Book: Optic Nerve #10 by Adrian Tomine

Title: Optic Nerve #10
Author: Adrian Tomine
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Year: 2005
List Price: $3.95

Review: If there is one thing Adrian Tomine's work is not, it's rushed. If you need proof of this, consider how long after issue #9 of Optic Nerve it took for issue #10 to hit the stands. Twenty -one months. That's a long time to wait for what is part two of a three issue story. Luckily for you and I, Tomine makes up for this with the quality of his work.

Optic Nerve #10 is the second part of a three part story line that was originally going to be called White on Rice but due to legal problems, has been scrapped and the story's title is as of yet undecided.

The story takes us into the life of Ben Tanaka, a 30 year old Asian American who manages a movie theater and spends his time in a sort of high school stasis. His girlfriend, Miko, has recently moved to New York for a four-month internship, leaving Ben alone in Berkely to ruminate about his attraction to a young caucasian co-worker and drink coffee late at night with his lesbian friend, Alice.

In this installment, we witness Ben making a post phone-call decision that his relationship is over as he makes an awkward attempt to act on his attraction to the 22-year old Autumn. The reaction from the seemingly free-spirited performance artist is equally awkward and will resonate with anyone who took their time acting on their attractions.

While worrying about his fetish-like attraction to caucasian women and the size of his manhood, Ben attends a party with Alice where he meets a new object of his lust and affection: an ex-lesbian named Sasha. What follows is a fling that is as humiliating to read as it would be to participate in.

Tomine's storytelling addresses the issues of attraction across the races and is an interesting reversal of the white-man-with-asian-fetish that we are used to seeing in popular media. His artwork is stark and detailed B&W linework. Some of the facial expressions of the characters are spot on and add to the weight of the story. Even where the momentum wavers, Tomine's mastery of physical human emotion keeps the story connected.

As a white male who finds his concentration wavering every time an attractive asian woman walks by, I appreciate the point of view this story provides. You can be sure I will be one of the first in line when the conclusion of this story is published in Optic Nerve #12...even if that is a year from now.

Though not as good as some of Tomine's other work (Summer Blonde), Optic Nerve #10 is worth a purchase.

Rating: 4 / 5

Buy Optic Nerve #10 from Drawn & Quarterly's Website: Consume!


Buy other books by Adrian Tomine at Amazon.com

-Adrian Tomine: New York Sketches 2004
-Scrapbook (2004)
-Summer Blonde (2003)
-Sleepwalk : And Other Stories (1998)
-32 Stories : The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics (1998)

Image provided by a link to drawnandquarterly.com