Q&A

by Adrian Tomine

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.

Genres: Comics, Art, Nonfiction, Design, Graphic Novels, Memoir, Biography Memoir

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Adrian Tomine was born in 1974 in Sacramento, California. He began self-publishing his comic book series Optic Nerve. His comics have been anthologized in publications such as McSweeney’s, Best American Comics, and Best American Nonrequired Reading, and his graphic novel "Shortcomings" was a New York Times Notable Book of 2007. His next release, "Killing and Dying" will be published by Drawn and Quarterly in October 2015.

Since 1999, Tomine has been a regular contributor to The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughters.

Reviews

[Reece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wonderful and insightful read from one of my favourite creatives currently working. Tomine usually exhibits a quiet uneasiness in his work, but in this relatively brief read, we see Tomine for what he is; a master of the craft.

I'd recommend this book to any aspiring artist. Tomine keeps it real. The act of becoming an artist doesn't happen overnight, and he's not here to sell you an unattainable dream.

The book is only slightly held back by the occasional question that can only be answered by an administrative jargon, which sadly bogs the book down. I'm here to hear about your work and art, not proper email etiquette.

[J. Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read. Don’t know if this should have been a book though.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short volume of fan questions answered by cartoonist Adrian Tomine, which delves into everything from how he writes to what he draws with. It’s published by Drawn & Quarterly, Tomine’s traditional home for his graphic novels, and the questions are culled from online sources. Tomine is honest, funny, and forthright with his responses and there’s enough black and white and color illustrations—including a step-by-step on one of his most famous (and strangely controversial) New Yorker covers—to qualify it as an art book (or maybe an illustrated how-to book). Plus there are some great color photos, too. I urge anyone who creates—or wants to create—comics to read this book. It’s wonderful.

[Dr. Devine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful read by one of the best comic artists out there. Gives you a good peel behind the curtain behind his mindset and creative process.

Read any of his graphic novels, but especially "Killing and Dying."

[Keen Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Q & A” is a short and light-hearted read aimed at fans of Tomine and budding cartoonists. For the most part Tomine comes across as an affable and a pleasant enough chap, and we even get treated to some samples of his delightful artwork for examples of his process etc.

This has some tips and sharing of his tools, habits and routines etc, which should appeal to those with an interest. I didn’t realise that Tomine is long-term friends with Daniel Clowes and was also living on the same street as him for years too, it certainly helps explain Tomine's huge influence on his artwork.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for satisfying all my curiosities and nosy-ness about Adrian Tomine's behind-the-scenes process with being a cartoonist. I'm a sucker for the details and he really delivers it here. He shares what he uses: pens, pencils, ink, paper, his drafting table, his large format scanner.

I loved the story about how he got into illustrating for the New Yorker by walking into their office (without needing to check in with any security) and dropped off a white folder with samples of his work, like it was a school assignment. I also loved learning his start-to-finish process about working on their covers.

There's a wide range of questions, nicely collected into this little book that I checked out of the library. It's always reassuring to remember that professionals experience the same ups & downs, the cycle of confidence and doubt. I would be happy if I could take this inspiration and draw just one page with like 4-6 panels.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Yorker illustrator and comic creator Adrian Tomine answers a series of questions in a book that is part personal history and part Process masterclass. Full of great insights into his creative process. An essential reference!

[Janelle Bailey]

20: Q&A by Adrian Tomine

That's Adrian "toe-MEE-neh" for those who already know...or soon will, once they pick up and begin reading this book.

This is yet another book for which my story about it may be at least as lengthy if not longer than my actual review, but it is a good one, and this is a great little book...so please read on.

I first heard (and heard of) Adrian Tomine on December 23, in an interview on NPR that I was listening to on my way to a cleaning job. After returning from cleaning that day, I added this new book of Tomine's to my Elfster Christmas list. In one of our family gift exchanges we attempt to provide lots of options for possible gifts, and I thought that "just in case" someone needed a last minute idea for me, this was it. I was intrigued by his story and wanted to learn more...possibly primarily about his cover art for The New Yorker. This I had not thought too much about before--who actually creates that beloved magazine's cover art--though I had been captivated, previously, by many a cover. I just never thought about or understood it to happen as it does--for different artists to create/submit cover art.

