Broken Frontier

Cartoonist Tom Beland quietly broke into the comic book industry a few years ago with an autobiographical series called, True Story, Swear to God. Since then, the Eisner nominated comic book has built a loyal and diverse fan base, following the true story (swear to God) of how a chance meeting between Beland and Puerto Rican radio/TV host, Lily Garcia, changed their lives forever. This past weekend, Broken Frontier had the opportunity to talk to Tom about his comic, his life, peddling smut and his upcoming projects for Bongo and Marvel.

BROKEN FRONTIER - For those who might not be familiar with Tom Beland or True Story, Swear to God [Interviewer’s note – affectionately known as TSSTG] could you introduce the man and his work?

TOM BELAND - Sure. I'm relatively new to the comic book scene... about two years or so. I had a comic strip that was autobiographical named True Story, Swear to God, which then morphed into a comic book series. The series is about how I met my wife at a bus stop in Disneyworld and how we dated long distance... she lived in Puerto Rico, I lived in Napa Valley, California.

So, it's been labeled a romantic/comedy series. WAIT... DON'T RUN AWAY!!! IT'S FROM A GUY'S POINT OF VIEW!!! lol.. That's always the image I have when I explain my series. I can even picture the body-shaped hole in the wall as the person flees. But, seriously, it's
not what you think… There’s some good laughs and some... well… shit, it IS what you fear.

But, it HAS been well-received and has garnered four Eisner nominations in its time.

BF - From reading TSSTG, it’s obvious that comics were an important part of your childhood. Which creators have most influenced you?

TB - Charles Schulz, Walt Kelly, Don Martin, Al Hirschfield, John Romita Sr., Gil Kane, John and Sal Buscema. Those guys I'd walk ten miles to get their books. I'd just missed the Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby stuff when I began reading comics.

Those old Hanna-Barbara cartoons were highly influential to me as well. I was a HUGE fan of the Flintstones. If you look at the first few issues of TSSTG, you can see a very close resemblance to Wilma.

BF - Given the opportunity, are there any of your childhood favorite comic characters that you'd like the opportunity to write or draw?

TB - Funny you should ask... I just finished a Spider-Man story that Marvel picked up. Just signed the contract today. [Interviewer’s note – and yes, I asked…Tom guessed the story might see print at the end of the year] It's a real emotional thing for me to do. When my parents were sick with cancer (they both died from it by the time I'd graduated high school), Amazing Spider-Man and the other Marvel books were my one-hour escape from all of that. I'm serious about that. Once a month, I'd get my books and take a break from reality. So, to be able to write for this character, who really meant the world to me... it was very enjoyable.

BF - At what point did you decide to do a comic about your life? 

TB - I got the idea from reading Keith Knight's "The K. Chronicles." I read them in the Pacific Sun every week and he was the one who got me to do TSSTG in comic strip form. It ran in my local paper I worked at. Lily inspired me to do the comic book. I thought I was wayyy out of my league getting into comics and I really thought no one was going to give a crap about me meeting a woman at a theme park.

BF - How did TSSTG evolve from a comic strip to a full-length comic book?

TB - I met Lily at Disneyworld, while covering the Animal Kingdom opening for my newspaper. We met at the bus stop, waiting to watch Stevie Wonder play. We hung out together all night and when I was flying back to California, I sketched-out all 48 pages of the first issue. Then, I thought I'd try to put them onto the bristol board pages. It was really just to see if I could make a True Story cartoon that was 48 pages. Then, I showed it to her when she came to visit me in California and she loved it. It sat in a box for about a year or two before she convinced me to actually get it printed.

BF - Have there ever been any events you've depicted in TSSTG that have led Lily or your family to say, "Tom, you're sharing too much?"  Or has there ever been anything that left you thinking the same thing?

TB - No. Everyone's been very cool about it. Some thought the sexual dysfunction topic would be something that would be embarrassing to me or to Lily, but she said to write about whatever I wanted to and, well, a lot of men connected with that topic. I mean, the worst that can happen is people talk about it online for that week, then the next bunch of cool books hit the shelves and they're talking about Powers or something.

There have been some toons I did where I was drinking, or smoking weed and my editor got nervous. But, what can you do? The worst that can happen is the readers know too much and I've never been too bugged about that.

BF - Do you expect that TSSTG will ever “catch up” to present day?

TB - Hmmm... the series, so far, has covered the first year of our relationship and we've been together for seven years now. So, I doubt it'll catch up. This will sound weird, but the book really decides the pacing or the timeline. I might bump the time span up a bit, but not too much. I tend to think in story arcs more than individual stories.

The recent few issues have had some really bumming out moments in it. I guarantee that things liven up more in #15.

