Optic Nerve #5

Optic Nerve #5

by Adrian Tomine

Acclaimed black & white comic book

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

24 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

Adrian Tomine was born in 1974 in Sacramento, California. He began self-publishing his comic book series Optic Nerve. His comics have been anthologized in publications such as McSweeney’s, Best American Comics, and Best American Nonrequired Reading, and his graphic novel "Shortcomings" was a New York Times Notable Book of 2007. His next release, "Killing and Dying" will be published by Drawn and Quarterly in October 2015.

Since 1999, Tomine has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughters.

Reviews

[Matt Graupman]

After four issues of multiple short comics, Adrian Tomine tells one long(er) story in “Optic Nerve” #5. “Alter Ego” is about Martin Courtney, an anxiety-plagued semi-famous young author who, in the course of trying to follow up his breakout debut novel, ends up carrying on an affair-like relationship with the younger sister of an old high school crush. Let’s be clear: Martin is a jerk; he’s selfish and shady and whiny. What makes “Alter Ego” so incredible is that Tomine is able to reinvent the character in the final pages, somehow making Martin a sympathetic figure, and ending the story on a rare - for Tomine - almost hopeful note. “Alter Ego” is exactly what I picture when I think of complex, thought-provoking indie comics.

[Ikembe Brew Har-Har]

Tomine looks after my eyeballs

[Nayeli]

This is one of those stories that make you cringe but you can't stop reading. Mildly interesting thing I noticed: the misspelling of the word mediocre as "mediocore" (random and unimportant).

[Zach Anderson]

Had to buy this one as the library didn't have it.

Solid story. Great art.