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TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #2
(Best of the Week!)
Highly Recommended (10/10)
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Clib's Boy Comics
Writer/Artist: Tom Beland
Price: $2.95 US/$3.95 CAN |
In a week full of simply great comics, True Story still manages to stand out above the rest as a favorite. It's not simply that Beland is a good artist, although he is. It's also not because the book is by turns hilarious and touching, or that I closed it wanting to immediately read the next issue, although that's all true as well. No, what really gets me about True Story is how personal it is, how much bravery it
takes Beland to put himself (and his wife Lily) onto the page that way, and how
it manages not to be embarrassing, or self-indulgent, or even idealized, but
simply an honest and highly entertaining example of true romance. When I finish
reading this comic, I feel like I know Tom and Lily, and I like them both very
much.
Romance comics have not
exactly been the strongest of genres, even in their heyday. Romance lends itself
to melodrama, or worse, to weepy or wise-cracking Hollywood stereotypes, and a
lot of comics writers can't deliver the kind of subtlety necessary for a good
romance. Beland's honesty is one of his best attributes here, as he delivers
plenty of narration describing his feelings for Lily (and vice versa), and it
might seem overly syrupy or forced if it didn't come across as so completely
true and honest. He makes the reader feel the mixture of longing, distraction
and happiness that comes with this unusual and magical relationship, and even
someone who has never been in a long distance relationship (or a relationship at
all) will be able to relate.
Beland also has a great deal of strength in his artwork, which reminds me a great deal of Brian Bendis's Fortune & Glory style. It's deceptively simple, but
the poses and facial expressions convey a lot of emotion and humor, and when he
shows off a physical bit of comedy or high emotion, such as the "tartar sauce
incident" or his reaction to Lily's trip, it's hard not to feel it.
Although the central appeal of
this book is a romance story so perfect as to melt the most hardened cynic's
heart, that doesn't mean it's the only thing the book has to offer. In the
tradition of his regular strips, Beland offers up anecdotes from life as well as
observations of life that wouldn't seem out of place in a good stand-up act or
sitcom. Trouble at the fast food restaurant, obnoxious cellphone use, the
editorial meeting and Lily's arguments with her mother all serve up a good
number of laughs, and the story of Beland's biggest disappointment draws you in
and provides a perfect comparison, giving the reader a sense of how he felt at
that moment.
Ever since I started reading his mini-comics at SPX a couple of years ago, I was convinced that Tom Beland was a major talent. I'm glad that the word seems to be spreading, and others seem to be figuring it out as well, and that True Story as a comic is everything I imagined it would be.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
