DEC ’12/JAN ’13ISSUE #2

FEATURING ANINTERVIEW WITH

ADRIAN TOMINE AND COMIC ART FROM THE BEST INDIE TALENT AROUND

FREE

Welcome to Issue Two of OFF LIFE magazine, the UK’s only street

press comic anthology.

We’re trying to show people that comics can be more thansuperheroes and Sci-Fi, and so if we’ve tempted some of you backfor a second read then hopefully we’re on the right track!

And what an issue we have. We are honoured to feature aninterview with Adrian Tomine, one of the most influential andinventive comic artists working today. If any artist has shown that comics can be every bit as intelligent and emotionally engagingas the established arts, it’s Tomine – and we hope our interviewshowcases that.

The artist line up we’ve put together is a real who’s-who of the indie scene too. Some are published, some are just starting out —but all of them have a story to tell. As we said last issue, ouraim is to create a stepping stone to all the works of genius thatexist out there in four-colour print, so if this little magazine whetsyour appetite go forth and discover your local comic stockists. It’s not all laser eye beams and unfathomably large-breastedwomenfolk, we promise.

On a final note, we’ve started running quick draw competitionseach Thursday evening on our Twitter account. We set a theme and you get two hours to draw and post your art. We don’t haveany prizes for the winners, but then we don’t store your data andsell it to insurance companies unlike some arseholes. So that’ssomething. If quick draw nights sound like something you’d beinterested in, come say hello on Twitter @OFFLIFE_comic.

Now get reading people, we’re rambled out!

DANIEL HUMPHRY

Editor, OFF LIFE

COMICS

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ADRAIN TOMINE

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EDITOR

Daniel Humphry

ART DIRECTOR

Steve Leard

COVER ART

Mat Pringlematpringle.co.uk

—Get a Grip Studio

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DESIGN

RANDLwearerandl.co.uk

OFFLIFE.CO.UKINFO@OFFLIFE.CO.UK

@OFFLIFE_COMIC

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Hi Adrian, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.

My pleasure.

You started self-publishing while still in high school.

What was your drive for wanting to get your work out

there at such a young age?

The honest answer is probably desperation, loneliness,and boredom. I can’t really think of any other reason whyI’d start putting out those mini-comics, and in fact, if I had anything better to do at that point, I probablywould not have spent so much time drawing. But I’d beenfairly single-minded about becoming a cartoonist since I was a little kid, so by the time I started self-publishing, I felt like I’d already been practising for a long time.

Even after gaining recognition you continued

to self–publish Optic Nerve. What was it about

the self–publishing model that worked for you?

Just because you get a little bit of recognition doesn’t mean that the publishers are beating down yourdoor. I really, really wanted to be published by Drawn &Quarterly, so I basically kept self-publishing until I worethem down and they agreed to publish my comic.

Did studying English Literature at Berkeley ever

tempt you away from comics and towards more

'traditional' mediums?

I’ve always had an interest in other types of writing, but I don’t think my college education

WITH HIS TALES OF LOVE LOST AND CULTURES CLASHED, FEW ARTISTS HAVE TAKEN

ON THE QUIRKS OF MODERN LIFE LIKE ADRIAN TOMINE. FROM HIS EARLY DAYS ON

OPTIC NERVE TO THE COLLECTIONS SUMMER BLONDE AND SLEEPWALK, THE 'TOMINE

STYLE' HAS BECOME A BENCHMARK FOR HOW FAR COMICS CAN BE PUSHED AND,

CULTURALLY, WHAT THE MEDIUM CAN ACHIEVE.

THIS MONTH, OFF LIFE WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO STEAL ADRIAN AWAY FROM HIS

NEW YORK DRAWINGS TO DISCUSS ART, SELF-PUBLISHING AND THE FUTURE OF COMICS.

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ADR IAN TOMINE

AD AD

had anything to do with that. I think it exposed me to alot of books that I wouldn’t have picked up on my own,but no, there wasn’t a moment when I wanted to forsakecartooning and become a poet or something like that.

Despite being a successful creator in your own right,

you still undertake commercial work. What attracts

you to it?

Well, being a successful comic book artist, at leastfrom my experience, isn’t the same as being a successfulpop musician or a movie actor. I have the great luxuryof being able to work from home, spending most of mytime drawing my own comics, but it doesn’t put me ina position where I could turn my nose up at goodpaying work. And in the case of a few of my morefrequent clients, like The New Yorker, for example, it’s something that I really enjoy. Illustration work is a whole different endeavor from cartooning, and it’sa nice break sometimes.

Comics seem to have gone through a bit of a rebirth

in recent years. Where do you see their place within

the arts and culture now?

It’s been a good ten years or so in terms of howcomics are regarded, particularly in North America. I think we’re still a little bit behind the curve comparedto some European and Asian countries, but alreadycomics have reached a level of respect and interest thatI never thought would be possible.

What do you think needs to happen for quality

comics to reach a wider audience, or at least gain a

greater appreciation?

I think comics, just like all popular media, suffer from the fact that a good chunk of the work just isn’t verygood. Or to put it in less subjective terms, it isn’t veryappealing to that wider hypothetical audience. No matterhow many articles might appear in the mainstream media about how ‘literary’ and ‘respectable’ comics havebecome, the odds are pretty high that if someone wandersinto a comic shop after having read such an article, they’llbe confronted with a lot of material that either doesn’tappeal to them or is even off-putting. But I don’t thinkthere’s anything wrong with that, nor is it something

that should be rectified in any way. I personally love comic shops, even if they specialised in stuff that isn’texactly my cup of tea, and I’d hate to see them all become sanitised in a bid for a broader audience. I honestly think that the comics medium reached its nadirlong ago, and that the quality and diversity of workcontinues to advance in amazing ways.

Finally, you're often grouped in the same wave or

school as other indie greats such as Daniel Clowes and

Jaime Hernandez. Is there another wave or style that

you see coming through now?

Definitely. I think there’s a whole generation ofcartoonists – if not more – that’s come along since I started publishing. And the great thing is that theseyounger cartoonists are coming from a much wider range of backgrounds and upbringings than ever before,and as a result, we’re seeing a lot of inventive, unusual,and idiosyncratic work.

Thanks for your time Adrian!

Thank you!

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YOU CAN SEE ADRIAN’S WORK AT

ADRIAN-TOMINE.COM

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SAM ALDENBOAT@SAMALDENPAGE 2

STEVE TILLOTSONINTERNET@BANALPIGPAGE 4

OLIVER EASTPOMONA@OLIVEREASTPAGE 5

DARRYL CUNNINGHAMSTARS@ACMEDARRYLPAGE 6

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BRENDAN KIEFERCOUNTING DAYS@BRENDANKIEFERPAGE 9

DAN BERRYGREYMAN@THINGSBYDANPAGE 10

JOE LISTGREYMAN@JOELISTPAGE 11

ADRIAN TOMINEINTERVIEWADRIAN-TOMINE.COMPAGE 13

EMIX REGULUSALLOTMENT@ORIGAMISHIPPAGE 16

DANIEL HUMPHRY @DANIEL_HUMPHRYWILL ELLIOT@WILLUSTRATESRIGGERSPAGE 18

SAM AILEYBEST FRIENDS@SAMAILEYPAGE 21

HARVEY FINCHDIFFIDENT TALESOF ROMANCE@HARVEYFINCHPAGE 22

NEILL CAMERONADMISSION@NEILLCAMERONPAGE 24

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