There's a world of difference between a comic book and a novel, but Adrian Tomine has managed to blend both mediums together in his latest work, Shortcomings.
Tomine is best-known for his comic book series, Optic Nerve, though he has also been published in The New Yorker and Esquire . Shortcomings is no less thought-provoking than these efforts; but it does differ in that it is his longest narrative to date.
It tells the story of Ben, a 30-year-old theatre manager and his disintegrating relationship with partner, Miko, as she leaves Brooklyn to pursue a career in the bright lights of New York.
Exploring issues of race and ethnic heritage along with the vicissitudes of being in love, it is a work that will resonate with people of most ages and backgrounds.
Cinematic and voyeuristic, Tomine's stills are, quite literally, picture perfect and completely absorbing. What is perhaps most remarkable is that someone so gifted at drawing should be likewise talented with words. Moving between acerbic and satirical, emotive and honest, the dialogue exchanged between characters flows freely and effortlessly.
As characters, both Ben and Miko can be a little hedonistic, and the way they treat one another is often less than amorous; but it is, however, an accurate reflection of the pains of relationships. And because Tomine's narrative is so firmly grounded in reality, readers would be foolish to wish for happy endings – which is not to say that this book is depressing or dispiriting to read.
Rather than being didactic or moralistic, Tomine has instead created a unique framework by which to see ourselves. He is truly a talent to keep an eye on.
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