BF - What do you think is the most important thing you've learned about yourself while doing TSSTG?

TB - I've learned to have confidence in my work. I can trust my instincts and try new things. I just illustrated a piece for a book called Smut Peddler 3... something I'd normally never have tried. It was written by Trisha Sebastion and it dealt with bondage and master/slave issues. To have been able to do it, and have it come out to my liking, that was very cool.

And now I'm discovering that publishers see me for my writing abilities... something I've never had a lot of confidence in. It's very weird to see just what others see in you.

I've also learned how valuable a muse can be.

BF - What can people expect to see in upcoming issues of TSSTG?

TB - All the stress and difficulties I've experienced in Puerto Rico comes to a head in issue #14. I get spit on during a protest rally and I'm like THIS CLOSE to moving home. I also continue to do freelance work without getting paid on time. It's a pretty stressed-out issue, but, like I said earlier, things lighten up a whole lot with #15.

I just sent #14 to the printers today, so it should be out by the end of July.

BF - Do you have any other comic projects planned beyond TSSTG?

TB - I'm going to pitch my second Spidey idea... and to try something new, I'm going to draw and ink the first five pages or so, just to let them see my take on him. If they say, "great, you do the art too" that'd be great. If they take the story, but don't think I have the right style
to draw it, no problem. It'll be cool just to pitch the art, along with the story this time.

I did a story for Radioactive Man for the folks at Bongo Comics. Homer is Galactus and he's coming to eat Springfield. That one was just recently accepted.

The Smut Peddler 3 book information can be found at www.saucygoosepress.com.

BF - What is the most important thing self-publishing has taught you?

TB - I think it's taught me how to explore my creativity. I mean really expand it. Self-publishing allows me to focus on whatever topic I want to cover... without a corporation telling me what I can and can't discuss. It's also been incredibly therapeutic for me.... because I can go back and examine how I handled things.  It gives me perspective on things.

It's also taught me the importance of organization. Covers for my series have to be done four months ahead of time... and many times, I'll have no idea what I'm going to be focusing on. So it's tough to get those out. I've been using some generic covers lately, just so I'm not spazzing out over it.

BF - As a life-long comic fan, what has been the best thing about becoming a comic book creator?

TB - Meeting the people I've admired. People like Kurt Busiek, Sergio Arragones, Mike Kunkel, Gil Kane, Terry Moore, etc. I mean, it still blows me away that I can look in my address book and there's Kurt and there's Terry's phone number.

In San Diego last year I met Sal Buscema... huge geek-out moment for me.

Also, in my first year of making comics, I found myself involved in panel discussions with people like Craig Thompson, Carla McNeil, Paige Braddock and Mike. I kept hearing that "ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS" song playing in my mind.

Meeting the retailers and finding out how cool these people are. There are so many cool retailers out there and I absolutely love them.

Meeting fans and seeing how nervous they can sometimes be. It always makes me think of how scared I was to talk to Keith. It's hilarious and it's very flattering at the same time.

BF - What advice do you give to aspiring creators who want to break into the comic book industry?

TB - Only make something you would buy. That sounds so obvious, but there are creators out there who are so interested in getting a book out there, they don't really plan out the quality end of it. Would YOU shell out three bucks for your book? I still ask myself that every issue I put out.

BF - Are you going to be attending any comic cons this summer?

TB - We just did MOCCA and loved it. The next one will probably be WonderCon in San Francisco next year. We have to save some money here because Lily and I are taking a cruise to Italy. My first time there... can't wait. I think we're also going to try to hit Chicago next year also. I have relatives there and it's been ages since I've seen them.

The most common thing we go through at conventions are meeting couples who've shared our story and meeting guys who've broken up with their significant other and need to restock their TSSTG's.... because their ex took them when they left. It's sad, but pretty humorous. It's still a bit odd to HAVE fanboys, seeing how I'm such a fanboy myself and I can't quite imagine someone having as much passion for MY work as I have for someone like, Kurt or Brian or Keith. It's an out-of-body moment when our fanboys/fangirls show up to say hello.

BF – Tom, it’s been a real pleasure to talk to you.  Thank you so much for your time.

TB - No problem! Thanks for the interest!!

As Tom mentioned, True Story, Swear to God #15 should be out by the end of July, from Clib’s Boy Comics. In the meantime, visit Tom’s website at http://www.yunque.net/tom/Bio_TomBeland.htm where you can find some of his old TSSTG comic strips in the “Gallery I” section. A collection of Tom’s strips is also available in TSSTG: 100 STORIES, while the comic series is collected in TSSTG: CHANCES ARE… (issues #1-4) and TSSTG: THIS ONE GOES TO 11 (issues #5-11), all available from AiT/Planet Lar.