By now, you all know my review of True Story, Swear to God. Every issue, Tom Beland raises my expectations, and every single issue, he exceeds them again. This book is by turns sweet, funny, a little wistful and sad, unbelievably easy to relate to and did I mention funny? For those who are in love, it will remind you why you are, and for those who aren't, it will remind you why you want to be. This issue is the flipside of the previous issue, as Tom goes out to visit Lily in Puerto Rico, so in addition to the always-terrific relationship stuff, there's plenty of travel commentary, and Beland's artwork expands a little beyond the cartoony expressive people into more background work, and some of that work is simply astounding as well.
What most impresses me about Beland is how he has made such a specific life-changing event into something so universal. I've never been outside the U.S., but I know what long travel and long-distance relationships (in much smaller increments) can be like. And though his relationship with Lily bears little to no resemblance to the way I met and fell in love with my wife, it still reminds me of the good times we had and the early days of our relationship. Beland is capturing the specific events that led up to his marriage to Lily, but he is also capturing the more difficult general feeling of being in love, and sharing that with his readers.
Sharing with his readers is one of Beland's biggest skills. He doesn't shy away from the heartbreak and the hurt, whether it's Lily's rough encounter with her mother (and boy, can any husband sing you a few bars of that), the unfortunate toilet incident, the difficulties in bed or the pain of waiting to see Lily or having to leave again. In fact, if this weren't based on a true story, and I didn't know that it had a happy ending, the dark stuff might be unbearable, but as is, it serves to keep the book from becoming too light, nothing but goofiness and sweetness.
Mind you, there's plenty of that sort of thing to go around. I defy even the most cynical person not to feel something when we see Tom and Lily reunited at the airport. And I can't imagine anyone not getting some belly laughs out of the issue, such as Tom's reaction to the heat, his gentle teasing of Lily about her celebrity status or the meeting with her large family. Actually, that last one got me the most; my wife is from a fairly huge family, which I first met at Thanksgiving, and I had that same "who the hell did I just meet?" panicky feeling.
Though the book is about Tom and Lily falling in love, this is also as much about Tom leaving his home to come to Puerto Rico. So he's really "meeting" Puerto Rico at the same time, and just as he has shared what makes Lily so special, he does the same for his adopted home. The image of La Bombonera or San Felipe Del Morro are simply gorgeous, more realistic and detailed than I would have expected from Beland's style. I know what it's like to love a place, too, because I had that same reaction when I moved to Austin, and Beland definitely feels the same connection with Puerto Rico, both on its own merits and as an extension of Lily.
If I had to cut all my comics but one, it is entirely possible that True Story, Swear To God would be the one. It's that good, and it reaches me on so many levels that I never walk away disappointed. Do not miss this book, whether you pick up the individual issues, the forthcoming trade paperback or both.
