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True Story, Swear To God Archives Volume 1
One of the most acclained romance comics (six Eisner nominations) is collected in one huge tpb! Napa Valley cartoonist Tom Beland meets the love of his life, Puerto Rican journalist Lily Garcia, at a bus stop in Disneyworld. Can a long-distance romance last and who will choose to leave their hometown to enter a new world with new challenges? All seventeen issues of Beland's self-published run in now in one book, filled with humor, romance and heart...and it's all true! The PERFECT gift for that special person in your life to get them into comics.
512 pages, Paperback
First published June 11, 2008
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40 people want to read
About the author
Tom Beland
43 books14 followersI'm a 36 year-old cartoonist living and breathing on the island of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was born in Chicago ILL. and was raised in Napa Valley, California. I graduated from Napa High School in 1980 (GO INDIANS!).
My career in cartoonist started at a very young age. My father, Clarence Beland , was a cartoonist in his spare time and all the boys in my family draw in one way or another. I was the one who became obsessed about it.
I'm a seft-taught artist, although I had some art class experience in high school and a bit in community college as well. I studied on the television and also in Marvel Comics. I was heavily influenced by artist such as Al Herschfield, Chuck Jones, Charles Shulz, John Romita Sr., Gil Kane and others.
Cartooning is an art that is seldom as respected as it is admired. Perharps that's due to it's visual simplicity. But simplicity is something developed out of style and not through laziness. I got my fisrt job at the Napa Valley Register in my early twenties. I was hired as a paste-up artist in the advertising department and soon moved over to the editorial side. There I became a photo technician and a page designer, while submitting cartoons on my own.
After a few years, I left the Register to go to the Vallejo Times-Herald in Vallejo, California just up the road. It was a dream job with a fantastic group of people to work with. I couldn't ask for anything more.
One day I received a press junket to cover the opening of the Animal Kingdom Park at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. I spent two days trying out everything and eating some great food.
And that's when I met her.
Lily García was from San Juan, and was also covering the Animal Kingdom opening when we met at a bus stop. We spent all night talking about family, work and life in general. When we parted, we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and went our ways.
We talked to each other as often as possible and a year later I found myself on a plane and moving to the island to live with her.
Life's been good to me so far.
My career in cartoonist started at a very young age. My father, Clarence Beland , was a cartoonist in his spare time and all the boys in my family draw in one way or another. I was the one who became obsessed about it.
I'm a seft-taught artist, although I had some art class experience in high school and a bit in community college as well. I studied on the television and also in Marvel Comics. I was heavily influenced by artist such as Al Herschfield, Chuck Jones, Charles Shulz, John Romita Sr., Gil Kane and others.
Cartooning is an art that is seldom as respected as it is admired. Perharps that's due to it's visual simplicity. But simplicity is something developed out of style and not through laziness. I got my fisrt job at the Napa Valley Register in my early twenties. I was hired as a paste-up artist in the advertising department and soon moved over to the editorial side. There I became a photo technician and a page designer, while submitting cartoons on my own.
After a few years, I left the Register to go to the Vallejo Times-Herald in Vallejo, California just up the road. It was a dream job with a fantastic group of people to work with. I couldn't ask for anything more.
One day I received a press junket to cover the opening of the Animal Kingdom Park at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. I spent two days trying out everything and eating some great food.
And that's when I met her.
Lily García was from San Juan, and was also covering the Animal Kingdom opening when we met at a bus stop. We spent all night talking about family, work and life in general. When we parted, we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and went our ways.
We talked to each other as often as possible and a year later I found myself on a plane and moving to the island to live with her.
Life's been good to me so far.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 11, 2016
While reading this tome of a romance comic book, my mind occasionally started to wander - and then I'd suddenly find myself in some pub, listening to some lovestruck drunk dude sharing his new-found bliss... So yeah, things get a little obvious and tiresome in places. After all, there is only so much you want to know about fate and destiny and all that. Just when I was ready to throw in the towel, though, something strange happened: I started to genuinely care about the characters - true story, swear to God! Yep, those little lovebirds were melting my cold, cynical heart... Well, something like that, anyway. Beland's simple, honest, unpretentious style had won me over. It may not bubble over with surprises or clever insights, but it has its own, undeniable charm. It feels real, I guess. If you are looking for a romance story of the more realistic, home-made variety, True Story, Swear to God might be right up your alley.
