Critical Reception: Q & A - Part 2

Scenes from an Impending Marriage; inner title page

Here is a second batch of questions that I have made for our group, different from the ones John posted in part 1. Hope you enjoy our responses.

Q: How would you compare your life in comparison to Tomine's when he was 16, and already deciding the fate of his future career?

A:

John: I'm 27, and yet to decide the fate of my future career (Wait, actually, I can't decide anymore, my fate is set... I became a computer programmer).

Christina: I would say that there is definite envy on my part, towards Tomine for being able to figure out at such a young age, what it is that he wanted to do. I am about to hit my 28th birthday, and I can tell you that even though I am back in school, I am still not 100% of my future and what it will bring me. Hopefully, it will bring me the completion of this program and the beginning of my future career path!

Peter: In comparison to Tomine who already had figured out what he was good at, and how he was going to apply it to his future life, I was nowhere near that. When I was 16, I was actually in a bit of a panic because I still did not know what I was going to pursue after high school. I knew I was good at computers and that I enjoyed programming. However, I could not envision how to use that interest and skill set for my future career. Eventually I figured it out....but I will have to see where it takes me.

Q: What do you feel is the significance of the title Scenes from an Impending Marriage?

A:

John: It's fairly self explanatory.  I feel like the use of the word impending gives it almost a tone of dread, but i believe it's meant to be humorous.  The only ones dreading a marriage are the couple, and the only reason that I remember dreading it, was because I was planning a wedding reception, and that's just plain stressful.  The word scenes seems apt.  It's short 6 to 9 panel stories, not a whole lot more, it follows the style of Tomine's writing, short stories, never a beginning or end, just an interesting middle.  

Christina: The title explains its own significance. It is a collection of different scenes that depict Adrian and Sarah's impending marriage.

Peter: I believe the title of "Scenes" basically sums up the memoir as whole, and is very appropriate. Throughout the whole memoir Tomine talks about his impending marriage as he and his wife try to work out all the details to their big day. This title allows the reader to perceive what they are going to read about and is significant in that way.

Q: Has Scenes from an Impending Marriage affected the way look or perceive memoirs at all?

A:

John: Absolutely.  I realized that not all memoir writers take themselves seriously. 

Christina: Yes, most definitely. Prior to Scenes, I never really had any interest in memoirs at all, however it was after reading this particular graphic memoir, that opened my eyes to the possibility that memoirs aren't as bad as I had thought them to be before.

Peter: I would say that “Scenes” defiantly took me by surprise. I am not one who reads memoirs normally, and for that matter one who reads a lot in the first place; so this was nice for a change. Reading Tomine’s memoirs was a fun experience; because it took the casual experience that couple would go through preparing for the big day and was recreated in a graphic, comical representation. The fact is I do not enjoy reading long descriptions, I just like things to get to the point using dialog; this memoir does that best. Knowing that memoirs can be represented like this, I defiantly think that I could enjoy them, if they are represented in a similar format.

Q: If you were to choose one favorite quote from the memoir, which one would it be and why?

A:

John: "This nonsense stops the minute we're married" (Tomine, 2011, p. 15).

Christina: I think that the most memorable / favorite quote from the memoir would have to be "This nonsense stops the minute we're married!" (Tomine, 2011, p. 43). The reason that I found this quote to become my favorite in the memoir was because of the activities that was depicted with each quote. There were three different activities associated with the quote - exercising (jogging), dancing and eyebrow tweezing. All three activities were what the two were doing in preparations for their wedding and all three were activities that he disliked and didn't wish to continue doing after the wedding. The one that was most prominent in my mind was the eyebrow tweezing and most guys I know wouldn't subject themselves to that for anything.

Peter: If I were to choose one quote from this memoir it would be “If anyone could hear our whining they’d hate us…I hate us!” (Tomine, 2011, p. 29). This was when the couple got overwhelmed with the amount of preparation they still had to do, in the short time they had for their wedding. They took a step back and realized how ridiculous they sounded once they started crying. The reason I chose this quote was because it reminds us of our possible silly first world compared to the third, and how funny it can sound to bystanders listening. It also reminds how one can get caught up in their own personal issues and forget about those less fortunate, such as those at aids dinner the couple decide to go help later.

Q: Would you recommend Scenes from an Impending Marriage to a family member or close friend? Why?

A:

John: As a short read, sure I would, it's fun.  I don't know if it's worth the money, but get it from your local library.  If I were a collector of Adrian's work I would buy it for sure.  I think his other works are worth a look too. 

Christina: Yes, I would definitely recommend "Scenes" to friends and families. In fact, I already have recommended this graphic memoir to several people. The reason why I recommended this graphic memoir was because I enjoyed it so much, that I felt that others could feel the same about it, and I wanted to share it with them. I also felt that I could show many of my friends (who are now in relationships and feel close to the next step) and have them take a peek into what preparing for their own weddings could be like.

Peter: Yes I would recommend "Scenes", because it was very comical but at the same time stayed true to problems couples face when trying to decide on things during a marriage. I think it would be most appropriate to recommend it to my sister as I feel the possibility of marriage is coming closer in her life. I think it would be a good eye opener for her but at the same time she would be able to crack out many laughs.

Since this is our last blog post, we have also decided to compose a Prezi presentation and summarize all that we learned throughout this project. We hope you have enjoyed our posts and this final presentation. On behalf all of us, we would like to thank everyone for following and reading our blog posts, as well as taking an interest in Adrian Tomine.

The Veiled Autobiography

"QRD – You openly call a lot of your work veiled autobiographies. Has this caused any problems between you & those vaguely featured?" 

"Adrian – Not that I'm aware of. But maybe it has and I just don't know." ("Adrian Tomine Interview", 2004).

How often, when a work of fiction is created, is the story a shadow of the author's life? My thoughts come from an uneducated line of thought. I've read many books, and I've thought of many stories I could write, but I've never put them down on pen and paper or to the keyboard to write out the stories I'd like to write. All of those stories have reference points in my life. Unless you can model the story off of something real, the story can never truly have the real tone you'd like it to!  It won't echo with people until it has something real about it, and that realism, I will say, comes across in the detail! 

I doubt there are any statistics on this, but I'm sure just about every work of fiction has some kind of twist on the life on the author within it's pages, to the point where a reader that knows the author would be able to laugh, or cry, or recognize the reference.

As Hilly from the Help protests that "The Help isn't about Jackson", I feel Adrian Tomine can't really claim Optic Nerve isn't about him. Maybe it's not directly, since I'm not a close friend of his, but his work always gives off an memoir-esque kind of feel.  Why does Mr. Tomine do this? Is it something so very human about him that wants to write about himself?  Maybe it was a lack of imagination? I guess one up-side is that as long as you keep on doing interesting things, you'll always have something to write about!  

Perhaps it's the veiled autobiographies that make the most interesting reads, because you take your life situations, and spice them up a little, add in the things that would have made that part of your life so much more interesting for the reader, and maybe for yourself.  

This is what Adrian Tomine has done with his career. Given us the spiced up version of his life. The interesting, pulpy viewpoint, that is as interesting and entertaining to look at as it is to read. So if you're ever looking for some inspiration, look no further than yourself, and as many random false plot twists as you can mix in (or if you're lazy, just do what this blogger did).

Critical Reception: Q & A - Part 1

Peter, Christina and I wanted to collect a few answers to questions we all thought might help create more discussion, opinion and criticism of Adrian Tomine's work.  Here is it!

Q: What do you think of Adrian Tomine's artwork?

A:

John: Simple, cartoony, but modern, features aren't too exaggerated, but are simple enough to be appealing without being extremely realistic.  It reminds me of Herge's Tintin.  In some ways, it feels like what I would be inclined to call The Modern Cartoon.  The art is can be taken seriously, but can still convey elements of fun.  I especially like the big head cartoons.    

Christina: I really enjoyed it. It felt more like the artwork was more along the lines of being cartoon-like rather than comic-book artwork or illustration artwork. I felt that his graphic memoir was short and to the point, yet managed to captivate the audience. I really liked how the story stayed true to it's theme while proving both serious topics and comedic relief.

Peter: I think Tomine’s artwork is really good. Although his graphic memoir may not be in colour and isn't drawn to detail, it gets to the point. It’s enough to allow the reader’s, to get immersed into the characters and experience their story. However, at the same time does not distract the audience from the context of the memoir. Furthermore, the readers are able to get a good sense of what the characters are thinking or feeling by the comical expressions seen on their face; it coincides very well with text of the memoir.

Q: Adrian’s short book Scenes from an Impending Marriage contains many humorous accounts of events leading up to his marriage.  Which of these "Scenes" did you enjoy the most?

A:

John: I really like the string of 1 panel "stories" showing Adrian and his Fiancee doing something that Adrian felt would definitely need to stop the moment they got married  (Eyebrow plucking, Jogging, etc., etc.).

