Saturday, July 2, 2016

Optic Nerve #14



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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