WORDS IN BALLOONS

Superhero comics can be great for escapism. But sometimes, when you have a bad day, you need something more realistic. You need something that has characters in realistic, relatable situations and reminds you things aren’t as bad as they could be.
There are many comic creators who do stories like this, but Adrian Tomine is one of the best.
Tomine is a writer/artist who has been publishing his work on and off since 1991 in a series called “Optic Nerve.” Each issue of the series features one or several disconnected short stories about people who, even in the short two-page stories, come across as believable because of the realism of their situations.  
It can be hard to describe the stories without spoiling them, due to their simplicity, but the emotions they can elicit stick with readers. Stories such as “Layover,” about a man struggling through a day after missing his plane, are instantly relatable.
Then there are stories such as “Pink Frosting” that have the ability to rock you to your core with how much emotion Tomine draws in a few short pages. These stories rarely end with much closure. It can be frustrating until you are reminded that real-life experiences don’t always end with closure, either.
There is a strange horror to the stories because they can make you question your identity. The characters can be annoying, depressing and less-than-sane, but they have qualities you can easily see in yourself.
Reading the stories, readers might think these characters are awful people, but then they start to get that nagging feeling they aren’t so different. It can be hard to admit that the human condition is more complex than we let on.
The collections of Tomine’s work, “Sleepwalk and Other Stories” and “Summer Blonde,” are both great examples of his tales, but the graphic novel “Shortcomings” is easily the best, most mature and longest story he has created.
“Shortcomings” tells the story of Ben Tanaka as he struggles with relationships, insecurity and racial issues. Tanaka can be a hard character to like, but the way the story explores issues of racial insecurity in the relationship between two Asian-Americans is great. The dialogue and honesty is rarely seen in comics or any other form of entertainment.
It isn’t only the writing that is a highlight, however. Tomine’s artwork is simple but intricate. Every story is illustrated in black and white with characters that are composed of only a few lines. Despite this lack of detail, the characters’ emotions read like come off as sad, as they consistently appear slouched and looking at the ground.
Before Tomine created “Optic Nerve,” he had been in a creative rut. He was at a point where he didn’t know if comics were something he wanted to pursue anymore, When he discovered the work of Yoshihiro Tatsumi and other alternative creators that showed him comics could be something more than superheroes.
Sometimes, simple human stories are more worthwhile bad-day cures than powers and capes.