the loneliness of a long distance cartoonist

In “Loneliness…,” Tomine’s selections of vignettes date back to his childhood in the early 80s, when we kid aspiring cartoonists were all beset with benevolent misunderstanding from adults and malevolent taunts from peers.

In his mid-forties and firmly seated in the cartoonist/illustrator pantheon, Tomine dips into comics memoir in “Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist.” For longtime Tomine readers, the autobiographical doesn’t feel jarringly different his fiction has always felt redolent with personal and observational realness, and he’s always been stylistically multi-toned, especially in 2018’s “Killing and Dying.” A richer emotional story emerges as his memories are delineated in excruciatingly hilarious detail. But in between chaotic book tours, disastrous interviews, and cringe-inducing interactions with other artists, life happens: Tomine fumbles his way into marriage, parenthood, and an indisputably fulfilling existence. Tomine illustrates the amusing absurdities of how we choose to spend our time, all the while mining his conflicted relationship with comics and comics culture. When a sudden medical incident lands Tomine in the emergency room, he begins to question if it was really all worthwhile: despite the accolades and opportunities of a seemingly charmed career, it’s the gaffes, humiliations, slights, and insults he’s experienced (or caused) within the industry that loom largest in his memory. What happens when a childhood hobby grows into a lifelong career? The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, Adrian Tomine’s funniest and most revealing foray into autobiography, offers an array of unexpected answers.

The loneliness of a long distance cartoonist