The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist is a collection of amusing, self-effacing autobiographical vignettes from Adrian Tomine’s career promoting his work at comics conventions, literary festivals, and so on, as well as the general public’s perceptions of his books. And it’s really good - I enjoyed it a lot!
The book is designed to look like a real Moleskine notebook, which is what Tomine originally drew these comics in, and it’s a really cool touch - it’s complete with the same interior layouts, bookmark, elastic marker, etc. you’d see in a Moleskine book (though the spine is quite flimsy).
It opens with a quote from Daniel Clowes on being one of the most famous cartoonists: “That’s like being the most famous badminton player”, which is a comment I’ve heard before from another cartoonist, Alex Robinson, who (when he is recognised, which is rarely, he’s mistaken for famed Marvel/DC artist Alex Ross) said on his podcast Ink Panthers “That’s like being called one of the most famous puppeteers in America!”.
And that amusing observation sets the tone for the book which shows that, despite being a famous indie cartoonist, the reality is that he’s basically a non-celebrity and practically nobody could care less about him or his work (or learning to pronounce his name correctly, most prominently by Frank Miller at San Diego Comic-Con!).
I liked almost all of the stories here. In particular the embarrassing book tour he took with Seth in the late ‘90s; finding out he was lactose intolerant after being interviewed by a cute woman he then tried to impress after consuming large amounts of dairy; and his one-sided rivalry with Neil Gaiman, whose signings continually eclipse his, particularly on the first time he met his future wife and mother of his kids, Sarah. There’s a lot more but I’m not gonna list them here - it would’ve been great though if some of the names ragging on Tomine hadn’t been redacted but I understand why they were, that’s just the eager gossip in me being nosy!
I get the impression Tomine is a bit oversensitive at times. I mean, sure, I understand that sparse book signings, etc. can be embarrassing but he’s still a very accomplished author who gets to do what he loves for a living and have experiences (for better or worse, but that’s always the deal) none of us will ever have, and I’m sure a lot of his fans are scattered across the world (like me!) who can’t make it to local NY gatherings or conventions, so it’s not representative of his level of success.
But I also feel like I understand where that sensitivity comes from in some of these anecdotes like the French literary festival that announces he’s won an award for Killing and Dying (also a great book worth checking out if you haven’t already) and then telling everyone it’s a joke before announcing the real winner (who fucking does that??). Or the random encounter of being seated next to a couple who don’t recognise him and go full on critiquing his book Summer Blonde, or being recognised by a waiter at a restaurant, being sent a dessert (nutella pizza - which he can’t eat because he’s allergic to nuts) and then getting charged for it!
The book ends on a poignant note when he’s admitted into hospital in 2018 after suffering chest pains and, in the wee hours, he writes a heartfelt letter to his young daughters thinking he might possibly perish from a heart attack imminently.
I felt that it was kinda repetitive and predictable at times in a Charlie Brown-sorta way, and part of me wonders if he isn’t playing up some of the stories for yuks, but generally I had a great time reading this. If there’s anyone out there (and I can’t imagine there is) who thinks the path to global fame is producing great indie comics (or anything book-related, with few exceptions), The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist will entertainingly and humorously dissuade you otherwise!
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