The graphic novels and comics of Adrian Tomine provide me with an odd sort of solace. His succinct dramas involving complex emotions, from Optic Nerve Mini-Comics to Shortcomings, mine the dark side of human relationships, especially among the young and cool.
Until now.
“Long time readers might be disappointed that it’s too sweet-natured,” Tomine said of his new book that recounts the wacky foibles of a couple planning their wedding. The cartoonist was at the Strand Bookstore talking about the book, which is based on his own experience preparing for the altar.
Originally created as a handmade-and-stapled wedding favor, the work became a prototype for Scenes from an Impending Marriage. Tomine appears to have left his inner hipster behind in this Peanuts-meets-Family Circus cartoon tale.
A rapt audience peppered him with questions. On his attempt at screenwriting, he said it was “demoralizing,” and added, “There’s nothing that makes me more excited about drawing comics.”
