Just the thought of romance novels conjures up thoughts of the cringe-worthy images printed on their covers. From shirtless muscled men riding white horses, to passionately swooning women in period costume, it’s hard to find a cliche more hilariously worn. But what if those impossibly romantic scenes were replaced by the coin-collecting, dot-eating heroes from our favorite classic 8-bit games? Shutterstock sent their massive catalogue of images over to illustrator Echo Chernik, challenging him to create a Valentines series that would make any gamer feel romantic.
Power Couples envisions 5 romance novels that are as awkwardly over the top as they are funny. I bet you didn’t expect to see Duck Hunt in this collection… and don’t miss the cheese filled tag lines for each novel either.
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Giving us a peak into the process behind each of the covers, Chernik shares the stock images he used for each example over on the Shutterstock blog. With a bit of clever adaptation and overpainting it’s impressive to see each fantastic result.
Now, which novel would you read this Valentine’s Day?
via Shutterstock