Adrian Tomine is one of my favorite comic book writers. He just has a knack for capturing the nuances of human interaction, like that nice scene from Optic Nerve #6, "Hawaiian Getaway," where Hilary Chan is waiting in line at the coffee house and the perky blond barista is all nice to guy in front of her, but then when she gets to the counter she suddenly becomes shy. Or the way the cute grocer's kindness in "Supermarket" (Optic Nerve #3) turns into uneasiness at the excessive touchiness of the blind Mr. Lewis, who she senses might be grabbing onto her for more than direction. Honestly, 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.

Tags: Adrian Tomine