Watson, Andi. Love Fights. Oni Press, 2004. ISBN 978-1929998869 160 pp. $23.99

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This totally charming graphic novel romance is set in a city where it’s just another fact of life that superheroes exist. interrupting daily life when they have fights that break up the mid-morning commute. They are the talk of the water cooler and star in the comics, news and tabloids, where they may or not father illegitimate children.

Nora, an assistant for sleazy Ex-pose magazine bumps into inker Jack on the train and interest is piqued on both fronts, but Jack, insecure in a world where girls are superhero groupies, tends in choke up in front of beautiful women. Any women, really. Fate intercedes and they keep bumping into one another as Nora pursues a story about the Flamer and his love child and Jack struggles with his work, his art, and his cat Guthrie, who happens to be a superhero of the feline variety.

The light romance is a vehicle for exploring deeper issues of career, the publishing business, and interpersonal relations of several types. The art is black and white line drawings. Watson excels at evocative faces with a minimum of lines.

Although this is an adult graphic novel, it’s “clean” in terms of language and content. The romance is limited to rooftop smooches and even the superhero violence is off the page. Recommended for public library collections.