February 20, 2018
What amazed me about this book was the real-life complexities. True Story, Swear to God is a series by Tom Beland. It chronicles his romance falling in love with Lily Garcia. Tom is a guy who is struggling with losses he suffered as a child, and insecurities he feels as an adult. Lily is a radio Dj/celebrity from Puerto Rico that he meets by chance at Disney World.
Much of this book centers around that long-distant relationship between a guy from Napa, California and a girl from San Juan, PR. There fears for each other, their ways of courting, and generally how they go about living a life where the person they love is so far away and generally unavailable to them. Some people may find that boring. It certainly isn't the kind of material most stereotypical romances are based on. But it is something that I think many people go through in their lives, and it is a little bit different, which is why I liked it so much.
I needed a few months to get through this book. It is a very large archive of the comic series. But while some books (or even graphic novels) are not compelling enough to keep me coming back to finish the story, this one sat by my bed and waited patiently. I needed to know how things would turn out. I needed to know what happened to this couple. I think there is more to read to find out the whole story, but for now, I am very contented with the story presented here.
Much of this book centers around that long-distant relationship between a guy from Napa, California and a girl from San Juan, PR. There fears for each other, their ways of courting, and generally how they go about living a life where the person they love is so far away and generally unavailable to them. Some people may find that boring. It certainly isn't the kind of material most stereotypical romances are based on. But it is something that I think many people go through in their lives, and it is a little bit different, which is why I liked it so much.
I needed a few months to get through this book. It is a very large archive of the comic series. But while some books (or even graphic novels) are not compelling enough to keep me coming back to finish the story, this one sat by my bed and waited patiently. I needed to know how things would turn out. I needed to know what happened to this couple. I think there is more to read to find out the whole story, but for now, I am very contented with the story presented here.
March 22, 2017
Nice story, and I believe that it's 100% true, but there were almost no stakes in the entire thing. The hurricane was the only thing that had potential to be bad, but that turned out mostly fine. I liked the uplifting message at the end of doing what you love to do and just doing it. Otherwise, it was a romantic comedy without any conflict.
May 12, 2009
i didn't think it was possible to read a comic book as bad as vamps but i was wrong. vamps was a million times better. the story is so boring that i can't believe i actually finished it. i hate tom deland and his autobiographical piece of shit comic.
July 15, 2008
Ryan got a copy of this book from work and read almost the entire thing in one sitting and recommended it to me. I, in turn, read it almost in one sitting. It's a sweet love story that is well balanced with the "dude perspective." It's a wonderful tale of meeting your soul mate, but with plenty of F bombs and beer drinking. A very good balance.
This is right up there with "Blankets" as a great example of what can be done with the comic medium.
This is right up there with "Blankets" as a great example of what can be done with the comic medium.
June 27, 2016
This was a fun book to read and I appreciated the artwork! The story line is interesting and the characters are well developed. I'm not all that familiar with comic books but it reminded me of the old Archie Bunker comic strips that I remember seeing in the newspaper as a kid. Some of the story takes place in Napa Valley and I grew up not far from there, and I enjoyed seeing some familiar place names in the story.
July 19, 2008
An amazing true-life modern romance for the ages and I highly recommend getting this hefty trade because you'll want to read it all. The art is simple and nuanced and the book is well written with extreme honesty on the part of Tom Beland himself, for which he should be commended.
February 27, 2015
Δε λέει τίποτε καινούργιο, τίποτε το παράξενο ή εξαιρετικό. Αλλά μοιάζει τόσο αληθινό, που και ψέματα να είναι δε θα το καταλάβουμε ποτέ (που δεν είναι ψέματα....)
September 25, 2017
Delightful
August 31, 2012
This is such a sweet story, I love it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews