Love is Love, an anthology containing work from 200 writers and artists, mourns victims of the nightclub attack and celebrates the LGBT community

After hearing about the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, last June, comic book writer Marc Andreyko’s reaction was physical. “My body just clenched and I was ill. I knew I had to do something, anything,” Andreyko wrote in an email to the Guardian. A gunman had killed 49 patrons at the LGBT nightclub before he was killed by police.



The day after the tragedy, Andreyko posted on Facebook that the comic book community should do something. “As a child who grew up with Live-Aid and We Are the World, my first instinct was, ‘Let’s make a comic’,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Love is Love. Photograph: Elsa Charretier and Jordie Bellaire

A few months later, his idea has come to fruition in the form of Love Is Love, a graphic novel anthology announced on Wednesday. Published by IDW Publishing with the support of DC Entertainment, the 144-page, $9.99 book is available for pre-order and will hit shelves in December. All proceeds from the book will benefit the survivors and victims of the Orlando terror attack and their families via Equality Florida, an LGBT advocacy group and nonprofit, according to a release.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Exclusive page from Love is Love comic book, the script written by Al Ewing, art by Lee Garbett and colors by Antonio Fabela. Photograph: Al Ewing, Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela

Andreyko, known for his work on DC’s Batwoman, Wonder Woman ‘77 and Manhunter, said he received about 100 responses to his Facebook status within a few hours. He then reached out to “anyone and everyone” in comics, plus film and literature. “Most of them said yes before I finished asking,” he said. “It has been profoundly moving to see such a diverse, and often really busy, group take the time to be a part of this.”

The anthology contains work from 200 writers and artists who volunteered their services and over 100 short stories “mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today’s world”.

Andreyko wrote two stories for the book and curated its contributors. He’s joined by comic book writers Steve Orlando, Marguerite Bennett, Paul Jenkins, James Asmus, artists Phil Jimenez, Ming Doyle, Steve Sadowski, Leinil Yu, as well as comedian Patton Oswalt and Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof, and many others who have yet to be revealed.

Many others have revealed their participation on social media. Artist Rafael Albuquerque contributed an illustration of Batwoman – a gay character – holding a rainbow American flag, which has been widely shared and included in the initial write-up by the New York Times. A few pages of the comic were published by the Los Angeles Times.

James Tynion IV, a writer for DC’s Detective Comics, did a story for the book with artist Molly Ostertag. He tweeted his excitement about his participation, but also about what an LGBT-focused comic book says about how the industry has changed over time.

“Also, can I just say that as a queer kid growing up, I could never have imagined DC Comics would support a project like this,” he wrote. “It means the world to me that DC is not only hiring queer creators on A-List books and spotlighting queer characters ... But also they are actively helping the LGBT community.”

James Tynion IV (@JamesTheFourth) This MATTERS. I cannot express to you with enough force how much this matters.

Andreyko, who is gay, said he hopes Love Is Love will make readers realize that it doesn’t matter who they love. “What matters is that you do love,” he said. “We are all in this together, we share more with each other than we differ, and we can each make a difference and better the world.”



He added: “And I hope they buy lots of copies so we can raise loads of money!”