Fast forward--but definitely not far--to early Christmas morning. Everyone was elsewhere except for my husband and me, so we decided to exchange and open our gifts to each other then. And what had he gotten me? A few sweet things, one of them this very book.

I chose...and choose...to marvel, at least a tad, at how amazing technology and our current situations with nearly instant delivery...and even the days leading up to Christmas! I know that it is also all a convoluted and contradictory mess of sorts: do we really NEED that sort of instant gratification to be satisfied all the time, and at what expense...to workers, the environment, the money-grabbing empires, etc., etc.? Nope. But I still marveled--marvel now, still--at how all of those systems--Elfster and its links to instant shopping/purchase, availability and home delivery--worked to make this all happen.

AND: to make it even more marvel-ous (where "awesome" is simply no longer about true "awe" like it should be ((a little more on that, perhaps, coming in my next review, of The Anxious Generation))): when we were together, all of us, on December 26, to celebrate together and open more presents, my parents had given every young adult and older--and this was something like two dozen of them--a sweet bundle of their favorite mechanical pencils and erasers, additional refills of lead and erasers, for each. And the erasers were the very Pentel Clic Erasers pictured on the cover of Tomine's Q&A, his fondness and preference for them described within.

That was all kind of wild for me!

And then beyond that: why would one read this book...especially if they weren't steered toward it quite as amazingly as I was? Well...because if you DO know Adrian Tomine (I did not), you will thoroughly enjoy seeing all of these questions answered by him. And whether or not you knew him previously, you will appreciate getting to know him--or better know him--through his responses contained within. I learned so much about one artist's operational methods and creative processes...but also about the person who is that artist and also a writer and father and more.

The format of the book is simply beautiful--size, quality of cover and pages, amount of illustrations and photos included and more--and I simply found the entire experience of reading it a pleasurable one.

My copy of Tomine's Shortcomings has also already arrived...sigh, the addiction...and I look forward to reading it soon.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely little book satisfied a question that has been vexing me for 30 years: How in the hell do you pronounce Adrian Tomine's last name??

Tomine claims not to care if you pronounce it wrong. As he writes here, he's been hearing it mispronounced his entire life and he's used to it. But it's a testament to his admirers that this question of pronunciation is the question he is asked most often.

Funny as it sounds, I feel like disclosing the proper pronunciation here would be tantamount to revealing a huge spoiler. I mean, Tomine uses the mispronunciation of his name as a running gag in his autobiographical The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist without ever giving the right answer (though he nearly does at one point, but is cut off). So, if you really want to know, I suggest reading the book. (And for the record, the pronunciation I always used in my head when I'd read his name to myself, "toe-MEEN," isn't even close...)

This book also provided me with two belly laughs. The first is kind of a cheat, because it recalls the funniest moment in The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist when, as Tomine puts it, he "lost his mind and yelled something insane at a frail old lady, and all of Penn Station fell silent" (59). If you've read that book, you know exactly the moment to which I'm referring. Anyway, to see the evolution of that scene, from initial sketch to finished page, had me laughing out loud all over again.

The other belly-laugh moment for me is when Tomine recounts his first (and, to his mind, failed) assignment for The New Yorker, in which he illustrated the band Luscious Jackson. He hates the image and, when he pointed out what is most glaringly bad about it, I laughed a laugh of such intense schadenfreude that, for a moment, I felt a bit like one of Tomine's own, more intensely flawed characters.

But what else does this book have to offer beyond a pronunciation guide and a few good laughs? I loved to draw as a kid, and kept on trying, even going so far as to create a comic strip for my college newspaper (a strip that actually got worse, not better, as time went on--which is about when I realized that drawing simply wasn't my "thing"). Despite having no aptitude for it, I remain obsessed by the process of drawing, and especially of drawing well, and with what tools, and how cartoonists develop their pacing, how they write (words first? sketches first? both at the same time?), etc.

