Shortcomings

Adrian Tomine excels at drawing pretty girls. Compared to his earlier work in Summer Blonde, Tomine sacrifices realistic detail for more streamlined, attractive designs. The result is a book that, in terms of artwork, actually reminds me a little of early-period Locas. Like Jaime Hernandez, Tomine shows that he is capable of drawing attractive female characters who don't all look the same.

But the man can do more than just draw. His dialogue is clever and humorous. Unfortunately, his protagonist is just not very likable. I know main characters in indie comics are not necessary going to be larger-than-life, charismatic people with deep backstories. But my tolerance for whininess has its limits. That said, I really enjoyed this story, despite not liking the protagonist. I think that is a credit to the author's writing skills.

My lazy and shallow summary is that Shortcomings contains good art and dialogue, and a not-so-good main character. Just go read this book. Thumbs up, y'all.

.. entry_id:: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759675509232464806.post-4682706864246865570

Shortcomings
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.. labels:: comics, review

`Adrian Tomine`_ excels at drawing pretty girls. Compared to his earlier work in `Summer Blonde`_, Tomine sacrifices realistic detail for more streamlined, attractive designs. The result is a book that, in terms of artwork, actually reminds me a little of early-period Locas_. Like `Jaime Hernandez`_, Tomine shows that he is capable of drawing attractive female characters who don't all look the same. 

.. _Adrian Tomine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Tomine
.. _Summer Blonde: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Blonde-Adrian-Tomine/dp/1896597572
.. _Locas: http://www.amazon.com/Locas-Maggie-Hopey-Stories-Rockets/dp/156097611X
.. _Jaime Hernandez: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Hernandez

But the man can do more than just draw. His dialogue is clever and humorous. Unfortunately, his protagonist is just not very likable. I know main characters in indie comics are not necessary going to be larger-than-life, charismatic people with deep backstories. But my tolerance for whininess has its limits. That said, I really enjoyed this story, despite not liking the protagonist. I think that is a credit to the author's writing skills.

My lazy and shallow summary is that Shortcomings_ contains good art and dialogue, and a not-so-good  main character. Just go read this book. Thumbs up, y'all.

.. _Shortcomings: http://www.amazon.com/Shortcomings-Adrian-Tomine/dp/1897299168