y a f h o c n m a o c t t u o o b Y r ( o p o t e h at t

a graphic novel by

Ricardo Cavolo

written by

Scott McClanahan

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The Incantations of

Daniel Johnston

a graphic novel by

Ricardo Cavolo

written by

Scott McClanahan

COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

TWO DOLLAR RADIO is a family-run outfit founded in 2005 with the mission to reaffirm the cultural and artistic spirit of the publishing industry. We aim to do this by presenting bold works of literary merit, each book, individually and collectively, providing a sonic progression that we believe to be too loud to ignore.

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Copyright © 2016 by Ricardo Cavolo Text Copyright © 2016 by Scott McClanahan Ideas & Illustrations © 2013 by Ricardo Cavolo All rights reserved. Ricardo Cavolo’s preface translated from the Spanish by Ryan Jenkins. Translation Copyright © 2016 by Ryan Jenkins Originally published in a much different form, as El desorganismo de Daniel Johnston, in Spain by Edicions de Ponent, SL . Translation rights arranged through Garbuix Agency. ISBN: 978-1-937512-45-3 Library of Congress Control Number available upon request. Ricardo Cavolo Author photo: Maria Herreros Scott McClanahan Author photo: Stacy Kranitz No portion of this book may be copied or reproduced, with the exception of quotes used in critical essays and reviews, without the writ ten permission of the publisher . This book — while inspired by real people and events and their presentation in articles and documentaries — is a product of the creators’ lively imaginations and as such should be considered a work of creative fiction. It is in no way meant to be read as a factual account or non-fiction.

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Dedication

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The Incantations of

Daniel Johnston a graphic novel by

Ricardo Cavolo written by

Scott McClanahan

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For my parents. For Laura. For Daniel . —Ricardo Cavolo—

For Julia. For Julia. For Julia. —Scott McClanahan—

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Daniel Johnston is an actual person, with real-life joys and sorrows, but his life reads like a novel . I really admire Daniel , first and foremost for his ability to fight. Since childhood, he has been certain of his objective to succeed at doing what he loves. And despite receiving many set-backs, he has always gotten up and persevered. I also admire his work in and of itself. Both his art and his music have a magic that is difficult to find. Daniel does things as a child might do things, for fun, and without concern for what other people might say, something that hinders the rest of us so greatly. His work is sincere, gritty, and pure, and that is uncommon and valuable. I consider Daniel one of my heroes. He is an example of how things should be done, and of fighting for what you love the most. That is why I decided to make this humble homage to Daniel, to thank him for everything that he has given me. This book is an affectionate thanks and a hug for Daniel . Ricardo Cavolo

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The Incantations of

Daniel Johnston

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Beware : I don’t think you should read this. I’m warning you.

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There are devils inside.

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Every moment is a miracle. Imagine the thousands of years and genes that come together to make one brain. Daniel Johnston is a miracle too.

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But did his mother know when he was born about the softness of her little boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart ? Did she know about the nightmares and the hurt to come? Did she know one day he would be on MTV?

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Everyone was someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s child once. Remember .

See him now with his brother and sisters and a rainbow of doom above his head.

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But wait ! This is important. Daniel grew up in West Virginia and went to the Church of Christ.

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It was here he learned about good and evil, god and the devil, the eyes of superheroes and the wicked adventures to come.

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But what Daniel didn’t know was that there were worlds inside of him already. There are demons and hells inside of us all and they’re talking to us… Listen : You are a piece of shit. You are a fucking piece of shit.

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So Daniel decided to make things. He made 8mm films and he had fun. But there is only one thing promised to us from…

8mm camera

er n’s monst i e t s n e k n …the Fra t’s pain. a h t d n a we make

Hi! I’m a cat.

It made his mother crazy and she hated it. Mothers hate having fun.

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He found out there were other hearts who made stuff too.

There were songs and movies and motherfucking comics. They were all saying : I understand you. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not alone.

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So Daniel drew his comics and dreamed his superhero dreams. He made everything he could make because everyone who makes something is only sayingâ&#x20AC;¦

Hi! How are you?

And also:

Beware.

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In high school Daniel started drawing his eyeballs. The D stands for Daniel and the I stands for eye.

Put them together and you die, die, die. Hey man. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an eyeball .

I have Xray vision. I can see beneath your underwear .

He knew there were a million eyes watching him already and watching us all . There were eyeballs seeing what you see right now.

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There were other eyes too. Are you paranoid?

These were the eyes of the other world. Behold! They are watching us all now.

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So wait for a moment now. This is the part of the book where Daniel sees that he has to make things forever and that the whole world is a great fever we catch from one another like a game of tag . Tag, Daniel . Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re it.

(I LIKE TO DRAW EYES.) COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

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For Daniel learned long ago in the Church of Christ that the first artist was god. And god made things for one reason. So she wouldn’t be lonely.

Remember this, Daniel . I am Satan. You’re lonely now and you will always be lonely but I do like your underwear . COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

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So Daniel became obsessed with the Beatles and decided to sing and play songs. He learned that when you found others you made the second best word that starts with an f . That word is friends and together you can sing aboutâ&#x20AC;¦

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JOY

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HAPPINESS

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NOT BEING NERVOUS

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I HATE BEING NERVOUS.

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“Sorry to all other books that are out in 2016, this thing is just glorious.” —Jason Diamond, Vol. 1 Brooklyn

“Astounding… as beautiful and heartbreaking, dazzling and giddy as you would expect a brilliant comicbook freestyle biography of Daniel Johnston would be. The love and affection for their subject is matched by a subtly keen dissection of the ways we mythologize troubled artists and mental illness.”

—Michael Cerveris, Magnet Magazine

“ Tragic, beautiful, funny, an intensely sad portrait of the unfortunate life of a complex artist. Like all of McClanahan’s work, there is humor , pathos, and an intimate understanding of how difficult it can be just to live a life, this time punctuated by the colorful, strange, and somehow movie art of Ricardo Cavolo.” —Justin Souther, Malaprop’s Bookstore

The Incantations of Daniel Johnston is a spirited, eye-popping collaboration 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. Graphic Novel Original biography | music

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