Oftentimes to be Asian is to be invisible in today’s world.
Stereotyped as shy, quiet and often geeky individuals who prioritize education and family traditions above all, Asians are categorized as far from the “cool” American ideal.
Adrian Tomine’s newest graphic novel, “Shortcomings,” poignantly addresses these stereotypes while simultaneously dispelling them with his sharp black and white ink style cartooning.
In this short novel, Tomine showcases a snapshot of the life of a rampantly cynical Japanese man, Ben Tanaka, who is navigating the murky waters of racial and sexual politics within his life as an Asian American.
His girlfriend is a racially conscious Japanese woman who accuses Tanaka of betraying his race by lusting after blondes, and his best friend is a Korean lesbian who is still unable to disappoint her parents by admitting to them her true sexual identity.
This comic puts a new character spin on your average Asian, bringing Asians from the back to the forefront and unabashedly examining the hypocrisies of the sexual and racial double standards that the characters believe.
Tomine’s book reads more like a novel than a comic strip, bringing an added element of literary acclaim to the graphic novel genre.
“Shortcomings” is his only semi-autobiographical book and is his only work that touches on the subject of race and his own experiences as an Asian American.
Born in Sacramento in 1974, Tomine’s current Brooklyn address doesn’t reflect the majority of his life lived as a “west-coaster” who grew up between Fresno and Corvallis.
He began illustrating when he was 16 years old and started producing and publishing the comic book series “Optic Nerve” in 1990. Since then, most notably his illustrations have appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and McSweeny’s.

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