Comics

Softcover, 24 pages. Measures 6.8 x 10.3 inches.

Tomine offers four stories in this second issue: A lonely woman tries to find the man leaving cryptic messages for her in the Personals section of the newspaper in "The Connecting Thread" (4 pages); in "Summer Job" (15 pages), a teenager reluctantly applies for a job at a photocopy shop and then proceeds to waste the following two months; "Pink Frosting" (2 pages) provides a vivid and unsettling glimpse at the suggestion of violence murmuring beneath the surface during a traffic altercation; in "Layover" (4 pages), a missed flight forces a man to ponder his strained relationships with his lover and friends as he discreetly walks through his neighborhood waiting, afraid to announce to anyone that he has not left yet. 24 pages. First Printing: November 1995; Second Printing: February 1997. Third Printing: October 2001.

Paperback, 24 pages.

Drawn and Quarterly explains Adrian Tomine's 3rd Optic Nerve, "Dylan & Donovan" (11 pages), the first of four stories, recounts the difficult adolescence of two twin sisters and their life with an aging hippie father; in "Supermarket" (6 pages), a blind man attempts to befriend a young woman at the checkout counter; "Hostage Situation" (3 pages) is an account of a miserable bus ride with two unruly passengers; in "Unfaded" (3 pages), a young man ponders a life gone by after his grandfather is admitted to a senior's home. 24 pages. First Printing: August 1996. Second Printing: October 2001

Paperback, 10" x 6.8", 24 pages.

The critically acclaimed graphic comic Optic Nerve from artist Adrian Tomine. Three stories are featured here: in “Six Day Cold” (11 pages), a man spends a tense, awkward evening with his ex-girlfriend after she comes over to his apartment to help nurse his sickness; “Fourth of July” (7 pages) recounts the story of a young boy who isolates himself as his parents are being separated; in “Hazel Eyes” (6 pages), a young woman tries to recreate her life after she realizes she has nothing in common with her friends.

Paperback, 10" x 6.8", 25 pages.

The critically acclaimed graphic comic Optic Nerve from artist Adrian Tomine. Adrian Tomine’s first full-length story is featured here. In “Alter Ago” (25 pages), a successful young writer becomes obsessed with finding the girl he had a crush on in high school; things become more complicated when he has to hide his strange obsession from his current girlfriend.

Paperback, 10" x 6.8", 25pp

The critically acclaimed graphic comic Optic Nerve from artist Adrian Tomine. With eight bonus pages, this extra-long issue features “Hawaiian Getaway”, a single story comprised of thirteen chapters. Inventive in structure, the story details the events in a woman’s life as circumstances turn her previously complacent existence upside-down, and her behavior grows more eccentric and erratic.

Paperback, 10" x 6.8", 25pp

The critically acclaimed graphic comic Optic Nerve from artist Adrian Tomine. At the center of the story is Nessa, a beautiful young woman who finds herself besieged by the attention of three obsessive, lustful men. This complex “misanthropic soap opera” is told without narration, cutting back and forth between several concurrent plots that ultimately converge in a compelling conclusion.

Paperback, 10" x 7", 25pp

The critically acclaimed graphic comic Optic Nerve from artist Adrian Tomine. After a lengthy period of writing and planning, Tomine returns with his longest, most ambitious work to date. With a projected length of over one hundred pages, this fictional story examines the troubled sex-life of a confused, obsessive, Japanese-American male in his late twenties, and his cross-country search for the perfect girl. This issue is the first of three chapters.

Paperback, 10" x 7", 32pp

In this long-awaited conclusion to Adrian Tomine's three-part epic, the story leaps across the country, taking place entirely in New York. All of protagonist Ben Tanaka's worst (and most amusing) traits are brought to the fore as his obsessive quest reaches a fever pitch. His best friend, Alice Kim, finds herself at an unexpected crossroads in her life, forcing her to make several life-altering decisions. But whatever happened to Ben's girlfriend, Miko Hayashi? That and many other answers are revealed as our protagonists walk and talk their way through the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, all delineated in Tomine's evocatively pristine style.

Softcover, 40 pages, measures 10 x 6.8 inches.

Publisher Drawn & Quarterly explains, "Acclaimed cartoonist Adrian Tomine (New York Drawings, Shortcomings) returns with a dazzling new issue of his two-decade-long comic book series! Optic Nerve #13 features three complete stories, each distinct in their tone and visual style. "Go Owls" is a dark comedy about 12-step programs, drug dealing, and minor league baseball. "Translated, from the Japanese," illustrates the diary of a young Japanese mother, caught between two countries and hovering on the precipice of divorce. "Winter, 2012" is an autobiographical glimpse into Tomine's home life and his ongoing struggles with the modern world. Throughout Optic Nerve #13, Tomine channels contemporary zeitgeist and vernacular to produce flawlessly designed, compellingly readable stories."

