Identity in Adrian Tomine “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist”

Before I even picked it up and started reading, Adrian Tomine’s The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist grabbed my attention, specifically because of it’s tangible, tactile features which mirror a sketch book. Of course when I started reading, various things stood out. One such instance occurs when Tomine starts to have chest pains and is carrying his daughter up the stairs. During this sequence, the borders disappear from each panel, indicating a split in temporal time. Tomine falls backwards down the stairs, lying unconscious on the floor as his daughters yell at him to wake up. The seven-panel sequence ends, and we return to Tomine holding his daughter as she asks if everything he feels ok.

Along with this moment, I also became struck by a moment when Tomine speak’s with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross. During the interview, Gross asks him about his style, specifically about why he always depicts himself without eyes, only presenting himself with glasses that do not indicate an eye shape or color. In the interview section, Tomine depicts an extension of himself floating above his physical body, and that extension says, “Now she’s asking if the way you draw your glasses is an attempt to avoid ethnic identity!”