Loveless (comics)

Loveless
Cover to issue #1 of Loveless (Dec 2005). Art by Marcelo Frusin.
Publication information
Publisher	Vertigo Comics (DC)
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Publication date	December 2005 – May 2008
Number of issues	24
Creative team
Writer(s)	Brian Azzarello
Artist(s)	Marcelo Frusin, Danijel Zezelj, Werther Dell'Edera
Colorist(s)	Patricia Mulvihill
Creator(s)	Brian Azzarello Marcelo Frusin
Collected editions
A Kin of Homecoming

Loveless was an American Western comic book series for mature readers published by DC Comics as a part of that company's Vertigo imprint. It is written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Marcelo Frusin, Danijel Zezelj and Werther Dell'Edera.

Loveless was originally about a man, Wes Cutter, who fought for the South in the Civil War and was captured. After spending time in a prison camp he comes back to his previous home of Blackwater after the North won to find the town under Union control and his house occupied. Soon after, Cutter is offered a position of sheriff in the town.

The comic's early issues explore the dynamic relationship between Cutter and the people of the town (most of whom hate him), the fate of Cutter's wife Ruth, and the lingering feelings of animosity between North and South after the end of the war.

Since the conclusion to its earlier issues, Loveless has become a comic of greater chronological and thematic narrative. The stories within Loveless, since its inception and especially in its later years center around racism and the grittier realities of American history.

The book had been stated to last about four years by Brian Azzarello in a Broken Frontier interview. In the interview Azzarello also hinted to end the story in the 1940s or so, but the series was cancelled with issue 24.

The title was penciled and inked by three artists on a rotating schedule: Marcelo Frusin (#1-5, 9-10, covers), Danijel Zezelj (#6-8, 13-15, 22-24), Werther Dell'Edera (#11-12, 16-21). Frusin previously worked with writer Brian Azzarello for three years on Hellblazer. Zezelj also had a previous project with Azzarello: El Diablo, a western mini series, that in Azzarello's words "planted the seeds for Loveless". All three artists have clearly distinct, recognizable styles, colorist Patricia Mulviill ensured a graphic continuity throughout the series.