Andi Watson’s ongoing series for Oni Press, LOVE FIGHTS, is going to have its first trade paperback collection this coming April. Comprising the first six issues of the romance-among-the-superheroes series, it introduces unfamiliar readers to Jack and Nora while refreshing long-time readers’ memories for the new stories to come. With the seventh issue due in two weeks, LOVE FIGHTS is still swinging, with many more installments of this cape-and-tights soap opera on the way.
“The best thing about LOVE FIGHTS is its organic storytelling,” said Oni Press editor in chief Jamie S. Rich. “Andi has let the story grow on its own, exceeding his own expectations of where it might go. As the series has become both a fan and critical favorite, this only means more great comics for everyone. The new tpb is simply a volume 1, meaning we have a lot of pages to go before we find out if our lovers every make it to the altar!”
“I approach each issue as an individual unit,” Watson explained, “and keep in mind that there are still people reading these month-to-month. I want each chapter to be a good story. At the same time, any serialized work is going to be better appreciated in one big chunk. I think in having this much of the story in one go, a reader is going to probably notice a lot more of the subtleties.”
The concept for the book is simple: two people in a world where superheroes are real fumble through a relationship, their lives constantly interrupted by men in tights beating the living heck out of each other. Jack is the penciller of the official comic book adventures of The Flamer, an old school crime fighter whose popularity is on the wane due to his involvement in a love-child sex scandal. Nora is the up-and-coming reporter with the scoop. Neither Jack nor Nora are aware of each other’s connection to the hero when they meet, but as their courtship progresses, it only proves to complicate matters. Additionally, Jack’s cat Guthrie disappeared for a while and came back…different. And we all know how cats demand attention!
“There is a grand old tradition of superdudes falling in love,” Watson continued. “While my couple doesn’t have superpowers itself, Jack and Nora are forced into extraordinary circumstances by the extraordinary world they live in. But, at times, this is when we are our most human, and I think that’s where a lot of LOVE FIGHTS’ drama comes from. Plus, given Nora’s job and Jack’s cat, I can lace the plot with other genre elements, as the investigative reporter works her way to the center of a conspiracy.”
“The way Andi has layered LOVE FIGHTS is brilliant,” Rich said. “It’s got all the emotional trappings that fans of his work on BREAKFAST AFTER NOON and SLOW NEWS DAY have come to love, as well as an irreverent look at the sort of heroes he has been scripting for Marvel Comics. By making his male lead a comics artist himself, he also twists the book into a post-modern comment on the industry and the art form. LOVE FIGHTS is a book that begs for rereading, and rewards you with something different every time you relent.”
As an added bonus for those who purchase the LOVE FIGHTS trade paperback, they will be treated to a gallery of some of Andi’s covers to LOVE IN TIGHTS, the late ’90s anthology that housed superhero love stories and launched the J. Torres/Takeshi Miyazawa series, SIDEKICKS. That book’s editorial duo, Torres and B. Clay Moore (HAWAIIAN DICK), will be writing a text piece to go along with the gallery and exploring the concept further.
LOVE FIGHTS is a monthly comic book with 32 black-and-white pages, retailing for $2.99. It features color covers and has mature situations. Its seventh issue will be on sale February 4, 2004.
The LOVE FIGHTS volume 1 trade paperback will be digest sized and feature a new cover by Watson. Scheduled to ship to stores on April 29, 2004, it features 168 pages for $14.95. It will carry an ISBN # of 1-929998-86-4.
