Optic Nerve cartoonist Adrian Tomine wrote a great piece for The Thought Fox about how he came up with his popular (and first) cover for The New Yorker. It includes a lot of preliminary sketches.

If you’ve lived here your whole life, you probably just think of the subway as a way of getting from point A to point B. But to me it was fascinating the way subway cars sometimes run alongside each other, just inches apart, and occasionally line up at the same speed. Sometimes you make eye contact with someone in the other train, which is usually more awkward than anything else, but I turned it into something kind of romantic or wistful.

Françoise saw some potential in this one, and I have to give her credit for one crucial addition. You’ll notice in this original sketch that the books are just blank, like they’re just generic, random props. She made the suggestion of putting some detail on the books so it would be clear that the two people are reading the same book, and that ended up being the most important, memorable part of the finished image. It would probably be better for my career if claimed this idea as my own, but it’s too late now.

(This cover was used as the cover image for Adrian's book, New York Drawings. Listen to my interview with Adrian on Gweek, and take a look at a gallery of images from New York Drawings.)

My First New Yorker Cover by Adrian Tomine

Yesterday, I posted my interview with Adrian Tomine on the Gweek podcast. We talked about his new book, New York Drawings, which has every illustration he's done for The New Yorker. Below are some of the illustrations we talked about at length in the podcast. I like the way Adrian tells a little story in a single illustration. Don't miss Adrian's funny autobiographical one-page comic strip about getting into a heated discussion with his relatives about his dislike of e-books.

His book also includes many of his sketchbook drawings and watercolors.

I've been waiting a long time for issue #12 of Adrian Tomine's comic book, Optic Nerve. It'll be available on Wednesday.

Find a local comic shop that sells it. Order it directly from the publisher.

In the new, long-awaited Optic Nerve #12, award-winning Shortcomings cartoonist Adrian Tomine returns to the multiple short story format familiar from early issues of the iconic series. These full-color stories showcase Tomine’s trademark humor and observational skill, making Optic Nerve #12 a great entry point for new readers. “A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture” deftly manipulates traditional comics idioms to tell a story of horticulture, patents, and misunderstood art forms, while "Amber Sweet" is a disconcertingly modern tale about a case of mistaken identity. Full color, 40 pages

Meet Adrian at these upcoming events:

BROOKLYN Sunday, Sept 18th
Special Guest at the Brooklyn Book Fest, Signing at D+Q Booth

BROOKLYN Thursday Sept 22nd
Official NYC Launch at Desert Island!

SAN FRAN Saturday Oct 1 & Sunday the 2nd
At Miami Book Fair"
At the MBF with Daniel Clowes & Seth!

BROOKLYN Saturday December 3rd
Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival
The best comics festival in NYC!

Read the rest