Optic Nerve by Adrian Tomine

During one of my Boston excursions, I stayed over at Student House, so I was able to spend some time wandering Kenmore square on my own. I found a Boca Grande (Anna's rival in the burrito wars) and a place called Uburger (decent gourmet burgers, fries, and frappes) to get my eats. I also decided to visit the neighborhood comic shop, Comicopia, and add an extra superficial dimension to my personality by buying my first comic book. I'm decidedly not into superhero comics like Chase is, but I am perfectly made for the alternatives, like Harvey Pekar and Dan Clowes-type stuff. The only thing in the shop that interested me was Optic Nerve, which I'd describe as the graphic equivalent of a Casiotone for the Painfully Alone album.



The artist, Adrian Tomine, apparently started publishing the books right out of high school over 10 years ago, and he's only made 11 books so far (a book being about 30 pages). To be a fan of this guy and only be able to buy a product once a year must be brutal, but I suppose it's no worse than waiting 2-3 years for your favorite band's album. They only take about 20-30 minutes to read, however.

The content itself is mostly relationship and existential melodrama of the type that teenagers or post-grads could really relate to. One of Tomine's signatures is to end his storylines abruptly and unannounced (like the Soprano's finale). This sometimes comes off as trite and unnecessary (what happens next?!), but occasionally, it perfectly crystallizes a mood or feeling that would otherwise have been marginalized had the story continued. The story "Dylan & Donovan" (the cover of which is shown above), for example, cuts off at a particularly quiet but gut-wrenching moment between an emotionally distant family during a long car ride. Staring at those final panels and feeling them linger almost mournfully in the air helped me understand some of the unique artistic capabilities of the medium.

I've got six issues total, but I've only read five because I didn't realize that one was part of a three-part storyline. I hope to have the complete set of eleven after a couple more trips back to Boston. It all depends on how diligently that comic store stocks their wares, however.