QA [Paperback]

Everything you wanted to know about storytelling or Adrian Tomine but were too afraid to ask

That wouldve been too easy and spontaneous for me, and I had to find a way to make everything more complicated.

And yet for over thirty years, bestselling author, screenwriter, and New Yorker cover artist Adrian Tomines work has set the standard for contemporary storytelling. With Tomine, his readership has grown from the dedicated following of his comic-book series Optic Nerve to include a wider but still engaged, opinionated, and ever-inquiring public. And now, for the first time in print, Tomine responds to his readers directly, tackling their questions and comments with generosity, humor, and vulnerability.

Q&A is one part personal history, one part masterclass in crafting quality entertainment. With questions pulled from his time at the Substack Writers Residency, and with additional, new material, Q&A is an indispensable addition to the collections of eagle-eyed fans and aspiring artists, writers, and cartoonists alike.

Tomine answers questions about his preferred tools, his creative process, the ups and downs of adaptation, and perhaps most importantlyhow to pronounce his last name. Illustrated with drafts, outtakes, and photos from the artists personal collection, this rare peek into the mind of a contemporary cartooning giant lays out the method to his meticulous brand of madness. The artist looks back on his career in response to queries from hismaybe adoring but mostly curiouspublic with his signature dry wit and unflinching, self-deprecating honesty.Part advice manual for aspiring cartoonists, part memoir. Tomine... reflects candidly and wittily on topics including the solitary nature of cartooning, writing to artist idols, parenthoods influence on his art, and adapting a graphic novel into a screenplay. The New Yorker