Tomine delivers on all this and more. After first providing the caveat that the cheapest, most available tools are best because they keep one from getting to precious about one's work, he then provides information about his favorite pens, brushes, and inks. He talks about his methods, walks us through how he creates a New Yorker cover from start to finish, discusses his influences, the positive effect his wife and children have had on his work, and so on--all conveyed in Tomine's usual likeable, self-deprecating (but not obnoxiously so) manner.

There's a reason I've been a fan of his for 30 years, ever since I devoured a copy of 32 Stories, the D&Q collection of his Optic Nerve self-published zines. Those early stories were raw, experimental, flawed, and funny as hell. Since then, his work has matured in ways I couldn't have predicted back in 1998. He's one of my favorites, and now--thank goodness--I can finally say his name to other people with the correct pronunciation, also correcting them when they inevitably get it wrong. "Actually," I'll say, "it's pronounced--"

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q: Why read this book?

A: I've been a fan of Tomine since I bought a Weezer poster he did back in 2001. At the time I didn't know he also did comic book work. As my views of what a comic book can be grew, I came across Optic Nerve, Summer Blonde and Shortcomings. After reading those three, I tend to buy everything he puts out. 

As I've become older, I've become more of a process and comic book history junkie. A chance to hear about Tomine's process was exciting.

Q: How do you say your last name?

A: Share-er

Q: How does this compare to other books of this type?

A:This was unique, as Tomine is someone who does not do superheroes and didn't come up through the mainstream scene. Tomine's discussion about his friendship with Clowes was interesting, especially as I have recently read the first 18 issues of Eightball. I also enjoyed his insight into how his work was adapted and his struggles with imposter syndrome.

Oh, and the part where he goes through the process to make a New Yorker cover was pretty awesome. 

Q: Will you read this book again?

A: Maybe not in full, but I can see myself picking it up and reading a couple of Q & A's from it randomly. The length of each answer rarely goes over a page, so it'll be excellent for random browsing in the future.

Q: Why write your thoughts like this?

A: I thought it would be cute. But upon reflection, this seemed overly gimmicky, but here we are. 

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qs from an anonymous internet audience on substack. With a few exceptions, for fans only. I am one, so I appreciate stuff like this. Quick, one sitting type read. But you do get some great process comments about creating a New Yorker cover from concept to final product, the reason why Shortcomings was different from everything that came after, Tomine’s top 3 single issue comics, and how his wife impacts his work. Lots of geeky tool details that are not for me. However, I loved learning about the surprising tools for killing and dying—my favorite Tomine book. It was also interesting to get the full confession regarding how much work it took to make Loneliness seem spontaneous.

He doesn’t give up any redacted names from Loneliness or provide the secrets to getting to be a famous alternative cartoonist. But it’s still a worthwhile read, at least from the library, for fans and aspiring cartoonists.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A few years ago I gave a talk at an art school in Manhattan, and I could tell that the students were quickly losing interest in my admittedly ponderous presentation. So in an attempt to regain their attention, I asked the students what their goals were. A guy in the back of the room quickly blurted out, 'To do whatever the fuck I want and to get rich doing it!' Some of the other students cringed and recoiled, but just as many shook their heads in tacit agreement. I was instantly overcome by feelings of rage and contempt--but also irrelevance, like there was nothing I could really say that would help that guy achieve his goals [...]In fact, that obnoxious creep had actually articulated *my* life goals, distilled to their most crass, naked form. I literally gasped as the depth of my hypocrisy revealed itself" (156-57).

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love getting into the minds of cartoonists - through interviews, through podcasts, through books, etc. - and there are few cartoonists doing it better right now than Adrian Tomine, so "Q&A" was a nice little gift. Packed full of practical advice, personal anecdotes, and a few surprises, it's a great resource for artists, writers, filmmakers, and anyone else who dabbles in creative pursuits (or maybe just wants to pronounce his name correctly). I was especially interested in the parts where he talked about consciously evolving his artistic style and subject matter; as a(n oftentimes) frustrated cartoonist myself, it was sort of reassuring that even an artist at his level struggles with what stories he wants to tell and why.

