Q&A - by Adrian Tomine (Paperback)

About the Book

"Tomine answers questions about his preferred tools, his creative process, the ups and downs of adaptation, and perhaps most importantly-- how to pronounce his last name. Illustrated with drafts, outtakes, and photos from the artist's personal collection, this rare peek into the mind of a contemporary cartooning giant lays out the method to his meticulous brand of madness. The artist looks back on his career in response to queries from his--maybe adoring but mostly curious--public with his signature dry wit and unflinching, self-deprecating honesty"--

Book Synopsis

Everything you wanted to know about storytelling or Adrian Tomine but were too afraid to ask

"That would've been too easy and spontaneous for me, and I had to find a way to make everything more complicated."

And yet for over thirty years, bestselling author, screenwriter, and New Yorker cover artist Adrian Tomine's work has set the standard for contemporary storytelling. With Tomine, his readership has grown from the dedicated following of his comic-book series Optic Nerve to include a wider but still engaged, opinionated, and ever-inquiring public. And now, for the first time in print, Tomine responds to his readers directly, tackling their questions and comments with generosity, humor, and vulnerability.

Q&A is one part personal history, one part masterclass in crafting quality entertainment. With questions pulled from his time at the Substack Writers' Residency, and with additional, new material, Q&A is an indispensable addition to the collections of eagle-eyed fans and aspiring artists, writers, and cartoonists alike.

Tomine answers questions about his preferred tools, his creative process, the ups and downs of adaptation, and perhaps most importantly--how to pronounce his last name. Illustrated with drafts, outtakes, and photos from the artist's personal collection, this rare peek into the mind of a contemporary cartooning giant lays out the method to his meticulous brand of madness. The artist looks back on his career in response to queries from his--maybe adoring but mostly curious--public with his signature dry wit and unflinching, self-deprecating honesty.

Review Quotes

"Part advice manual for aspiring cartoonists, part memoir. Tomine... reflects candidly and wittily on topics including the solitary nature of cartooning, writing to artist idols, parenthood's influence on his art, and adapting a graphic novel into a screenplay." --The New Yorker

"Q&A is something of a how-to book [by one of] the most idiosyncratic and interesting comics creators around [as well as] an impressionistic self-portrait... As in his graphic work, Tomine is self-deprecating and often very funny." --David Ulin, Los Angeles Times

"Perfect for anyone who's a curious, budding creative spirit." --Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle

"The book is at its best [when] Tomine, one of the biggest names in indie comics... really delves into what it is like to dedicate your life to comics." --Bryan Hood, Vanity Fair

"Delightfully inspiring." --Steven Heller, PRINT Magazine

"A cartoonist's gentle and charming epistolary memoir... Tomine's writing is compassionate, empathetic, and tongue-in-cheek, and his narratorial voice has the intimate, confessional frankness of a good friend." --Kirkus Reviews

"With sincerity and self-deprecating humor, reading Q&A feels like having a chat in a coffee shop." --Blogcritics

About the Author

Adrian Tomine was born in 1974 in Sacramento, California. He began self-publishing his comic book series Optic Nerve when he was sixteen, and in 1994 he received an offer to publish from Drawn & Quarterly. His comics have been anthologized in publications such as McSweeney's, Best American Comics, and Best American Nonrequired Reading. Both his graphic novel Shortcomings and his memoir The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist were named New York Times Notable Books of the year. Since 1999, Tomine has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughters.