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.

The Self Cartoon

What does Adrian Tomine think of himself?  His tintin-esqe portrayal got me thinking about how cartoonists decide to portray themselves in their comic strips.

For a man who is not in the public a lot (except for a few interviews here and there), he certainly has exposed himself a lot via his books.  Perhaps more obvious to those who actually know him;  he cannot escape that part of being an author that reveals one-self, as he said in his New Yorker Interview:  "It's hard to get away from being autobiographical." (Kaneko M., 2012).

It seems that Adrian tends to go for a more of a caricature approach, as he doesn't seem to make himself look particular unattractive, or attractive, just very much like himself...  kind of a dork, (like me)!

Lets take a look at some of Adrian's contemporaries.  Stormingthetower.com compiled a nice list of some web comic cartoonists and the cartoon versions of themselves. I think it helps create a nice contrast when looking at Adrian's portrayal.

James Kochalka

Erika Moen

Jeffrey Brown

See the rest of the list here.

Adrian: Bearded

Okay, so maybe the accuracy I thought was there, isn't completely there.  I love the attention to detail.  The beard, no eyes (huh?) a little tuft of hair sticking out on his head, and a pencil behind the ear.  For your enjoyment, here is a snippet from Scenes from an Impending Marriage, and please notice the glasses, lack of eyes, the beard, and overall unkempt look.  

Excerpt for "Scenes"; when the couple try to find
for their wedding reception.

I'm pretty sure I would have been frustrated if I'd had anyone other than my brother in law attempt to make the playlist for my wedding.  I probably looked just as unkempt as Adrian around the time leading up to the big day.  Adrian has a very casual look, sometimes calm, sometimes frustrated or overwhelmed.  He almost always looks a little annoyed to me.  There isn't a lot of exaggeration... although I did notice he does not make it completely apparent that he is Asian in any way.  I think this may be intentional, as he leaves his race ambiguous, as if to say, it doesn't really matter. 

Going back to the thought about being autobiographical.  Unless you're writing about things you've never done, and have never happened, that have nothing to do with anything you've ever done before... wait, I shouldn't say that.  What we write always contains something of us, it's what we choose to write, and there are reasons for it.  If we try to write about something we've never done, then we're telling the world, hey, I've never done this, albeit that tells us less than choosing to write about something we have done. 

Adrian seems to write about things he's done in a comical fashion, giving us little snippets, and perhaps altering the reactions a little bit.  Sometimes when you're planning a wedding, things really don't seem all that funny, but Adrian captures these moments well.  His techniques went for something of a cartoonist style.  Short and to the point renditions of wedding planning, in chronological order for the most part.  Each phase had a different title to it, such as "Invitations" (Tomine, 2011). 

I find I'm wishing for more Adrian in cartoon form.  I want to see more of his life than just his marriage.  His art style is interesting, and he's able to find the humour in his life, and he's genuinely funny. 

I believe everyone should have a chance at some point in their lives to make a cartoon of themselves, and tell their story through it.  Regardless of skill level.  Just an honest story.  I think that will be my next challenge. 

Review of "Scenes" - Part 2

In the first part of my post I talked about the overall plot of Scenes from an Impending Marriage and my main thoughts on it. I mentioned how I was surprised about how the memoir came to be, and how I enjoyed its ending. In this post I will be continuing from where I left off in part 1, and talk about what I think the purpose  of "Scenes" is, and talk about the aspects I liked from the memoir.

Although "Scenes" is written as a graphic novel and has a lot of humor in it, it also contains a purpose. The first one that comes to mind, is the importance of compromise in a relationship, in any given situation. Tomine's memoir greatly emphasizes this aspect on multiple occasions. Many times Sarah Brennan and Adrian Tomine have disagreements with each other in "Scenes", and they both have a different stand point on resolving a problem.

Excerpt from Scenes from an Impending Marriage; Sarah loses her temper

This can be in the first seen "Guest List", for example. Adrian tries to get rid of a bunch of people from the guest list saying they would be doing them a favor, while Sarah wants to invite a lot of guests so she can reconnect with old friends (Tomine, 2011). They both decide that they should cool down their extremities, and try to resolve the problem by voting with "Yes", "No" or "Maybe" to invite the guest. In this they were able to make a compromise and found a way to deal with their problem (Tomine, 2011). I believe this is something all relationships need to be successful, and it is one purpose Tomine's memoir is trying to get at; both ends have to meet somewhere in the middle. Of course no couple is perfect and sometimes they just end up losing their temper; even Sarah and Adrian (see except above).

Another important aspect (purpose) I found to be conveyed in the memoir is when the couple begin to sink deeply into their world, and forget what really is important. This is seen in "Poor Us (part one)", when the couple get overwhelmed with all the tasks they have to do (Tomine, 2011). When Sarah first mentions to Tomine, the fact that a charity is being held, where they could help and volunteer to cook and serve food for those with HIV and AIDS, Tomine rules it out. He says they are to occupied with planning their wedding and Sarah then realizes that he is probably right. After, they realize how selfish they were, and they decide to help out, seeing how fortunate they are; they decide that they should help out every month (Tomine, 2011). This aspect is one I found to be important because it reminds us how much we can get caught up in our own world (me included). Instead it reminds how we should take a look and see how fortunate we are and how we can help the more unfortunate by giving them our time.

Excerpt from Scenes from an Impending Marriage; Sarah drags Adrian off the bus

Moving onto the aspects I enjoyed in the memoir; there are a couple. As I have mentioned in my posts multiple times, the greatest aspect I enjoyed in the memoir is the fact it had a lot of humor. Even though sometimes the situation may have been serious for the couple at the time, Tomine makes the reader appreciate and laugh about it, as a bystander (see except above). He takes his memories with his wife, and the frustrations they were going through as they were getting ready for their wedding and tries to make the best of them. It helps the readers who are married to see that they are not alone, but also allow singles to see what they could be getting themselves into, in the future.

The other aspect that I enjoyed, is the way the memoir was presented; in a graphic novel form. Although the drawings are not detailed, they are able to convey a clear message. Readers like me, are able to follow the text easily by looking at the drawings but at the same time have clearer image of the scene being presented. Not to mention, the humor in the memoir could not have worked, without the drawings and vice versa; they worked in perfect unison. This aspect for me, as a person who enjoys seeing things visually and reading short passages, was a seamless combination.

Overall if I were asked to rate the book from 1 (being the lowest) to 10 (being the greatest), I would give Tomine "Scenes" a 9/10, only because I am not currently married and cannot relate to it as much. However as I have mentioned, even for someone like me, it was a pleasure to read. I would defiantly recommend the memoir for anyone who is getting or is married to get a crack out of it, and for anyone who enjoys comics and humorous memoirs. To get more out of "Scenes" and another perspective on the memoir, here is Rachel Cooke on her positive review of Tomine's Scenes from an Impending Marriage.

Review of "Scenes" - Part 1

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, Scenes from an Impending Marriage turned out to be a pleasure to read. Although I am not a fan of memoirs, nor reading in particular, Tomine's presentation using graphical comics to show everything that lead up to his big day, was very uniquely presented. It kept me entertained throughout the whole reading because he uses humorous jokes and comical drawings as way to represent his real-life experience with his wife.  It allowed me, and most likely other readers as well, to enter into his world, and experience the typical circumstances couples are faced with when making decisions between each other; especially when preparing for a wedding.

Excerpt from Scenes from an Impending Marriage; how the memoir came about

When I first read through "Scenes", I found out that the graphic novel was not originally created for Tomine's readers but for his and Brennan's wedding guests. After Adrian Tomine and his wife Sarah Brennan, realized they needed to give a wedding gift for their guest during their wedding, they tried to come up with a few ideas. At first, Sarah wanted to give their guests custom chocolate bars, with their names printed on it. However, after Adrian's disapproval, she comes up with another idea, and asks him to create a bunch of short comic strips for their guests about their preparation for the wedding (see the excerpt above). After this idea, Tomine liked the idea of chocolate bar far better, however in the end, "Scenes" came to fruition, as Tomine wanted to make his wife happy (Tomine, 2011).

The creation of "Scenes" allowed the readers to hear about all the frustrations the couple went through, as they planned their wedding. First it was creating the guest list, then finding a reception venue, then creating invitations, and thereafter finding a D.J. More events followed until the pair finally arrived at their wedding day. At all these points, the couple shares their opinions and disagreements, and in the end try to come to an agreement. Some of their arguments are very funny to read because of the way they react and are portrayed. After all this, the readers get to read about their wedding experience and their wedding night in the epilogue.

Excerpt from Scenes from an Impending Marriage; how the couple ended up hungry

As I think about the plot of the memoir, I found it surprising and interesting how Tomine included the aspect about how his memoir came to creation, and the fact that the whole story as a whole was the gift for their wedding guests. It was something I had not anticipated when reading, as I thought it was just a memoir Tomine decided to write for his readers; I found that aspect very creative to include. I also liked how Tomine represented the hard work he and his wife had to go through to make their wedding a success but in the end, had no food to eat for themselves as they were busy with their guests and wedding photos (see the excerpt above). They ended up eating fast food on their wedding night. It showed how the couple always were busy doing something, even during their wedding, but finally got to enjoy themselves and relax during their wedding night. It was a nice way to finish off the graphic novel.

In my next post I will be continuing my review, and talk about what I think the purpose of the memoir is, and  more details about the things I liked about it; so stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy the video I found with Tomine, where Leanne Shapton interviews him and asks some questions about his memoir. Some things he mentions, include: how the book was not supposed to be published originally, how some parts of the novel were added on later (such as the epilogue), and how everything in the memoir actually happened but were sugar-coated at times (StrandBookStore, 2011).

A Look at Adrian Tomine's Life as an Adult

This time I am going to talk some more about Adrian Tomine and his life as an adult. At the age of 15, Adrian Tomine started working on his first “serious” work and self-published Optic Nerve. However it wasn't until he was 20 when Drawn & Quarterly offered to publish Optic Nerve as a full-sized comic book when he became a professional comic book artist ("Adrian Tomine Biography", n.d.). 

Optic Nerve: front page

After graduating from high school, Tomine moved from Sacramento, California to Berkeley, California in order to attend UC Berkeley. He started off as an art major; however he felt that it was interfering with his comic work, so changed his major over to English literature (Magazine, 2012). In the interview he says that it "...was a good way to keep my academic life and artistic life separate" (Magazine, 2012). He lived a very collegiate lifestyle while in Berkeley – staying in the same apartment that he had since his college days and living a lifestyle very much like a college student (Terzian, 2012).  During this time, he continued with his work as well as, met and started dating his current wife, Sarah Brennan. After the initial move to the city for school, this became his home for the next 15 years, until he left for New York to begin the next chapter in his life.

Sarah with her 's and Tomine's baby; Nora Emiko Tomine 

As I mentioned in my last blog post, the reason for his moving to New York was, in fact, because of his desire to start a family with his girlfriend at the time, Sarah Brennan. After he moved to New York in 2004, the two got married – this led to the creation of Scenes from an Impending Marriage.  On October 31, 2009, the couple had their first child, Nora Emiko Tomine ("Shortcomings", 2009). Before their child was born, Adrian was constantly out and about in the city experiencing all that it offered. For example, he would be out to see shows, exhibitions and to watch concerts (Kaneko, 2012). However once his daughter was born, he took joy in becoming a stay at home dad and experiencing new things about the city that he wasn’t aware of before having his child. Concerts, shows and trips to go see different exhibitions turned into walking around the city with his daughter, going to the zoo or going to go see puppet shows (Kaneko, 2012).

Here is a video that I found on YouTube that gives the top ten attractions to see and do while in New York for those who are visiting there.

As for what Adrian Tomine is doing these days, I imagine that his life is busy and full with spending time with his beautiful wife, raising their loving daughter, and continuing to work on more short stories to come out with for the public to read. From what I know, the 13^th Optic Nerve is to be coming soon for all to enjoy.

Adrian Tomine signing his books, and his daughter with him