[Josiah Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

love adrian and especially love drawn & quarterly, but this book is straight up a waste of money. it's like a blog interview was expanded needlessly into a non-fiction book. there are maybe like 4 interesting nuggets in here, but otherwise there is no new art and very little else going on. and so many of his answers are about like needing money to support his nyc lifestyle, which makes it even more annoying to be reading a lazy blog post that you paid good money for. love ya d&q so i'll let it slide. put the money towards putting out some more great graphic novels.

[S.Matt Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q&A is exactly that, a series of questions (generated by fans) and answers to the most commonly asked ones. As a non-artist, occasional creator, and long-time fan of Tomine's work, it was a very down to earth and enjoyable read. Tomine is as thoughtful an essayist as he is a cartoonist. Words and flow are extremely important, and every response reads like it was worked and reworked for clarity and purpose. That with a few photos makes for an intimate read.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels a bit wrong to spend $20 on what is basically just a Reddit AMA. But I quite enjoyed this.

I think its a good format, and something that grinds against the digital age of throw-away interviews and ephemeral posts. Tomine basically just does an AMA taking his most asked questions and giving thoughtful answers. I especially liked the photography of his work space and tools. Lots of the questions are about his writing and art process.

He must have answered these questions elsewhere because I did get the feeling of deja-vu quite a few times throughout. I wouldn't mind seeing more volumes like this for all of D+Qs star creators, although it does need to be like $10 max.

[Trey Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

very cool insight into Adrian Tomine's creative process, tools and tricks he uses, what happens before, during and after his comic books are made, and so much more!
I cant reccomend this to anyone who isnt already familiar with his work, but if you like Adrian Tomine's comics already, you will enjoy the heck out of this. Very happy I got this as a gift from a friend. I wouldnt have paid full price for it though

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a deep cut for those of us who love illustration and process. It’s the kind of book where the author will tell you all of the tools he uses and swears by but also makes no promises that you will have similar results. I loved every all the side quests that he goes through during this q and a formatted biography.

[Jakub Demianczuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chwilami ego trip, a chwilami trzymanie gardy wysoko, żeby za dużo jednak o sobie nie opowiedzieć. Rzecz zapewne ciekawsza dla ludzi, którzy sami tworzą komiksy (a zwłaszcza zmagają się z oporem materii w tej kwestii), ale i czytelnicy Tomine znajdą tu coś dla siebie.
I generalnie zazdro, że gdzieś tam w Amerykach można wydawać takie książki, u nas by zapewne nie przeszło.

[Martha Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Del detallado paso a paso sobre cómo hacer una portada para ‘The New Yorker’.
- De cuando los dibujantes de cómics e ilustradores compartían su trabajo en fotocopias en la era pre-Internet.
- De diseccionar los cómics que nos vuelan la cabeza e investigar por qué nos impactan tanto.
- De novelas gráficas que parecen una película sobre papel.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Adrian’s work, and this very cool volume of Q&A gives context around how he works, shows some favourite cartoon panels, and New Yorker covers, and goes deep inside the process of how he’s made some of his best material. It’s also got great advice around storytelling, and general writing, and works as a creative memoir, essentially. Recommended.

[Gabi Ventayol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si eres fan del trabajo de Adrian Tomine (como es mi caso) te recomiendo este libro encarecidamente. Explica con mucho detalle el proceso creativo de sus trabajos, que le ha llevado a ser un gran ilustrador. Sus libros, portadas The New Yorker, etc.. no se deja una pregunta por contestar. Incluso el tipo de material que utiliza.

[Sarah Durand Lathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore Adrian Tomine’s work, so it pains me to click three stars. That being said, I’d likely have enjoyed it more if I was an aspiring artist.

[Greg Nussbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat, and motivational. Wished there were even deeper dives into his work. He’s so cool.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely for super fans.

[Hannah Garden]

A quick, refreshing read.

[David Espinosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me pasa como con Stephen King, quiero más a Tomine por quien es que por su obra. Y este libro me llegó como el On Writing de King.

[Nick Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Amusing dialogue with Adrian Tomone that reads like a collection of the letters pages from OPTIC NERVE. It seems that he has loosened up over the years.

[Casey O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring!

[Chris Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, quick little read that gives you some insight to Tomine's work process. Made me realize there were a few things I'd never read (Shortcomings) that I probably should.