Optic Nerve, Issue #14 came out without me knowing it in May of 2015. I remember Issue #13 coming out in summer or fall of 2013; has it really been that long since I've read new work by one of my favorite sequential artists, Adrian Tomine? I was lucky enough to get a first pressing at Comics n' Stuff. I tried buying it online but came up with nothing.
There are two main stories, "Killing and Dying" and "Intruders." "Killing and Dying" is about a teenage girl who stutters her way into a stand-up comedy career. It has a lot of dialogue, and it has 20 panels per page. It's about a 20-to-30-minute read. The coloring is very simple but workable. "Intruders" is black-and-white on a gray background, with heavy narration. It's about a veteran who uses his old key to get into his old apartment, years after he moved out.
There's a coda, about how he doesn't like Twitter or Facebook. I don't think he even has an email address, and all electronic versions of his work are of the pirated variety. I can picture myself in one of Tomine's comics, remembering buying Optic Nerve, Issue #14 for $4.25 and realizing I underpaid (the list price is $6.95). I felt a little bad afterward, as if I ripped him off, but at the same time, I forgot to use my discount card at the comic book store, so I'm still $2 in the hole.
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