True Story, Swear To God: 100 Stories (True Story, Swear to God (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)

~ Tom Beland (Author, Artist)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Cartoonist Tom Beland tells true stories of his life with his wife, Lily, in this heartfelt valentine. It's intelligent and well written and unabashedly romantic. It's the kind of book that men and women who believe in the power of love and the existence of fate will want to take home and read again and again. In other words, this is a small story with big promise. Life is funnier than fiction. At least that's true for cartoonist Tom Beland. True Stories, Swear To God: 100 Stories is Tom Beland's unique look at everyday events. A California-based cartoonist with a tumultuous childhood and a strong sense of family leaves it all behind and moves to Puerto Rico to be with the love of his life. Weaving tales of innocence and wit, Tom welcomes you into his life and you'll soon be wanting another 100 stories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: AiT/PlanetLar (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193205121X
• ISBN-13: 978-1932051216
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,875,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant enough collection of stories..., November 9, 2004

By	Kate (Australia) - See all my reviews

Well this is unlikely to revolutionise the graphic novel genre, it is a pleasant little collection of stories with lovely art and a great deal of gentle humour.

I thought the tales about he and his wife were particularly warming, while I also enjoyed the stories about his childhood and father and the measures he takes to mourn his father's passing. While they are all quite distinct stories, they really do narrate and flesh out a character, which is perhaps the ultimate aim of such a work. As I have said, the art is quite lovely, simple yet detailed and very sweet.

However, I had a few small problems with the work. Firstly, I found Beland to be an exceptionally Americanised voice, while his repetitive odes to McDonalds began to annoy me. Additionally, I found some of his strips slightly sexist, such as the one about 'chicks' ruining baseball or the short story 'The Fem Tale'. While this was certainly not a conscious choice by Beland, it registered in my mind and made me appreciate the work a little less. Furthermore, there were quite a few stripes waxing lyrical about his success, his Einser nomination etc etc.

So while I really enjoyed the work for the most part, these repetitive aspects did grate on me and detract from the piece on the whole.