Shortcomings By Adrian Tomine/ Drawn and Quarterly/ 112 pages
makes you believe you’re experiencing a documentary in paper form. This is unmistakably a mature graphic novel for adults who have loved and lost before.
Originally serialized in Tomine’s Optic Nerve series, Shortcomings is an XQÀLQFKLQJ ORRN DW WKH DZNZDUGQHVV RI relationships old and new. It’s somewhat VLPLODU WR WKH ¿OP Closer, but with a more ordinary looking cast. Asian-American theatre manager Ben Tanaka is the protagonist and for anyone who’s been in love, you’ll see your own recklessness through his stubborn eyes. A man who has QRW TXLWH UHDFKHG WKH PDWXULW\ EH¿WWLQJ his age Tanaka’s actions will have you shaking your head in disbelief before perhaps nodding in agreement at his next decision. He struggles to connect with his girlfriend Miko and occasionally reaches for comfort in other forms while soon discovering his attraction to other women, including Caucasians, which causes even more grief. Of course, any relationship is a two-way street and when Miko decides to accept a four month internship in New York that causes literal distance between them, hidden truths begin to surface. Tomine weaves a spellbinding narrative as he presents the opinions of Ben’s friends at his actions and manages to make sure every character is distinct in both appearance and personality, including Ben’s co-worker (and punk performer) Autumn and student Sasha.
There are funny moments, mainly thanks to the sarcasm of Alice, Ben’s lesbian friend, who seems to be the only person ZKR FDQ WROHUDWH KLV VHO¿VKQHVV DQG negativity. However Shortcomings isn’t a feel good book, and as the title indicates LV D UHDOLVWLF UHÀHFWLRQ RI WKH IDXOWV WKDW we all have, even if we discover them too late. It delves into issues of race, desire and commitment with restrained style and stitches together such disparate elements ZLWK D QDWXUDO ÀDLU $V WKH VL[ SULPDU\ characters talk to each other, and about each other, in ordinary scenarios such as at a cafe or in front of the TV, or at work, their dialogue sometimes comes across OLNH ¿OP PDNHU .HYLQ 6PLWK ZURWH LW EXW it never seems jarring. Sure, Ben and his pals can be rude and careless, but aren’t we all at times?
There’s plenty of harsh honesty and profanity amidst this group of loosely connected twenty and thirty-somethings who grapple with the clash of expectations DQG SHUVRQDO IXO¿OPHQW WKRXJK 7RPLQH never seeks to make deep social or political comments. He simply has the characters speak their inner thoughts with a boldness that you can only get away with those who truly know you. The simple line work and realistic UHQGHULQJV RI KXPDQ HPRWLRQ ¿W SHUIHFWO\ with the so-true-it-hurts dialogue that it
Tomine’s work reminds us that love is not just a warm feeling, but something that must be practical and learned; something that requires introspection and emotional growth. He cuts through any romantic pretence like a surgeon and PDNHV \RX ÀLQFK ZLWK WKH KDUVK UHDOLW\ of being yourself with another. The black and white pages are some of the bravest ever created in the medium of sequential art, and I dare you to not read it all in one sitting. The number of non-comics focused publications that have praised this should tell you a lot about Shortcomings. It’s one of those rare books that you’ll pass to your friends and then argue about whose character’s side you’re on later.