Warning: This review contains spoilers for “Love Me” #1-2Love Me: A Romance Story reads like a delightful mash-up of WALL-E and Taxi Driver, delivering an unpredictable journey across its first several issues. This colorful story introduces Jojo, a taxi-driving robot who smiles in the face of a city in active protest against his very existence, and takes him on a whirlwind ride in search of love.
Love Me: A Romance Story #1 and #2 – written by Francesca Perillo, with art by Stefano Cardoselli – situates Jojo in a hostile futuristic New York, with graffiti and anti-robot slogans plastered on each colorful and chaotic building. Yet, Jojo seems to be content with his routine, pleased to put on some Nina Simone and help his riders get where they’re going.
The story of Love Me takes off when Jojo meets passenger Gilda, initiating an adventure that has so far embodied a diverse set of influences and genre conventions.
Related
10 Coolest Robot Heroes In the DC Universe
From shape-shifting automatons to futuristic security droids, the DC Universe has plenty of awesome robots that make the world a better place.
Jojo is Willing to Fight the Mob for Gilda
Love Me: A Romance Story #1 – Written By Francesca Perillo; Art By Stefano Cardoselli, Lorenzo Scaramella and Buddy Beaudoin)
Gilda is a classic-film-and-Nina Simone-loving character, offering Jojo a glimpse of the partnership he craves. When they exchange numbers and make plans to meet that night, the hopeful robot is overwhelmed with joy. Unfortunately, Jojo’s brief taste of human connection plunges him into despair when Gilda fails to show up for their movie date. As Frida the cat narrates, Jojo withdraws from the things that typically bring him joy, refraining from work and skipping his daily coffee. Unexpectedly, that is when Gilda reaches back out, asking for help.
The colorful and eclectic artwork of Love Me reflects the beautiful outlook of its hero. The stunning chaos is drawn the way Jojo sees the world – as a kaleidoscope of different people and experiences. It’s no surprise, then, that Jojo is so deeply passionate as a character, risking everything for a woman he met once. Further, he continues to pursue her rescue even after he’s warned by Wizard of the deadly nature of his situation. Frida may be right that Jojo is too optimistic, but she is wrong to believe he is naive.
Love Me: A Romance Story #1 – Written By Francesca Perillo; Art By Stefano Cardoselli, Lorenzo Scaramella and Buddy Beaudoin)
Love Me #2 by Francesca Perillo, Stefano Cardoselli, Lorenzo Scaramella and Buddy Beaudoin””>
As the plot of Love Me progresses, Jojo in turn calls his boss, Wizard, at the taxi depot, looking for more information on Alfio’s. The mob restaurant was only detail given to him by his damsel in distress. Wizard lets him in on the drama Gilda has found herself embroiled in, having rejected marriage proposals from the mafioso heir, Carmelo, twice. Ignoring Wizard’s warnings, Jojo goes directly to Alfio’s in pursuit of Gilda and her cry for help. Overall, so far, the story of Love Me has moved forward as a powerful imperative, a pleading wish.
Each frame overflows with imagery, sometimes literally unable to contain the artwork. The narration and dialogue are both raw and emotional, fraught with questions and opinions deeply colored by the environment of the hostile city. Through it all, Jojo hunts love like a cat, quiet and insistent. Having briefly found the missing piece to his happiness, nothing will stop him from getting it back. As calmly as he pursues his daily life, the besotted robot will cut through the city’s underbelly like a knife, asking “Where’s Gilda?” in this wild tale reminiscent of Taxi Driver meets WALL-E.
WALL-E
Pixar’s WALL-E tells the story of the titular lone robot left alone on an uninhabitable Earth in the distant future. Tasked with cleaning away the endless mountains of the varied waste discarded by humanity before they left the planet, WALL-E spends his days collecting salvageable parts and items of interest. When he finds a plant, another robot arrives to collect the sample, taking WALL-E to the remnants of humanity, who have all grown morbidly obese through consistent inactivity while living in luxury on a space cruiser.
Taxi Driver
Martin Scorsese’s classic 1976 film stars Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam veteran turned New York City cab driver whose increasingly disturbed mental state due to his PTSD begins to drive him to more and more violent actions as he attempts to rid the city of what he sees as the “scum” on the streets. Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, and Albert Brooks also star in the film.
AVAILABLE AT MAD CAVE STUDIOS, AND WHEREVER COMICS ARE SOLD
