Love Everlasting #1: The beginning of a romance horror story
A romance story isn’t always bubble gum covers and Manhattan drama. Sometimes it’s a story that comes with a little bit of something extra.
As we read through Love Everlasting #1, we slip into the same routine of a romance story. It all seems sweet and cozy enough. The art is set in the style of a pulp-style comic. We see our heroine of the classic silver-screen name, Joan Peterson, pining away for her love. Her love who is not only her boss (the office taboo!) but he’s also engaged to her best friend! Gasp! So we settle down to see how this story turns out.
To our surprise, it turns out well. No gut wrenching climax of confessions in the rain or dramatic fall out with the best friend. So turn the page….
…and now it’s another romance story. It’s still Joan. But it’s a completely different story. Different world, different love interest. So Love Everlasting must be a love anthology? Except, there is a blip of a moment that Joan remembers her love interest from the other story. Weird. And it get’s weirder. The issue contains more love scenarios starring Joan opposite a different love interest. With each story something begins to unravel and there is a deep uneasy vibe that this romance may not even be the main story. We have been duped!
By the last page, there is a whole other, possible sinister force here. Looking back at the cover, I wonder if this is a hologram or if Joan’s manifesting a different reality. On the cover, she is passionately holding on to her love as a fiery explosion has busted through behind them. A sign that disaster will follow Joan’s love life? Could it mean that something is trying to prevent her experiencing love? Could that explosion be connected to the “BLAM!” moment at the end of the issue?
So many possibilities and references start pummeling the mind. There are movies like John Ritter’s “Stay Tuned” (1992) or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Running Man” (1987) that immediately come to mind. In the sense of using a nostalgic familiar entertainment format to hide something horrific. What it is is, whether it’s a way to appease the devil or for blood sport, curiosity is making the wait for the next issue so unbearable!
Love Everlasting #1 is a great sneaky way to start a possible horror story. Set in the style of a mass market romance novel with a seemingly predictable love story, readers are lulled in the comfort of a typical romance story. The end of the issue leaves such a great cliffhanger that the next issue cannot come soon enough!!!
Until the issue#2 comes out September 2022, call your local comic retailer for…::cue dramatic radio music::….LOVE EVERLASTING!!
Preview some of the pages from Love Everlasting #1 here:
Bonus thoughts:
After reading the comic, Rina Sawayama’s new music video “Hold the Girl” is the perfect soundtrack for this issue!
