Everyone knows Adrian Tomine’s work. Whenever one of his illustrations appears in my mailbox on the cover of the New Yorker or a new comic book comes out, I treasure it. His style is beautifully polished and his comic stories about relationships read by so many. But do you know how it all began? Drawn & Quarterly has just produced a new box set containing Adrian’s earliest works- a series of “mini-comics” he made between the ages of 17 and 20. Previously published as a book, 32 Stories, this new edition has the comics printed in their original form-stapled black and white xeroxed pamphlets with all the original content. They come in a box along with a special introduction from Adrian. I am always surprised looking at how much his style has evolved from then. Comparing his first Optic Nerve issue with his current work, you could never guess that scratchy loose work could be the same artist (Two bottom pictures show the changes: left, from first issue, right, from seventh). It’s really fun to see. Apparently he pleaded with his editor at D&Q not to reprint his 32 Stories collection after it went out of print because he is embarrassed about his early work. But after thinking it through they decided this format would suit it better and they agreed to make this new edition. He even put a very dorky, but totally adorable photo of himself from high school on the front of his introduction. Pick up a copy of this special edition here.

© Julia Rothman 2007