32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics

Writer(s): Adrian Tomine
Artist(s): Adrian Tomine
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
ISBN: 978-1896597003
Price: $12.95
Page count: 96
Year Released: 1995
Status: in print
Original Source: the Optic Nerve minicomics
Other Collected Edition(s): hardcover edition (ISBN 978-1896597010)
Genres: humor; romance/relationships; short stories; slice of life; teen/young adult
Recommended for Fans Of:
Possible Objectionable Material: coarse language
If You Like This Book, Try: Classic 40 Ounce; 40 Oz Collected; Lout Rampage!; Orgy Bound
Also in This Series: n/a

Plot Summary
This book is a collection of Adrian Tomine's early minicomics (which, if you don't know, are simply brief comic strips that the author photocopies and folds together to create a low-budget pamphlet that he can then hand out to his friends and family). Half the stories are fictional and the rest are "true life" incidents and conversations. Unlike his later work, several of the stories in this collection are pretty funny--particularly one in which Tomine talks about his allergy to nuts.

My Own 2 Cents
Tomine created much of the material in this book when he was in his late teens, and oftentimes it shows. Being a form of guerrilla art, minicomics are, almost by definition, crudely executed. Since they are not commercially minded creations, minicomics are about as close as you can get to a truly personal expression in comics form. But that also means that they're not for everyone. For example, in this book Tomine illustrates a few bizarre dreams he's had, to no apparent purpose. Then there are brief story snippets that don't seem to have a beginning or an end. Nonetheless, if you're a fan of outsider art like me, you may enjoy this book quite a bit--but don't expect the more refined storytelling that Tomine utilizes in his later books such as Summer Blonde and Shortcomings.