Softcover, 40 pages, measures 10 x 6.8 inches.

Publisher Drawn & Quarterly explains, "Optic Nerve 14 brings Adrian Tomine’s multifaceted, expressive cartooning to a new peak with two stories and a bonus autobiographical strip. “Killing and Dying” is about a father’s struggles to be supportive: it centers on parenthood, mortality, and stand-up comedy. “Intruders” depicts a man obsessively trying to find his way back to a former life by revisiting places he once knew. Optic Nerve 14 will appear on the twentieth anniversary of Tomine’s beloved comic book series, in whose pages the landmark graphic novel Shortcomings was first published. Each story in Optic Nerve 14 reveals new dimensions to Tomine’s unique visual sensibility and complex, character-driven stories."

Softcover, 132pp, measures 7.6 x 10.3 inches.

Reading just a page of this Optic Nerve collection will improve your life considerably. But don't stop there; curl up on a rainy day and read the whole thing, twice.

From Drawn & Quarterly: Adrian Tomine's cult comix series Optic Nerve is finally collected into one sharp-looking hardcover graphic novel. Described as the Raymond Carver of comix, Tomine constructs tales of emotional disconnection with an ear for painfully real dialogue. Combined with his deft black and white depictions of urbane lifestyles, Tomine's fans have often accused him of eavesdropping in on their most intimate moments and, with forensic skill, laying their lives bare. The conflicts between emotional gratification, narcissistic neediness and moral discernment mark the title story - "Summer Blonde" - in which a socially crippled man nurses an obsessive crush on a young woman. He watches close up, paralyzed by his guilt, as her beauty catches the eye of his neighbor: a hip, selfish young man with a short attention span. One of Optic Nerve's most popular stories, `Hawaiian Getaway,` features Hilary, telephone service rep who is having the worst week of her life. She lost her job, her apartment, and her grandmother. Close to the edge, she is losing her grip. Reaching out to random strangers on the phone, Hilary is looking for someone to help her. In "Alter Ego" a successful young author has writer`s block. He can`t, or won`t, decide between another ghostwriting gig and finishing his second ‘real' novel. He stalls on committing to his novel and his girlfriend when a chance postcard leads him to flirt with fantasies of changing the past. Finally, "Bomb Scare" documents the early unease of his generation by setting this coming-of-age story during the tense months of the Gulf War, the event that ushered in the 1990s.

Softcover, 102 pages, measures 7.5 x 10.75 inches.

Collecting the first four issues of Adrian Tomine's acclaimed comic series optic nerve, this book offers sixteen concise, haunting tales of modern life. The characters here appear to be well-adjusted on the surface, but Tomine takes us deeper into their lives, subtly examining their struggle to connect with friends and lovers.

Softcover, 168 pages, Measures 5" x 7.1"

Everything you wanted to know about storytelling or Adrian Tomine but were too afraid to ask

“That would’ve been too easy and spontaneous for me, and I had to find a way to make everything more complicated.”

And yet for over thirty years, bestselling author, screenwriter, and New Yorker cover artist Adrian Tomine’s work has set the standard for contemporary storytelling. With Tomine, his readership has grown from the dedicated following of his comic-book series Optic Nerve to include a wider but still engaged, opinionated, and ever-inquiring public. And now, for the first time in print, Tomine responds to his readers directly, tackling their questions and comments with generosity, humor, and vulnerability.

Q&A is one part personal history, one part masterclass in crafting quality entertainment. With questions pulled from his time at the Substack Writers’ Residency, and with additional, new material, Q&A is an indispensable addition to the collections of eagle-eyed fans and aspiring artists, writers, and cartoonists alike.

Tomine answers questions about his preferred tools, his creative process, the ups and downs of adaptation, and perhaps most importantly—how to pronounce his last name. Illustrated with drafts, outtakes, and photos from the artist’s personal collection, this rare peek into the mind of a contemporary cartooning giant lays out the method to his meticulous brand of madness. The artist looks back on his career in response to queries from his—maybe adoring but mostly curious—public with his signature dry wit and unflinching, self-deprecating honesty.

Hardcover, 56 pages, measures 5.4 x 6.6 inches, black and white comic.

