Variety is reporting that Daniel Clowes (Ghost World, Eightball) is adapting his Eisner Award-winning story 'Death Ray' for Jack Black's production company, Black and White.  According to Variety Clowes plans to change the age of the Andy, the protagonist of Death Ray from a teenager to 'cranky 48-year-old man,' so don't worry about  the Nacho Libre headliner starring in a campy Death Ray movie (Black will produce and possibly play a minor part).

If the Death Ray movie gets made, it could be a real boon for pop culture retailers.  The full color Eightball #23 (Fantagraphics $7), which contains the Death Ray saga, is one of the best single issue comics ever (with Eightball #22 giving it a run for its money), so retailers could potentially introduce a large audience to a substantial body of work (Clowes' Eightball comics & collections). 

The movie adaptation of Clowes' Ghost World stimulated exceptional sales of the original graphic novel, and, while the second Clowes-based film, Art School Confidential, has not been nearly as successful as a movie or as a graphic novel sales driver (although the jury is still out on the latter until after the film debuts on DVD), Death Ray would appear to have a potential that is more in line with that of Ghost World.

According to Variety Clowes is also writing a screenplay based on Rudy Rucker's wildly imaginative science fiction saga, Master of Space and Time for director Michel Gondry.