Love is Love Digital Comics - Comics by comiXology

Love is Love Digital Comics - Comics by comiXology

The comic book industry comes together to honor those killed in Orlando this year. From IDW Publishing, with assistance from DC Entertainment, this oversize comic contains moving and heartfelt material from some of the greatest talents in comics - - mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today's world.

comixology.com

I finished Love is Love the other day. It's about 140 pages and I would've breezed through it in a day if not for its powerful emotional impact. After a few pages I would have to stop reading to process and absorb things.

Love is Love is an anthology collecting mostly 1 page (some 2-pager) comic stories, pin-ups, posters, and other comics-related or inspired images created in reaction to the heartbreaking shooting in the Orlando club Pulse last year. All proceeds of the book go to survivors of the attack.

As if the book's noble cause weren't enough to justify the purchase, it is filled with some genuinely moving pieces. Sometimes you can get struck by a single image, others you become disarmed by the raw power of a simple yet insightful short comic. As I was reading, I leaned over to show @purploony a couple of pages, and those left her in tears.

The creator's list is a who's who of comics today. And even lesser known names (to me anyway) come up with deep and moving work. The book is published by IDW, but also created in coordination with DC, and as a result there are a fair number of DC characters who pop up in the book. Some to great effect. My favorite might be a single pager image of Green Lanters advocating diversity by Ivan Reis.

As with any anthology, you'll have some pieces that are more or less powerful than the overall effort. But the general quality of the selections is outstanding. And the subject matter is tackled very well. It's inevitable given what happened that some ideas or themes might be retreaded. Despite some repetition, the entire book feels vital, feels like something we truly need.

And I guess that's my parting thought on the book. There is so much hate, so much anger in the world today. Those who hold anger and hate are also much more aggressive in spreading those negative things. We need more love in the world, whatever kind or form that love may take. Love is Love. And I sure am thankful that this book is around to help remind us of that. I hope more people read it so that we can create and spread enough love to turn this world around.