"Joan Peterson has a budding romance in the 1950s, precisely what you'd expect from the midcentury pulp romance comic art. But just when she is about to live happily ever after, she is catapulted to a new place, a new time, a new life, a new perfect romance. Joan struggles against this neverending cycle, gleaning clues about the metanarrative from the edges of her many lifetimes, biding her time, like if Sisyphus started experimenting with the path of the boulder."
Publisher Image Comics
Publication Date 2023-02-14
Section Graphic Novels / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions / Rachel S.
Format Paperback
ISBN 9781534324640
A terrifying, time-loop. A bad romance. An unforgettable, genre-bending mashup from boundary-pushing creative duo Tom King and Elsa Charretier!
From multiple Eisner Award winning writer Tom King and up-and-coming artist Elsa Charretier comes the first volume of a thrilling, genre-bending romance/horror mashup. Joan Peterson discovers that she is trapped in an endless, terrifying cycle of “romance”—a problem to be solved, a man to marry—and every time she falls in love she’s torn from her world and thrust into another tear-soaked tale. Her bloody, time-looping journey to freedom and revelation begins in this breathtaking, groundbreaking debut volume. Collects Love Everlasting #1-5.
Select praise for Love Everlasting:
"Romance comics meet Quantum Leap in this quirky odyssey through time, space, and the heart... King energizes the familiar romance genre with twists and turns that fuse each of Joan’s trysts into an intricate puzzle... Charretier’s thick-line cartoony character design, reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke, perfectly depicts this genre crossover, and Matt Hollingsworth’s colors capture the eeriness, avoiding primary colors with suitably subdued secondary palettes for each chapter. This series launch piles on the thrills and leaves tantalizing questions open. Readers will be eager to see the next volume." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"While much of the story is told in a dead-on, entertaining style that pays homage to the romance comics of the 1950s, the elements of mystery and horror that emerge make the book much more than a nostalgic indulgence. The writing is clever and builds tension throughout, while the art is impeccable in its blend of colors, linework, and style, covering settings from World War I era France to the Old West in America well. Rich themes and deep questions underpin Joan’s adventures, as about the true nature of love, the need for it, and the desire for independence and self-realization...Love Everlasting Volume 1 is a fascinating romantic horror story about a woman who shifts between lives." —Foreword Reviews
“Elsa and Tom are two of the very most talented creators giving their energy to sequential art, seeing them reinvent the romance genre is bold, inspiring, and a total must read.” —Rick Remender, Deadly Class, The Scumbag
"Love Everlasting is a perfectly crafted mystery from the brilliant mind of Tom King, like an everlasting episode of The Twilight Zone where Elsa Charretier shows us all she can draw EVERYTHING and she does it with apparent ease. Just a wonderful book by two of the best creators in comics!" —Francesco Francavilla
"Love Everlasting keeps the mystery of a good romance story alive even if some characters have to die in the process. You might think you know where the story is going, but love is as unpredictable as it is everlasting." —Fábio Moon
