David Sandlin is persistent. In 2010 he set out to create a complex autobiographical graphic novel comprised of 18 distinct chapters, each published as its own Riso-printed comic book. Belfaust tells the story of two lovers, the protagonists Betty and Bill Grimm, a couple based on his parents, who are grappling with what Sandlin understates as “the temptations and trials of modern life.” They encounter villains both grave and minor in 1965 Belfast, Northern Ireland, as they plan their escape to America with the promise of paradise (lost). This comic is as historical as it is campy, and employs colorful, retro imagery with mythological undertones to create a world cemented in both fantasy and reality.
In the serial format, Sandlin issues new episodes just as memory of the previous comics have begun to fade. The reader is on a timeline of a love affair between Betty and Bill that hit the inevitable rough patches as they evolve into Bill’s “Slumberland” nightmare digressions, presented as comics within comics. The journey is chock-full of detours that work as self-contained stories, but I impatiently await having all 18 episodes to binge on.
Here is my first interview with Sandlin. Here’s the second. Episode 8: 2nd Honey Moon is available through Cram Books. Although keeping up with the odyssey has been confounding at times because of the infrequency of publication, it is worth the effort to do so.
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