Described as a “comic book ode to ooey-gooey homosexual lovers of the past, present, and future”, Belly Full of Heart from Madeline Mouse and Silver Sprocket is exactly the kind of feel-good, positive book you can curl up and hide from the world with. With a short and snappy introduction warning haters to “beware”, Mouse cautions readers that this book is not for cynics. It is for the “lovers who love”; I couldn’t have put it more succinctly myself. So, if you care to stray away from real world worries and scepticism, just for a moment, and surround yourself with a dose of soppy loveliness, this is the book for you.
Illustrated in dreamy, floating vignettes, Belly Full of Heart is a mushy amalgamation of hearts, romance and intimacy, zoning in on smaller moments that happen between loving partners, perhaps the kind that aren’t shown as much in the media. Rather than big, romantic gestures, these vignettes focus a lot on the mundane, yet sweet moments, that happen in long-term, trusting relationships; allowing your partner to have the last strawberry, finding little trinkets on your travels to bring home to the other person, or going out for some food and falling asleep on the sofa together. Others are more fantastical in scope; two angels nap in bliss together after sharing some gummy worms, and elsewhere, a car mulls over how long his battery will last as he plays jazz to his unreciprocated crush. Some of these really do get weird, but with a creative mind like Mouse at the helm, I quickly learned to expect the unexpected, and was more than happy to enjoy the ride.
What’s fun and unique about Belly Full of Heart, is not only its lack of linear storytelling, but also its lack of consistent main characters. It defies convention in every possible way, allowing Mouse to get as experimental, strange and mushy as they like. This is Mouse’s debut graphic novel, and they’ve done a really excellent job in creating a story so compelling, in a format which doesn’t actually have any narrative. I could identify with many of the observations, and was also completely baffled by a few, but that’s the beauty of being in love with your own special person; Mouse highlights that while all relationships are different, they are all so precious.
Of course, one of the star qualities of this graphic novel is its beautiful art style. Mouse’s choice of soft pastels works perfectly with the romantic tone of the book, with pinks, purples and reds highlighting full hearts and rosy cheeks. Hearts, stars, flowers and other miscellaneous objects are often found floating around the pages, which just adds to the sense of the characters being in a rose-tinted world of their own with each other. Intricately detailed, and lovingly sketched, Mouse’s passion for queer love stories exudes from every intimate page.
Soppy? Yes. Lovey-dovey? Certainly. Well worth the read? Absolutely.
Madeline Mouse (W/A) • Silver Sprocket, $9.99
Review by Lydia Turner
