You Can Also Read The Title As Sofa Rap Art
It’s been a long damn time since the parallel diary comic So Far Apart by Rene Engström and Rasmus Gran has updated, more than nine months¹ in fact. Last week we got a teaser that — yay! — new updates were a-comin’, and today we saw what Engström and Gran have been up to. I think I speak for most readers when I note that I read the Rasmus panels of this long-distance relationship comic first because he’s on the left side of the page, so I think I’m justified in saying while I understand the benefit of surprises and suspense, that was one hell of a buried lede in the last panel, buddy.
As always in SFA, Rene ‘n’ Rasmus often have differing viewpoints one how to share their lives with us: he catches up the high points and jumps to Oh yeah, we’re pregnant, some months into the process and sonograms and such; she focuses on the decision that they should get pregnant and the surprise that it happened as quickly as it did.
I cannot say how happy I am for Engström and Gran; they are not only obviously in love when you meet them, their love is strong enough to survive great distances² as well as terrifyingly complete honesty; there are plenty of episodes of SFA where one or both of them comes off pretty poorly because that is what being in love is really like — you like each other, you fight, you have petty little disagreements that blow up into anger, and (if you’re lucky) you are still in love. To face those frictions that any couple has, multiplied by 1200km, raised to the power of sharing it with all the world? They’ve got to be crazy in love, because merely crazy doesn’t explain all of it.
There are big changes coming soon to their lives (part of the reason for the distance between them was the need to be with their respective kids, and Gran notes in this new update that his eldest son is now an adult) and we’re just on part one of the catching-up. Congratulations to them both, and hooray for adorable little Swedish kidlings.
- Exhibit A: Strong Female Characters, courtesy Kate Beaton, Meredith Gran, and Carly Monardo.
- Exhibit B: Blood-Thirsty Space Smooch Assassins, courtesy Bravest Warriors issue #9. I’m going to attribute the remarkable resemblance to writer Joey Comeau and artist Mike Holmes knowing a good thing when they see it while also respecting the fact that BW is all-ages. This issue also features body-slams and smooches. It’s rad.
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¹ Keep that number in mind.
² Two days hard riding by motorcycle or an overnight train separate their living places in the southern tip and midpoint of Sweden.
Whoa, that was way faster than I expected for someone to pick up on my Strong Female Characters homage. Nicely done. Joey wrote them as smoochy space assassins, and I had the idea to have them resemble the SFC (who’s creators are all friends of ours). I had to PG up the costumes a bit, though.
By Mike Holmes on 06.14.13 7:57 am
Mike, I am ALL about the SFC. Do I detect a bit of visual reference to Kate, Mer, and Carly as well?
By Gary Tyrrell on 06.14.13 9:01 am
You are two for two.
By Mike Holmes on 06.14.13 10:45 am
Just echoing the sentiment that Rene and Rasmus are two of the very nicest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting (I tabled with Rene at her first UK con appearance; there’s an awesome story attached to that which only highlights how rad Rene is, but I’m pressed for time).
By Luke Toomey on 06.14.13 11:16 am
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