There are a lot of comics out there, but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week, we’re spotlighting “Love Everlasting” a unique series that has slid under our radar so far. This week, we seek to amend that.
Who’s this by?
First and foremost, this is a Tom King production. You might recognize Tom King for his work on Mister Miracle, Batman, Strange Adventures, some Superman titles, and The Vision, his run of which was the inspiration and groundwork for WandaVision. He’s won the Eisner multiple times as well as a bunch of other awards. He also has his own Quora question about why people hate him so much, has overreached on twitter, and was unapologetically supportive of his work on “Heroes in Crisis,” which some saw as a poor/ineffectual/problematic analysis of trauma. Tom King also worked as a counterterrorism officer in the CIA, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has had a storied career and writes powerfully, even if its unclear whether or not he consistently sticks the landing.
Elsa Charretier is the artist on “Love Everlasting,” and has some serious credits herself. She co-created Infinite Loop with Pierrick Colinet at IDW, and has worked across the comics landscape, from Marvel to DC to Random House. She also writes, and is the co-creator on “Love Everlasting.” Matt Hollingsworth is on colors, and he’s an industry veteran who’s worked on Preacher, Wytches, November, and more. Rounding out the creative team is Clayton Cowles on letters. He’s worked on X-Men, Daredevil, and various Batman titles, among others.
What’s this all about?
So, this is really the million dollar question. Comics nowadays are all well known for their superheroes, complex protagonists, loyal fandoms, and cultural capital. On the fringes and edges of the industry lie more subversive creators who use comics as tools for subverting expectations, pointing out the ironies of contemporary life, and social change. In this way, comics are both cultural centerpieces and cultural agitators. “Love Everlasting” cuts through this dialectic and starts off in a milieu that most comic readers today are probably less aware of: romance. Romance comics, as passionate as they were formulaic, used to be a centerpiece of the comics tradition. “Love Everlasting” harkens back to this time, and uses the wide-eyed, eager and unironic shell of romance as its vehicle.
In “Love Everlasting,” romance protagonist Joan Peterson realizes that she is trapped in a continuously recapitulating existence, wherein she meets a man, courts him, overcomes struggles, marries him, and is then thrust into another love story, doomed to repeat this cycle again and again. As she does, her memories change, her agency shifts, and her frustration grows. Joan Peterson is locked in an endless cycle of romance stories, yoked the tropes and motifs of each. Will she escape? Who can she trust in this cursed world? On top of that, this is touted as an ongoing series in the “tradition of SANDMAN and SAGA,” meaning Image has high hopes for this one.
So why should I read this?
Honestly, you should read this because it’s so damn interesting, if not challenging. We covered this story a little while ago in Wrapping Wednesday, our micro review column. Our analysis was that “Love Everlasting” had beautiful art, an interesting premise, but a somewhat middling execution — because so much weight is given to the time jumps and jerked around nature of the story, Joan is hard to connect with, and the constant scene changes and setting shifts can be disorienting. While we stand by this, after another two issues, we can say that the chaotic nature of this story is worth the payoff. For one, the art is spot on, and Charretier and the rest of the artistic team do a fantastic job keeping the visual style constant while the set pieces and cultural landmarks shift — note that “Love Everlasting” jumps from the 1940s to the 1970s to the 1920s and everywhere in between. The images in “Love Everlasting” are simply classic. There’s a mix of impressionism and realism that just feels good. The writing is also top notch, mimicking simultaneously prosaic yet whimsical tone of old school romance comics. Joan also becomes increasingly more interesting and likable as the story goes on, and we found ourselves rooting for her more and more as the issues progress. While constantly repeating love stories could get tedious, King and the team elevate “Love Everlasting” to something more heartfelt, intimate, and soulful than the original romance comics of yore were. There’s also something just intrinsically gutwrenching about the premise of the story. How often do we find ourselves repeating relationship dynamics from our past relationships with new people? How often do we try our bests to be different, or find someone different, but instead fail to do so or fall for the same toxic type? “Love Everlasting” takes this to the next level. We encourage you to hop on this train sooner rather than later.
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How can I read this?
“Love Everlasting” #3, the next issue of the current story, releases on October 12th wherever comics are sold.
