Organized by Marc Andreyko
Edited by Sarah Gaydos and Jamie S. Rich
ISBN 978-1-63140939-4
On June 12, 2016, a shooter opened fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed, and more than 50 others were injured. In a Facebook post reacting to the tragedy, comic book writer Marc Andreyko put out the call for the comics community, writing “Hey, fellow comics professionals: anyone interested in doing a benefit anthology comic book for the Orlando victims? i’m more than willing to organize it and reach out to publishers…” The resulting deluge of offers to contribute led to the creation of Love is Love. From the proceeds of this anthology, a $150, 000 donation was made to the OneOrland Fund for victims and families of the Pulse shooting. Subsequent proceeds are scheduled to be donated to LGBTQA charities on an annual basis.
Love is Love represents a varied collection of pieces that span the range from one page stories to illustrated poems to single page pieces best described as posters. There are reactions, commiserations, rallying cries, and memorials. Some are inspirational and reassuring, while others are hard to read. Readers should be aware that in several instances, the victims are depicted in the aftermath of the shooting. Many of the contributors are straight, while others are members of the LGBTQ community.
Love is Love was put together and published in short order. Many of the pieces are raw and fumbling, reacting, processing. Some of them miss the mark, and a few really should have been more carefully considered, which might have had the chance to happen on a less tight editorial deadline. On the positive side, a number of major comic book characters are depicted as queer, or supportive of the LGBT community. However, these images would be more valuable in the regular runs of these major characters, where all the fans would be exposed to them. The collection achieved its purpose of raising money for the cause, and there are many beautiful and extremely touching pieces in this collection, mixed in with others that strike a sour note.
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