Adrian Tomine (b. May 31, 1974 in
Sacramento, California) is a
comic book author and artist most famous for
Optic Nerve.
Tomine started self-publishing Optic Nerve when he was 16, and four years later began publishing them through Drawn and Quarterly. He's also done single strips for Reactor Girl, Hate!, Details, and Entertainment Weekly, as well as illustrations for George, Jane, and the New Yorker. He also has done cover art for The Softies, The Crabs, and Eels. A collection of his pre-D&Q strips was published as 32 Stories, and the first four D&Q issues were published together as Sleepwalk and other Stories.
Optic Nerve is generally a series of unconnected dramatic vignettes, drawn in a clean, stark manner very reminiscent of Dan Clowes (Eightball). Tomine also lists Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets) as one of his main influences. Personally, I really like the style of the drawings and think Tomine is an excellent storyteller. A quote from the D&Q website:
"… concise, haunting tales of modern life. The characters here appear to be well-adjusted on the surface, but Tomine takes us deeper into their lives, subtly examining their struggle to connect with friends and lovers."