Shortcomings - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Significant Seven, November 2007: Adrian Tomine draws his mid-twenties slackers with an impeccable, exact line for every slumpy gesture and cultivated rumple. In Shortcomings, this ex-wunderkind tackles a book-length comic for the first time after three collections of stories, and his maturity shows not so much in the ages of his characters, who are still slackly wandering, dropping out of grad school or managing a movie theater, but in his calm and masterful handling of his story, in which vividly individual characters wander through the maze of imposed and self-generated stereotypes of Asian and American identities (the title is a wry allusion to one of the most enduring of those assumptions). Never has that old commonplace that the personal is the political seemed more paralyzing, and more true. --Tom Nissley

Product Description

FROM THE PREEMINENT CARTOONIST OF HIS GENERATION, THE MOST ANTICIPATED GRAPHIC NOVEL OF 2007
Shortcomings, Adrian Tomine’s first long-form graphic novel, is the story of Ben Tanaka, a confused, obsessive Japanese American male in his late twenties, and his cross-country search for contentment (or at least the perfect girl). Along the way, Tomine tackles modern culture, sexual mores, and racial politics with brutal honesty and lacerating, irreverent humor, while deftly bringing to life a cast of painfully real antihero characters. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, Tomine has acquired a cultlike fan following and has earned status as one of the most widely acclaimed cartoonists of our time.
Shortcomings was serialized in Tomine’s iconic comic book series Optic Nerve and was excerpted in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #13.

Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Masterpiece of Flawed Yet Sympathetic Characters October 27, 2007
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Written in 3 "chapters," which are more like 3 film Acts, Shortcomings tells the tale of cynical, lust-soaked Ben Tanaka, a 30-year-old movie house manager in Berkeley. Even though his girlfriend Miko is a gorgeous Japanese cultural activist with sensitivity and intelligence, Ben's wandering eye for Anglo girls and his surly attitude cause friction in his relationship with disastrous consequences. Ben finds solace in his only friend, Alice, a spunky, sharp lesbian who attends Mills College. In this context, Shortcomings explores with sadness and hilarity sexual and racial stereotypes and the painful search for an authentic identity. The characters are painfully realistic, beset by misguided desires, raging egos, and intense selfishness. But Tomine's brilliance as an artist is to give his characters complexity, believability, and, yes, our sympathy. I was sad after I finished the book in 90 minutes of reading because I loved the characters and wanted to spend more time with them and found myself fantasizing a long-running TV show about them or a series of more graphic novels so I could follow their lives in more depth. Such is the pang this great book left me.

4 out of 5 stars

Funny, and Dead-on October 12, 2007
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

I'm probably not an objective reviewer. I'm a white woman married to an Asian man, and we lived in the Bay Area for many years, so the subject matter was a bit close to the bone for me. At several points in the novel, I felt as though someone had been eavesdropping on my conversations. Tomine also does a great job of conveying subtle emotions through facial expressions. I loved it, and not just for the local references and jokes about Asian identity politics.

4 out of 5 stars

Collection December 4, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Shortcomings I just want to make sure that everyone understands that this is just a collection the the three issue story from Optic Nerve 9, 10 and 11. It never really says that anywhere, in fact they seem to be implying that this is something entirely new. I was even flipping through it at a local store and it doesn't even say it's a collection in the book itself. A little misleading if you ask me, but still a good read.

2 out of 5 stars

it's ok January 7, 2008
7 out of 13 found this review helpful

It's... very emo. :-/

Not that it claims to be anything else. Other reviews seem to indicate that the main character, while a 'bag, is a sympathetic character. I didn't find it so, but your mileage may vary. Much like with "Better Luck Tomorrow", I simply don't get it, having lived abroad for most of my high school years. If you are asian, grew up in California, and considered being an art or english major, it's possible that this would resonate a lot more. My 2 cents.

5 out of 5 stars

Rare treat October 22, 2007
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Surprising and rare treat. The combination of art and dialogue make for a richly detailed story and character development. Funny and sad, Tomine highlights the hypocricy, sadness, fear, loneliness and beauty of a relationship where both individuals are looking for something "more".

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