ABSTRACT
Adrian Tomine belongs to a growing group of East Asian American authors whose work not only features many nonwhite characters, who have long been marginal at best but are now more visible in the comics medium, but also explores such issues as race, identity, and stereotyping. In both Shortcomings and Scenes from an Impending Marriage, Tomine depicts the lives of ordinary Americans of East Asian descent and tackles themes of belonging and self-acceptance, among others. He also offers an honest portrayal of multiculturalism in the United States (US) but from the perspective of a Japanese American. His narratives show that East Asian Americans continue to be perceived through the prism of their ethnicity and, unlike other ethnic groups, they are treated as perpetual outsiders. It is clear that ethnic and racial stereotypes are still present in US society and continue to have an impact on the self-perception and self-representation of East Asian Americans.
