Adrian Tomine
Adrian Tomine - Optic Nerve #12 - Amber Sweet
12/17/11 17:46 Filed in: Cool Stuff
Adrian Tomine is back on
familiar ground with "Amber Sweet," the story of
a young woman constantly mistaken for a popular
online porn star. As is common in Tomine
stories, the protagonist is isolated from her
peers and is looking for a way to fit in. But
the mistaken identity problem will not go away,
so she changed schools and moves to a different
area. That still doesn't solve her problems, but
I'll let you read the rest.
I really enjoyed this issue of Optic Nerve. It was like a blast to the past, and it's good to see Tomine hasn't lost his touch for doing these unique stories of alienation and disappointment ("Hortisculture"). Also, the letters section is really good. I knew there were a lot of white Tomine fans who just wouldn't get ethnic identity issues in Shortcomings, and the letters confirmed as much.
The beleaguered protagonist meets the real Amber Sweet.
I really enjoyed this issue of Optic Nerve. It was like a blast to the past, and it's good to see Tomine hasn't lost his touch for doing these unique stories of alienation and disappointment ("Hortisculture"). Also, the letters section is really good. I knew there were a lot of white Tomine fans who just wouldn't get ethnic identity issues in Shortcomings, and the letters confirmed as much.
The beleaguered protagonist meets the real Amber Sweet.
"Scenes from an Impending Marriage"
03/21/11 17:10 Filed in: Cool Stuff
Adrian Tomine
01/19/10 21:38 Filed in: Cool Stuff
Adrian Tomine is one of my
favorite comic book writers. He has a knack for
capturing the nuances of human interaction, like
that scene from Optic Nerve #6, "Hawaiian Getaway," where
Hilary Chan is waiting in line at the coffee
house and the perky blond barista is super
talkative to the guy in front of her, but when
Hilary gets to the counter she suddenly becomes
reticent. Or the way the cute grocery clerk's
kindness in "Supermarket" (Optic Nerve #3) turns
into uneasiness at the excessive touchiness of
the blind Mr. Lewis, whom she senses might be
grabbing onto her for more than direction. Who
writes this type of subtle stuff anymore?! I'd
recommend the entire Optic Nerve series, and if
you can find them, the individual issues because
the letters are great.