MAKING LIGHT OF NUPTIAL NARCISSM

At the behest of his soon-to-be wife, Adrian Tomine set out to create a wedding favor for their guests that would be funnier and more personal than the typical chocolate bars and picture frames. What started out as a simple illustrated card soon grew into a full-fledged comic book: a collection of short strips chronicling the often absurd process of getting married. A loose, cartoony departure from Tomine's previous work,Scenes from an Impending Marriage is a sweet-natured, laugh out-loud skewering of the modern marriage process, including hiring a DJ, location scouting, trips to the salon, suit fittings, dance lessons, registering for gifts, and managing familial demands. The most personal and autobiographical work of Tomine's career,Scenes from an Impending Marriageis a charming, delightful token of love.

Softcover, 8.5" x 12", 208 pages, Color and Black & White

Comics, illustrations (including album covers!), sketches, and notes explaining it all. Adrian Tomine is one of our heroes, and probably one of your favorite band's heroes. This collection is kind of like "Prehistory of the Far Side" for Optic Nerve. It is absolutely essential.

The ultimate collection by one of the most recognized talents in graphic novels: includes over a decade of comics and illustrations by the still-under-30 Adrian Tomine, from Pulse to The New Yorker and Esquire, collected together for the first time in one sharply-designed book.

Scrapbook is the first comprehensive Adrian Tomnie collection. here you'll find the complete run of strips which was originally published in Tower Records' Pulse Magazine which Adrian started when he was only 17, along with comics originally published in Details and a host of other magazines of the past decade. A large section of Scrapbook is dedicated to Tomine's extensive illustration and design work, featuring his best material over the years from virtually every major publication in America including The New Yorker, Details, Esquire, and the late JFK Jr.-edited George. Tomines' art has also graced popular album covers and posters for bands such as The Eels and Weezer and posters and its' all included here in this beautifully packaged book.

Softcover, 9.25" x 6.5", 108pp, Black & White

Ben Tanaka has problems. In addition to being rampantly critical, sarcastic, and insensitive, his longåÐterm relationship is awash in turmoil. His girlfriend, Miko Hayashi, suspects that Ben has a wandering eye, and more to the point, it's wandering in the direction of white women. This accusation (and its various implications) becomes the subject of heated, spiralling debate, setting in motion a story that pits California against New York, devotion against desire, and trust against truth.

By confusing their personal problems with political ones, Ben and Miko are strangely alone together and oddly alike, even as they fly apart. Being human, all too human, they fail to see that what unites them is their shared hypocrisies, their double standards. This gray zone between the personal and the political is a minefield that Tomine navigates boldly and nimbly. The charged, volatile dialogues that result are unlike anything in Tomine's previous work or, for that matter, comics in general. But Shortcomings is no mere polemic. Any issues that are raised stand on equal footing with expertly-crafted plot turns, subtle characterization, and irreverent humor, all drawn in Tomine's heart-breakingly evocative style. What Tomine ultimately offers is more provocation than pronouncement--a brutal, funny, and insightful reflection of human shortcomings.

Shortcomings was serialized in Tomine's iconic comic book series Optic Nerve (issues #9-11) and was excerpted in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13.

Cover varies in color.

Softcover, full color pages, 6.75 x 10 inches.

A THRILLING NEW SCI-FI SERIES SET IN A BREATHTAKING SOLARPUNK METROPOLIS! SET IN THE DIGITAL WORLD OF BLITMAP!

Under the shadow of an ancient cataclysm, Blitnauts and Logos factions battle for power, while The Static's elusive realm entraps and corrupts all who submit to its mystifying call.

Written by Jack Timmer and illustrated by Matias Basla. 

Each issue is blind bagged, coming with a surprise cover. No cover is the same! 

Measures 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in; 64 pages; Hardcover

In this funny and sweet new book in the bestselling Darth Vader™ series, Eisner Award–winning author Jeffrey Brown offers an intimate look at the friendships between best pals in the Star Warsuniverse, from Darth Vader and the Emperor to Leia and her Ewok pals, Han and Chewie, C-3PO and R2-D2, the bounty hunters, and other favorite characters. Jealousy, birthday parties, lightsaber battles, sharing, intergalactic rebellion and more all come into play as Brown's charming illustrations and humor irresistibly combine the adventures of our friends in a galaxy far, far away with everyday events closer to home.

Hardcover. 64 pages. Measures 6 x 6 inches.

What if Darth Vader took an active role in raising his son? What if "Luke, I am your father" was just a stern admonishment from an annoyed dad? In this hilarious and sweet comic re-imagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other—except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith. Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown's delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars® moments a fresh twist, presenting the trials and joys of parenting through the lens of a galaxy far, far away. Life lessons include lightsaber batting practice, using the Force to raid the cookie jar, Take Your Child to Work Day on the Death Star ("Er, he looks just like you, Lord Vader!"), and the special bond shared between any father and son.