blevins's review
5.0
I've followed Adrian Tomine mostly through his work for the New Yorker and this book collects a lot of that work and some odds and ends to form a great starting point for his drawings, sketches, illustrations & comic pieces. I'm a fan. Tomine really captures the little moments of city life as his subjects wander through the lonely city with whatever distracts them from the world around them. Looking at the work in a couple of short settings, you can gauge the themes of his work and one of which is just how much Tomine uses books or the idea of books and reading in his work. Books appear a lot, which only makes me more of a fan. I need to read his longer graphic novels that the library has...in fact, I'm going to spend some lunch hours doing just that in the upcoming weeks!
jon_eb's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.5
Really stunning artworks throughout and quite a singular unique style. Will probably check out his stories eventually.
celestihel's review
5.0
This book is stunning. It compiles mostly Tomine's work from The New Yorker (So THAT'S where all those cool images come from!) and a few strips and sketches and other work he's done since he moved to New York. As a super fan of his comics, I am delighted to fill in the holes with this book. He does a lot of contract work (my favorite being the Super Girls panel for the Weezer poster way back when) I don't read The New Yorker, so I would never have put this part of his career together without this collection. It's beautifully done, and don't skip the notes at the end. Some of the asides are priceless.
thwipster's review
4.0
An amazing collection of Tomine's drawings for both the New Yorker and his own private collection.
It all beautifully encapsulates the feelings of New York City ... and makes me wish to experience it even more.
Plus there are some really funny little autobiographical comic strips that are easily relatable.
It all beautifully encapsulates the feelings of New York City ... and makes me wish to experience it even more.
Plus there are some really funny little autobiographical comic strips that are easily relatable.
levitybooks's review
4.0
This isn't a story, it's a collection of Tomine's work for the front cover of 'The New Yorker'. Premium coffee table material. Many of these images make up part of my laptop desktop background slideshow. It's therefore sort of silly to review it, but the art does not disappoint.
I couldn't choose one favourite. It's a tie between the cover image ('Missed Communication'), 'Road Trips' and 'The Next Small Thing'; to me these three all have a stronger sense of setting than the others. More than the others, they tell a story. Perhaps I see it this way because there is more focus between the interaction of two characters in a strict non-mundane context (no extras, clearly a 'main' scene to the people involved, many questions raised).
I couldn't choose one favourite. It's a tie between the cover image ('Missed Communication'), 'Road Trips' and 'The Next Small Thing'; to me these three all have a stronger sense of setting than the others. More than the others, they tell a story. Perhaps I see it this way because there is more focus between the interaction of two characters in a strict non-mundane context (no extras, clearly a 'main' scene to the people involved, many questions raised).
garbo2garbo's review
4.0
Adrian Tomine manages to capture the essence of a city -the daily observations and thoughts - showing the charm and his love for the city. One illustration can be a whole story - an insight into individual's life, captured in a moment, kept forever.