Christina: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Scenes from an Impending Marriage, but I must say that like John, I found that the single panel scenes depicting Adrian and Sarah doing various activities in preparation for their wedding to be the ones that I enjoyed the most. I liked the difference of opinions that were blatantly displayed in those little scenes, yet how Adrian still went along with it. Also the phrase "This nonsense stops the minute we're married" that was depicted in several of scenes definitely showed his displeasure for the activities while providing comic relief (Tomine, 2011).

Peter: To be honest, I enjoyed all of the “Scenes” in the memoir. From the deleting of guests on the list of invites, all the way to selecting a DJ for the wedding party; Brennan and Tomine always had to make a comprise and figure out what they would do about a certain problem. Their responses to each other were always funny. The scene I found to be the most comical however, was the last scene “After Hours”. The couple worked so hard to make the wedding a success and enjoyable for everyone but in the end they only thing they got to enjoy is greasy food Tomine bought in the middle of the night.

Q: After reading “Scenes”, what was your impression of Adrian Tomine as an Author?  Would you seek out his other work?

A:

John: I didn't feel like his humour was any funnier than other cartoonists I've followed in the past, however, I did like the subject matter.  It's unusual to see something published about a wedding, from a popular artist in New York.  

Christina: After reading Scenes from an Impending Marriage, I felt that it was definitely a book that I enjoyed reading. I think that it may have definitely opened me up a bit more towards the non-fiction genre and to graphic memoirs. I think that I would definitely be interested in looking into more of Adrian Tomine's works and I believe that I would enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed reading "Scenes".

Peter: After reading “Scenes”, I believe Tomine is a really good author. From what I got in the memoir and my research, it appears Tomine always tries to present his or others’ life experiences in comical way. He molds his drawings and writings into one world and creates it into a great package. Although his writing may not be serious and is written in dialogue rather than description, this is what makes it all the more interesting and immersive when reading it. If I get the chance, I defiantly would read another one of his memoirs, most likely being Shortcomings as I mention here.

Q: How would you describe the tone of Scenes from an Impending Marriage?

A:

John:  Light tone.  It wasn't edgy, or dark, or brooding.  It was fun.  

Christina: I would agree with John and say that Scenes definitely has a light tone. It tries to keep it from getting too deep into the negativity, keeping it light and enjoyable for all. It also managed to convey each situation in a more humorous tone providing entertainment to the readers. 

Peter: As I said, I defiantly think that “Scenes” is going for a comical tone. It takes the typical experiences a couple goes through, even outside of preparing for a wedding and presents them in this graphic novel. This is defiantly seen on page 43 with the “Eyebrow Tweezing” (Tomine, 2011, p.43). Tomine tries putting humor on situations that may have appeared serious or important to his at the time, but for others and maybe himself as he looks back, to be really funny. This is something many readers likely experience, they like to look back at certain time and find a way to laugh about it.

Q: What makes "Scenes" such a compelling memoir?

A:

John: It's a quick read, it's fun, it's about the 'Big Day'.  These may not be good reasons for other graphic memoir fans, but it definitely caught my attention.  

Christina: I think that Scenes from an Impending Marriage makes such a compelling memoir because it's something that anyone who is getting married and planning their wedding goes through. Even for the people who aren't at that stage in their lives, who have either heard of the horror stories in planning for a wedding, or watched shows/movies like Wedding Planner, are able to relate to what Adrian has shared in his memoir. Another reason why it is so compelling is because it has pictures that people can enjoy looking at and isn't 200 pages long. It is a short and concise telling of his prenuptial state with his fiancee which, I believe, will continue to stay in people's memories.

Peter: I think the main part that makes “Scenes” a compelling memoir, is the way it’s presented. As a graphic novel, the readers can experience it better and look back at their own events and have a good comparison. At the same time, it allows the readers to see the amount of commitment and compromise that to go through a relationship. All couples have their ups and downs but it is important they find a way to cope with their individual problems and find a way to look back and laugh about it; Tomine presents this well in his memoir.

That wraps it up for the questions today!  Hope you enjoyed reading them.

The Technical Breakdown

Scenes from an Impending Marriage is drawn as a black and white graphic memoir. With the exception of the cover, the reader is presented with simple renderings of Adrian's final moments before tying the knot. There isn't much in the way of cross hatching, shading or every an edgy look.  It's very cartoony, and the strips are driven by the speech bubbles and facial reactions. The emotion is captured well, the sarcasm is captured well, and it certainly brings out some great personality. 

I've wondered how some writers can find the inspiration and motivation to create so much content. It seems it simply takes being yourself. 

