Written in a notebook, A5 format, on graph paper and with an elastic band to close it, this is Arian Tomine diary, his autobiography, in cartoons, as that is what he does. This is the story of his cruel path to become a renowned cartoonist. Well, that path seems to be quite steep. Catastrophic book tours, difficulties to being recognised and to bond with fellow cartoonists, interviews that don’t really go well. I felt sorrowful for this failed cartoonist until I went to look closer at his work, seems that in the end he was able to thrive. First time a read Tomine, but I really like the wit and the drawings. I will definitely have a look at his other graphic novels.
“- Okay, so it looks like we’re almost out of time, so how about one last question ?
– Yeah, hi. This might be more about semantics than your work per se, but I notice that you refer to your work as “graphic novels” .
– Well, that’s really more like a marketing thing, but…
– Given that “novel” is a derivative of the old French word “novelle”, I am wondering if you could point to any part of your work that could objectively be described as “new” ?
– Oh, jeez, well…
– Because form by standpoint, everything in your oeuvre has been more or less done before.
-Okay, uh…
– And I don’t mean that as a critique in any way ! I’m just honestly curious !
– (you fucking piece of…) Uh, well… Thanks for such an… insightful question. You know, I never set out to re-invent the wheel, and, uh… the term “graphic novel” is really just a fancy way of saying “comics for grown-ups”. “
