| View Larger Image | 32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics | Paperbackby Adrian Tomine (Author), Adrian Tomine (Illustrator)
| List Price: | $12.95 | |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Drawn and Quarterly | | Page Count: | 96 Pages | | Publication Date: | February 01, 1998 | | Sales Rank: | 262,805nd |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
In 1991, Adrian Tomine self-published the first issue of Optic Nerve. Consisting of three xeroxed sheets of paper, and with a print run of twenty-five, it was a less-than-auspicious, largely unnoticed debut. In the following three years, though, Optic Nerve developed at a startlingly rapid pace: the artwork and writing evolved with each story, production quality improved, page counts increased, and by issue seven, sales had reached 6,000. In 1994, Drawn & Quarterly took over the publishing duties of Optic Nerve, and the original seven issues sold out and were left out of print. 32 stories presents these rare, early editions, collected for the first time in a single volume. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 13 reviews)
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A good start on Tomine. by Kristoffer Sevillena (Lyndhurst, NJ)  4 Stars
April 15, 2009
I think that anyone who is interested in Adrian Tomine's comics should start with this one. He has a talent for using minimal dialogue and encourages his readers to use their own imagination and evoke and project their own experiences onto his stories. (I really feel like he, as a writer, respects my own experiences and imagination when I read his comics.) A lot of his comics end with such a powerful open-endedness that reminds me of Flannery O'Connor and Ernest Hemingway stories, and he does this especially with "Two in the Morning," which is my favorite one. Despite knowing the dialogue almost from memorization, it's just so gratifying to read again and again and again.
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Pure brilliance in bite-sized chunky nuggets! by deaner73 (Palo Alto, CA USA)  5 Stars
March 21, 2009
Adrian Tomine showed from a very early age the chops necessary to rise to the top of the Indie comics scene with his self-published (3 page Kinko's copies) series, "Optic Nerve." Here in one handy volume is the complete collection of his 'Optic Nerve,' mini comics. From his first 'book' published when he was 17 Tomine was already demonstrating his brilliance through semi-autobiographical vignettes capturing the pain of adolescence and other recurring themes such as relationships, loneliness, simmering rage and angst. Tomine's clean black and white illustrations pair wonderfully with his tension filled and crisp narrative to give a somewhat minimalist approach to storytelling but highly engaging nonetheless.
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where it all began by Andrew Perry (Los Angeles, CA USA) 4 Stars
July 07, 2003
A wonderful collection of Adrian Tomine's earliest published stories. If you have read none of his work before this might not be the way to be introduced to this great writer and artist. Look to any of the Optic Nerve collections for that. But if you want to see the evolution of an important writer and see where things began then this is the book for you. These early stories hint at the stories that come later. They offer insight and humor and it is fascinating to see how Tomine's art began.
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funny, sparse, tales by lady detective (east coat) 4 Stars
May 20, 2003
adrian tomine does a fantastic job of capturing the mundane, everyday details of life- turning them into funny little slices.don't expect a strong narrative to run through the book. each of the 32 stories run from 1-6 pages and only carry a few repeat characters. the stories are 32 tiny vignettes capturing little bits of life- random thoughts, dreams, small experiances (which manage to capture a much larger picture, and that's the brilliance of it), etc.don't be dismayed if the first few comics aren't that great; once you get further into the work it's fascinating to see how tomine's art and story arcs mature.my only complaint, and the reason i gave the book 4 instead of 5 stars, is that i finished the book in about half an hour. although it's well worth reading, and something i'll pick up and read again, i strongly suggest buying the cheapest copy you can find. 90 odd pages (and they're small pages)of drawings do not add up to the fairly high retail price.do try to pick a copy up. tomine has a voice not to be missed.
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The Birth of a Talent by A. Ross (Washington, DC) 5 Stars
May 01, 2002
The 32 stories collected here reprint the self-published first seven issues of Tomine's "Optic Nerve" comic, spanning 1991-95. While his Tomine's work is always enjoyable on at least some level, reading his earliest work in chronological order allows us to witness him grow as a writer and artist�warts and all. The earliest stories tend to be short two-page pieces, while the last stories tend to be longer narratives. The stories fall into a few rough categories: dreams (Adrian Tomine's 10, 533rd Dream, Haircut), the Amy quartet (Solitary Enjoyment, Rodney, Two In the Morning, Leather Jacket), autobiographical vignettes (Sean's Story, Disappointment and Despair, Back Break, This is A True Story, Adrian Quits Hi Job, Psycho Cook, An Everyday Triumph, My Appearance on the Jane Pratt Show, Allergic, The Sell-Out), and moodier stories that deal with loneliness, alienation, and relationships (Lifter, Smoke, Happy Anniversary, Stammer, Laundry, Dine and Dash, Grind). There are also some crude attempts at social commentary (Patriotism is Alive and Kicking), reportage (Heat Wave Death), biography (Kerouac's Life With Comics), and an amusing tirade against sleep (Sleep = Waste).Over the course of the book, we can see Tomine's increasingly sophisticated take on alienation and relationships. His artistic progression progresses from crude to totally exacting and precise, a style that reinforces his themes and storytelling. This trend is continued in his subsequent collection, Sleepwalk and Other Stories, which is more bleak and stark. Tomine is often compared to Raymond Carver�since I've never read any Carver I won't do that, however, I will say he is brilliant and his work deserves a wide audience.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Sleepwalk: and Other Stories
by Adrian Tomine (Author)
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.
Adrian Tomine was born on May 31, 1974. He has produced two other book collections, 32 Stories and Summer Blonde, and he continues to publish new...
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| Shortcomings
by Adrian Tomine (Author)
The 2007 New York Times Book Review Notable Book now in paperback
Lauded for its provocative and insightful portrayal of interpersonal relationships, Adrian Tomine’s politically charged Shortcomings was one of the most acclaimed books of 2007. Among many interviews and reviews in outlets around the country, Tomine was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air and also in The Believer, New York magazine, and Giant Robot. Shortcomings landed on countless “best of” lists,...
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| Summer Blonde
by Adrian Tomine (Author)
With a deft and romantic touch, Tomine portrays the emotional ambivalence of drifting, urban twenty-somethings in stunning black and white. His stories are appealingly naturalistic, stylishly cinematic, and emotionally rich. His fans accuse him of eavesdropping on their most intimate moments, exhibiting their insecurities with both forensic detachment and surprising compassion.
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| Scrapbook
by Adrian Tomine (Author)
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...
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| Ghost World
by Daniel Clowes (Author)
One of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time telling the story of two supremely ironic, above-it-all teenagers facing the thrilling uncertainty of life after high school. As they attempt to carry their life-long friendship into a new era, the careful dynamics of their inseparable bond are jolted, and what seemed like a future of endless possibilities looks more like an encroaching reality of strip malls, low-paying service jobs and fading memories. Already...
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