Name: Love Is Love
ISBN: 9781631409394

Phil Jimenez

The comic industry comes together in honor of those killed in Orlando. Co-published by two of the premiere publishers in comics-DC and IDW, this oversize comic contains moving and heartfelt material from some of the greatest talent in comics, mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today's world. All material has been kindly donated by the writers, artists, and editors, with all proceeds going to victims, survivors, and their families. Be a part of an historic comics event! It doesn't matter who you love. All that matters is you love. Featuring an introduction by the project's organizer, Marc Andreyko! Featuring contributions from some of the biggest names in comics!

Love Is Love

Maggie Gordon

Love is Love was the brain child of Marc Andreyko in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Pulse in the summer of 2016. He wanted to help somehow, and what came together was a compilation of 1-2 page comics from a variety of people in the comic industry. The proceeds of the book are being donated to Equality Florida Institute. 

To be clear, this is not an anthology for queer people by queer people. It's an anthology from a bunch of people, queer and straight, about their reactions to what happened and their hopes for the future with the intent of raising funds for those affected by the massacre. Thus, there are quite a few pages from straight people dealing with how Pulse made them feel and what they should do in response. This may not be your scene, so it's good to know in advance what the book includes. 

Overall, I thought the collection was quite strong given how many different artists and authors participated. I would have liked to see less of a focus on gay men, and there's a few entries that are a bit... questionable (some of the superhero ones, and the Harry Potter one in particular felt... off). I did find myself in tears several times though, and I was pleased that this was such a big production from IDW and DC, with very big names in the industry. The comic book world has been... less than great about queer issues. I don't think Love is Love signals the end of those issues, but I think it is important that important players have come out stating that hate and discrimination are not okay.

Love is Love is just a small sliver of reactions to Pulse, written by people who wanted to help. I think it does an admirable job for what it aims to be, though I was disappointed to see fewer queer voices featured than I expected, particularly from women and trans people.

Ren Christina

Such a lovely tribute to the Pulse nightclub shooting which is nearing its first anniversary. Not only are there gorgeous comic strips, there are poems and some of the most gorgeous pieces of art I've seen in a comic. 

Fantastic cameos from canonly LGBTQIA+ identifying DC characters (Kate Kane + Maggie Sawyer!). Plus an introduction from Patty Jenkins which is wonderful.