Ignition Press’ acclaimed annual anthology Love Ignited returns for another round of “weird tales of romance” in Love Ignited 2027. The latest installment features seven all-new stories and 48 full-color pages of “heartbreak, betrayal, passion, and devotion from an all-star line-up of fan favorite and rising star creators.”
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Eisner Award-winning superstar illustrator Jen Bartel (Blackbird) returns to comics to provide both a stunning cover and to write and illustrate the story behind it. Emerging voices Molly Mahan (Shade, The Changing Girl) and Matthew Dunn (What’s The Furthest Place From Here?) delve into the past and a union that transcends the earthly plane, while cartoonist Maxine Zilkenat (Bugbarian) explores parental love and loss on the high seas.
Meanwhile, Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom, Wonder Woman) teams with Marley Zarcone (Shade the Changing Girl) to examine the memory of a love lost closer to home…at the comic book store. Morgan Hampton (Green Lantern) and Noel Kelly (The Dogsitter) whisk us away to an intergalactic dating reality show. Joanne Starer (Dinner Date) and Elisa Romboli (The Ring: The Man Who Beats the Man) explore matters of the heart at a murder mystery party. And finally, Eisner and Ringo Award winner Jordie Bellaire (Redlands, Exquisite Corpses) delves into one’s love of big top circus bicycle performers…and their bicycles. No, really.
“Anthologies are always fun to work on because, in a sense, you really get to play around and try different things,” said Ignition Press Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Rich. “Last year, when I started Love Ignited, I was asking people to pitch love stories, not realizing that because this is a comic book, the ideas I was going to get were going to be strange. This year, having now set the standard, I worked with editors Nora Ornstein, Ian Shaughnessy, and Maggie Howell to seek out talent that would be equally as strange, but in all kinds of different ways. Thus, we ended up with freaky aliens, pirates, macabre role players, otherworldly presences, and so much more.”
“A good story is like a good conversation; and a good anthology is like a good party. Love Ignited might just be the best party in town,” added Assistant Editor Nora Ornstein. “One of the greatest things about working on an anthology is putting together the right mix of talent, from emerging voices to long-established industry pros. Then, you just give them the space to do what they do so well, and it becomes a special kind of magic. This year’s stories are just the right mix of weird and wonderful—strange enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, and charming enough to warm even my cold, jaded, heart.”
Check out an exclusive look at the cover for Love Ignited 2027 below!