Adrian explained in an interview that he was allowed to keep his traditional comic book style for his other works through the publishing company Drawn and Quarterly.  He said in answer to a question about ending the Optic Nerve series:

"... there were times when I was afraid that I would be forced to end the series, especially as I watched pretty much all of my favorite cartoonists move on to different formats, either by choice or due to demands of the industry. For whatever reason, I still have a real attachment to the old-fashioned comic book, and I'm eternally grateful to Drawn & Quarterly for allowing me to continue to work this way." (Pop!: Optic Nerve, 2011).

I'm so thankful for artists like Adrian, championing the old fashioned comic book.  It's what I grew up with.  It's what I love to see. 

Some of his comic strip style works are done in colour, for example: Hortisculpture.

Adrian said in the interview mentioned above: "...I'm still very envious of these monumental achievements some of my peers are making with their gigantic graphic novels, but I have to accept my fate for now." (Pop!: Optic Nerve, 2011).

I sincerely hope Adrian can continue to use his comic book style. Yes, the times are changing and graphic novels (like the short compilation "Scenes") seem to be what sells among artists like Adrian, but I think there is a place for the style.  Maybe Adrian will eventually start up a web comic.

The simple black and white look, with occasional color. The not completely joined lines, and zero shading.  The Tintin/Peanuts-esqe look. All of this produces an endearing and pleasure effect, although not particularly exciting. I probably wouldn't ask Adrian to illustrate the latest issue of X-men, but I would definitely want him involved with the funnies in a newspaper, a children's story book, or the cover art for a nerdy rock album, or maybe just a few short stories involving relationships.  Good thing he's got his niche carved into these things. 

Influences and Inspirations upon Tomine’s Work

After reading "Scenes" I started to ask myself: what inspired and influenced Adrian Tomine to become a graphic novelist?  I got curious about it and began looking into it, and I thought that I would share everything I found on the topic.

Adrian Tomine; creator of "Scenes"

In an interview I found, Tomine stated that before he gets started on a new comic, he does a lot of “pre-work” that eventually leads to a final published copy (Duncan, n.d.). Mostly, he mentions that it involves a lot of thinking (as it does with any work), and trying to come up with ideas by sketching them out; this eventually leads up to the creation of a story (Duncan, n.d.). Once the story has been set in his mind, he then goes to work on getting the story written down and organized before he converts the words into a comic format. Before the final draft is drawn and printed, Tomine creates the panels and pages on graph paper, drawing in stick figures and playing around with the dialogue he had previously created (Duncan, n.d.).

So then where does he get his ideas from?  From a young age, Tomine was into reading comic books. This eventually led to the comic that became a big influence upon his work – Love & Rockets by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez ("Comic creator", 2013).

Love & Rockets Cover Page

Love & Rockets was not the only comic that influenced Tomine’s work, however. In Scenes from an Impending Marriage there were definite signs of Charles Schulz, artist for Peanuts comics, which was an influencing factor behind Tomine’s work (Clough, 2011).

Excerpt from "Scenes"

Excerpt from Peanuts

Tomine’s series Optic Nerve is set in California, while his New York Drawings are set in New York. To gain inspiration to write these stories he uses the knowledge that he has already acquired about the cities, using his own personal experiences and then fictionalizing them. I find that it is definitely a lot easier to write (or in his case, draw) about the things that you are familiar with or already know, rather than try to come up with something completely new. I find that it is always hard to come up with new ideas from scratch rather than to expand on something that is already there.

Picture of Charles Schulz; creator of the
Peanuts comics

This is a link to an article in Time Magazine that gives an in-depth look into Charles Schulz’ life and his work creating the characters that we all love and know: Charlie Brown and Snoopy in Peanuts. I always loved reading Peanuts whenever I could and every Christmas, without fail I would remember watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and enjoying myself immensely. I found this to be quite the interesting read about the person behind these drawings and the life that he lived. Adrian Tomine caries on his legacy through his own comic drawings... 

Style and Structure of "Scenes"

While reading Scenes from an Impending Marriage, I noticed that the book followed a specific structure within its pages – a nine panel grid per page with the occasional single panel comic in between each story told. Following the different sketches or different ‘stories’ (vignettes), you can see a definite timeline appearing. Things that were mentioned in one sketch, showed up as a story of its’ own. For example:

Excerpt form "Scenes"; the couple try to figure out
what they still have to do.

Both of these comments developed into sketches that depicted their adventures in registering at Crate & Barrel, as well as their conversation in creating Scenes from an Impending Marriage.

