32 Stories #1

An anthology collecting all seven issues of the first - and independently published - Optic Nerve series. Unlike the later Optic Nerve series, a lot of the stories in this anthology are transparently autobiographical.

Stories included:

• Man's Best - A man takes extreme action when his wife decides to buy a dog.
• Birdnoise - A short tale of insomnia.
• Adrian Tomine's 10,533rd Dream - Tomine's illustration of a dream.
• Solitary Enjoyment - A girl explains why she enjoys being single so much.
• Heat Wave Death - A cautionary tale on the dangers of mixing drugs and high temperatures.
• Sean's Story - A short anecdote told to Adrian by a friend.
• Disappointment And Despair - A true depiction of the artist's struggle to sell his work.
• Back Break - Adrian suffers a back injury.
• Patriotism Is Alive And Kicking - A real life conversation overheard by Tomine.
• Rodney - A young woman finds that once her best friend finds a partner, he no longer has time for her.
• This Is A True Story - A conversation taken from real life.
• Adrian Quits His Job - When he is cheated out of his hours at work, Adrian explodes with anger and quits.
• All Choked Up - One of the artist's high school memories.
• Psycho Cook - A story from Tomine's part time job at a restaurant
• An Everyday Triumph - Back Break part two.
• Kerouac's Life With Comics - A strip about Jack Kerouac's love of comic books.
• Train I Ride - A man abandons his life for the thrill of the unknown.
• Haircut - Adrian has a dream about getting his hair cut.
• Lifter - A kleptomaniac is given an ultimatum.
• Mike The Mod - A story about an old acquaintance of the artist.
• Two In The Morning - A pair of old friends discover they have always been attracted to one another.
• My Appearance On The Jane Pratt Show - A comic book retelling of a real life incident.
• Leather Jacket - A girl finds out she is being cheated on.
• Allergic - The true story of Tomine's nut allergy.
• Smoke - A woman panics after posting a letter and then changing her mind.
• The Sell-Out - A story made up from two separate dreams which the artist had in the early nineties.
• Stammer - A man attempts to approach a woman he likes, but things go wrong.
• Happy Anniversary - On a couple's anniversary, the woman in the relationship begins to have doubts about their future together.
• Laundry - A man steals a woman's underwear at a laundrette, but all is not as it seems.
• Sleep = Waste - Tomine's thoughts on sleep.
• Dine And Dash - A waiter chases down a customer who runs off without paying for his meal.
• Grind - A young woman has problems finding love because of her tendency to grind her teeth.