In drawing Scenes from an Impending Marriage, Adrian Tomine seems to have stepped away from his usual style of illustration or comic-book art. Rather the short-stories and vignettes that are depicted in this book take on a more cartoon-like feel. It was reminiscent of reading a newspaper comic strip - which I haven't done in years - and quite enjoyable to read. It was a light, short and funny read. One review I read, even mentioned that Tomine's style for "Scenes" was "reminiscent of Charles Schulz", the creator of Peanuts (Randle, 2011). If you wish to read the rest of the review for this book, you can find it here.

Personally, I do not know a whole lot about styles and structures of how comic books or graphic memoirs should look like. However, what I do know is that I am usually not a fan of autobiographical work, but this memoir was different. It was short, interesting, had pictures! I had a lot of laughs reading this, and I really did feel like I had gone back in time to when I was younger and actually looked at the comics found in the newspaper. Each vignette was delightful and with each panel, I looked forward to reading more. It was great seeing how the two interacted with each other, sorting out their differences in choice, and I loved the fact that there was even an epilogue. I liked how even after all the trouble they went through to have a specific playlist, the song they firmly told the DJ not to play, was still played. I also liked how the couple themselves were so busy that they were unable to eat at their own reception. I liked how the book ended as well with the two enjoying their first night as man and woman eating burgers in fries in their hotel room. 

Excerpt from "Scenes"; the couple finally get to eat!

Although I enjoyed everything about the book, I think what I really liked the best was the single panel sketches that were included in between the short stories. I liked how they each one, managed to show one crucial detail that just seemed to catch my attention. Several weeks after reading the book for the first time, I still randomly see the image of Adrian Tomine getting his eyebrows tweezed by his fiance, or the image of the two exercising with him lagging behind. Of course I cannot miss the captions that went along with these images, such as: "This nonsense stops the minute we're married" (Tomine, 2011). I think the style and structure that Tomine used to present "Scenes" was perfect and he managed to create a big and lasting impact upon each reader.

Excerpt from "Scenes"; Sarah forcefully
tweezes Tomine's eyebrows

Tomine’s Theme for "Scenes"

As the title Scenes from an Impending Marriage suggests, the theme of this particular short graphic memoir by Adrian Tomine, is a reflection upon the prenuptial craziness that Adrian and his wife Sarah endured while planning for their wedding.  There are 12 short scenes revolving several different situations that the couple encountered during the planning of their nuptials. There are also 3 extra scenes in the epilogue which Tomine included later on about the experience he had with Sarah right after their wedding, including their wedding night.  As mentioned before in my previous post, the graphic memoir was created upon request from his fiancé, to be a favor to give to their guests at their wedding (Tomine, 2011).

Tomine’s graphic memoir starts off with the wedding guest list – both Adrian and Sarah try to decide who to invite on their own guest list, and recall their parent’s guest list. Like with other couples, I am sure, issues arise in the memoir about who is and is not to included on the list. They also realize that their parents guest list happened to be longer than the both of theirs combined. I have always considered weddings to be something that is more for the family and friends of the couple getting married than for the couple themselves. While reading Tomine’s work, it really put a big emphasis upon my views about weddings in the depictions of their judgments or choices, as well as the influences and pressures that they felt. 

Excerpt from "Scenes"; Tomine and Sarah
attempt to make a guest list.

The memoir continues on with their experience in choosing venues, creating invitations, and choosing the right DJ who would play the songs that they wanted. Each little story and situation captured the stress and conflicts that the couple went through in deciding something that would fit their ideal image, without going over budget for their wedding. I found that each story was definitely in line with the theme of wedding preparations, providing entertaining (to us) content with the people they interacted within the memoir, and the things that they had to deal with.


Another recurring theme I found within the book was the phrase, “This nonsense stops the minute we’re married!” which was depicted in the single panel drawings that were found in between the other short stories (Tomine, 2011). Each panel showed various events that they partook in, in preparation for the wedding. One panel depicted dance lessons, another one showed them running to lose weight for the wedding, and yet another showed Sarah plucking Adrian’s eyebrows. This link leads to an interview that was taken of both Sarah and Adrian about Scenes from an Impending Marriage where they both answered questions related to the scenes depicted within the graphic memoir.

Excerpt from "Scenes"; Tomine is forced
to practice dancing with Sarah.

Although reading this memoir did give me a few laughs, it also made me pause and give kudos to all couples preparing for their weddings, and the stress that they go under. I loved how Adrian and Sarah stepped away from the “black hole of nuptial narcissism” by volunteering to help cook and serve at a charity for people with H.I.V. and AIDS (Tomine, 2011). I really enjoyed reading about all that went into planning for their wedding and the decisions, arguments and satisfaction that they went through to achieve a wedding that everyone enjoyed attending.

Excerpt from "Scenes"; the couple get overwhelmed
with the amount of work they have left to do.